Business casual attire dress code can sometimes be irritating.
Full business attire makes sense, it is required and desirable in certain industries:
- Sales – you wouldn't want to be conducting price negotiations with a guy dressed in a pair of worn out jeans and flip-flops, it takes away the seriousness of the situation (even when buying a car),
- Executives – an executive should project a certain weight and serious, reliable attitude (even if some Armani suit wearing ones don't),
- Stock traders and for that matter anything finance related – money is a serious matter for anybody and it should be treated as such, hence projecting the formality through a perfectly tailored, perfectly pressed, expensive suit,
- Lawyers – you have to show respect to your clients, the judge, jury and everybody else by dressing accordingly,
- Newscasters – news are supposed to be a serious matter and a large audience has their eyes on you, so you wanna look solid, structured, clean and at your best,
- Other professions require it too, to a certain extent.
But Business Casual ?!?!?
Who invented that? Too afraid to dress casual and feel comfortable, but not caring enough to look your sharpest in a full suit?
How many times you felt like your office does not need you to wear "business" anything attire?
How many times you asked yourself: what's wrong with jeans? Why not jeans? Who cares and who can see me other than my co-workers who know already what I'm made of?
Why does the HR department think they can control how we dress in the office?
My performance has nothing to do with how I dress, I sit hidden in a damn cubicle all day!
And even if it does, I'll decide that, since it's in my best interest anyways.
Yes, they say "dress for the job you want, not for the one you have", but the dress code is the same for my boss and my boss' boss and everybody above.
Well, they probably couldn't ask for suits, because they though it would be too much and you could also deduct it on your tax return.
But they were still stubborn enough and had an old-old-old school mentality to disallow CASUAL.
They wanted to still show a little bit of power.
And since when business and casual mix so well?
Isn't this just the perfect example of a "half ass" job?
A just "good enough" environment would never make the company sharp enough.
And isn't that business casual dress code saying: we don't care that much about you, you don't make this company (otherwise we would have let you be yourself), but we don't pay you enough to ask you to wear a full suit.
Just keep you there a poor schmuck slaving for us, but we don't care too much for you.
Yes, we all know, in this economy, you're bound to keep the job you have, fly under the radar and not make waves or rock the boat. Be happy that you still have a job, if you still have one.
But really ?!? What happen to the free country to the land of opportunities, to the right to shape your own destiny?
Are we really that whipped that we have to put up with just anything?
That's why the economy is in the hands of a few daring ones that got richer and now left the cronies to "lead" their multi-billion dollar company!
Where's the american spirit of "Nobody will dictate us, we do what we feel and own our life choices – good or bad?
Anyways, it sounds like not a very important of aspect of one's life to think about it too much.
And no, I am not whinning, I am just reflecting on my own freedom of choice and wondering where my spirit went? And when did I make the compromise – when I looked at my 401K? Or when my neighbour defaulted? Or when my kid was born?
But in case you want to feel as comfortable as in your jeans and still keep that old HR hag happy (only the cool or rich companies hire hot young HR reps and those either allow casual wear or business wear respectively), check out our take on the "business casual" clothing for men.
And read this article from askmen.com for suggestions on how to dress sharp and comfortable in the office.
And if you feel oppressed in the corporate world, at least you can dress comfortable and smart for the 8+ hours you spend in that grey cubicle.
