I had this thought while watching “Boardwalk Empire” the other night. I get the impression that men used to be not only men, but gentlemen. They were dressed respectfully, in suits, wearing hats. They had manners . . . you get the point. Now, so many people are just so lazy and/or sloppy (I am guilty of this). You’ll see men out with their wives, wearing jeans, t-shirts, sports jersey and please don’t get me going on the hip hop style with the droopy pants. I am making an effort to start presenting myself better. Not over the top, but maybe not always just reaching for the jeans when I go out with my wife. I work in an office that is “business casual,” but all that means in no jeans. The guys here will wear ill-fitting khakis with an untucked shirt or something equally as shabby-looking. So, men of TSD, how do you dress and otherwise present yourself to the world? Are you a slob like me? BTW, I am not even that sloppy compared to the general population, but I am ready to step up my game a little bit and start looking nicer.
Being a man of comfort and leisure, when I am not at work, I am t-shirt, shorts and sandals 95% of the year. M-Th at work is polo shirt and slacks with Dockers shoes, Friday is reserved for jeans, polo shirt and one of 12 pairs of the most flamboyant Chuck Taylor's you can buy. I will be 40 in a couple of weeks, but this is how I have dressed for the last 15 years and do not see any change ahead for me.
I can't stand the heat very much down here in the swamp as I get older and haven't worn jeans in probably 5 years. I opt for casual pants, and most of the time you'll find me in a pair of Birkenstock Boston clogs or SAS shoes. I finish off with a button down square bottom shirt that doesn't have to be tucked in or a polo shirt. It's easier to be fashionable the farther North you are. I've never been one for baseball caps, but lately I've been hankering for a newsboy type of hat. I'm just starting to research them.
I'm still in school, but I grew up watching my Psychiatrist Dad go to work in (practically, less the coat, sometimes) a suit. I am extremely fond of dressing nice, but it's really hard nowadays, without sticking out like a sore thumb. I can rock a polo or "dress shirt", tucked in, with slacks and nice shoes, but my peers are always asking why i'm dresses so nice. I'm also a young student so it raises even more eyebrows. I pray I get a job that requires me to be dressed nice all the time. I agree that the times of gentlemanliness are, mostly, gone, but by no means do I intend to let it die on mine, and my families part.
It's more of a cooler weather material, but a nice newsboy style hat in patchwork Donegal Tweed is very nice. As for OP. I work out of my house. Summer = shorts and golf shirt, winter = Blue Jeans and Flannel shirt. When I meet customers it is typically a dressier business casual, usually open collar and occasionally a coat. Don't remmember last time I wore a suit for anything but a wedding or funeral. When I do go into our offices, i'm sometimes surprised at what people pass off for business casual.
Work is usually business casual. I do wear jeans on occasion. Nothing with tears, stains, or holes, and always with a belt. I always press my clothes. Not necessarily starch every time, but enough to get the wrinkles out. Always tuck the shirt in. Most of the time it's a button down. Seldom do I wear a T-shirt as my only shirt. Only wear shorts to the gym, pool, or sleep, and I can't remember the last time I went to the gym or the pool. Church is always suit or jacket with a tie.
Back in the 20's, people would dress up in their Sunday best just to go get a loaf of bread. No way I'm doing all of that. If it's cold, I've got on jeans. Otherwise, it's shorts. Shirt is usually a polo-type or a t-shirt. Tennis shoes or leather flip-flops. Us fat people go for comfort, not fashion - although... I would like to see some better "modern" clothes made for fat people. I'm too young to run around in 1-piece Dickie's baby-blue jumpsuits or Hawaiian print shirts with pockets at the bottom of my belly!
When I was a kid my Grandmother would tell me stories about when she worked at a store in downtown called Kress's Department Store. Basically like Walmart is today, with the pharmacy and clothes, but this place had the all important soda fountain bar. There was also the 2 story Maas Brothers that had the first escalator in Tampa. People wouldn't dream of coming downtown to shop without putting on the ritz. I would like to see a return to stuff like hats, think OldGI and his straw fedora. I'm all for shorts and comfortable shirts here in Florida but at least they could be washed once in a while. Oh and the bed head look is just disturbing.
Being a Floridian, I too am in shorts, T-shirt and sneakers/flipflops unless the thermometer drops below 70, then it's jeans instead of shorts. May not be acceptable in most situations, but I am always clean shaven.
Clean, but comfortable. I am given a bit of leeway at work. Some days I am a digital janitor keeping the systems running and other days, I will find myself pulling cable through a grubby 130 yr old sub-basement. I normally wear jeans or a pair of khakis (Shorts in the summer). During the winter I live in zip up sweaters. They look good and if I have to go get grubby, I can take it off until I am done. I have lived in a suit for a number of years and I hope to never go back to that situation. While it is nice to get dressed up, wearing a suit day in and day out gets old quickly. I mean it really sucks. Yes. It is terrible. It is far more important what one can accomplish rather then what one wears. Even my family doctor wears khakis and running shoes most days.
The only thing that keeps me in pants and a polo or better is the temperature and the dress code. If it wasn't for those two things I'd be in shorts, a t shirt, and flip flops. Since I do HAVE to dress business casually I like to wear nice slacks and a button down shirt with a nice belt and shoes that match. If I wasn't as practical as I am, I would buy way too fancy socks though. I like nice socks.We have a few metro-sexuals at work so the bar for us style challenged fellas is raised and has actually shown me a bit of style in competing with them. I can give them a run for their money a day or two out of the week but need to tone it down to less formal clothes the other days. My shave is always superior though . I too wonder why anyone likes to think that I want to see their (all too often grungy) undies hanging out of their pants. That has to be the absolutely most idiotic "fashion" fad I have seen as an adult.
I wasn't raised to dress well, so it isn't something that comes naturally to me. Over the past couple of years I have been trying to improve myself in the area of dress. It's a slow process, upgrading your wardrobe. But I try to be very conscientious with all my clothing purchases, because I think it's important to invest in quality, stylish pieces that will last a long time. So to answer your question, I'm not the best-dressed man you'll ever see, nor do I necessarily aspire to be, but I'm trying to improve. That includes a few rules I have for myself. You will NEVER in a million years see me in a pair of crocs, sandals, flip-flops (unless at the beach), sports jerseys, baseball caps, etc ...
I'll weigh in on my end of the spectrum... I manage a plasma collection facility so my wardrobe is business professional everyday. During Regional Manager visits or audits I will break out suit jackets, otherwise, day-to-day wear is dress slacks or skirts and a professional top. If I work on the weekend, it's khaki's, tennis shoes, and a dress shirt. My staff, however, get to wear scrubs everyday. Even if I work in production, it's a lab coat and face shield with gloves over my dress clothes! What is my out of work wardrobe? Shorts! Flip-flops! Some kind of casual shirt! No make-up! But always ... ALWAYS ... a good shave must accompany whatever I choose to wear!!
My work puts me a widely varied situations and I dress for the task at hand. Operating the plant today, it's grubby jeans, an old mock turtle neck, steel toed boots, and a hoody. In the office, it's typically casual slacks or cargo pants with a sports shirt tucked in. A rare conference or Christmas party will see the suit come out. On weekends, I tend to jeans with either a t-shirt or sports shirt depending on what I'm doing. If I take the wife out, I'll typically change the jeans out for slacks. My general feeling is to try and dress so the lowest guy on the totem pole doesn't feel uncomfortable around me, but I don't look like a slob to the boss or whatever higher-up comes along.
Agreed. I've had exactly one job in my entire life that entailed wearing a suit (and it only lasted a few months thank God). I have no...make that zero...interest in wearing a suit and tie on a daily basis. I see nothing wrong with the more casual dressed lifestyle we lead today. It's comfortable, it's functional and it's easier on the pocketbook. I wear a uniform at work of course, but off duty it's shorts, sweats, jeans, slacks etc. as the occasion dictates. Heck in AZ all I wore after work was tank tops, shorts and flip flops...for 12 years!!!
I was born naked, brought up to look nice (both in looks and manners, and manners is almost a thing of the past). Most of my working life I wore a coat and tie and out of respect I wear a coat and tie to church. I am now retired and wear jeans 99% of the time held up with suspenders. I shave everyday, keep myself clean, and I still have my manners. When I die, I will either be buried naked in the box, or my ashes will be scattered in south central Oklahoma. I've raised my kids the way I was raised so the rest is up to them. I have done my part.
No disrespect to the many people who love flip flops but what is the fascination with those things. Are you really comfortable with that thing pulling between your toes? From a medical perspective they're the worst shoes you can wear for your foot health. Plantar Fasciitus and heal spurs are what you get to look forward to if you wear them too much. Just saying.
No worries ... I have worn this type of shoe since I was a kid. "A kid" to me is defined as five-years-old, that is as early as I remember. I don't have Plantar Fasciitus or heal spurs ... maybe I'm just lucky ... Whichever, I love flip-flops ... just slip them on and head out the door!
With all the life changes I've been going through, I've sort of made a commitment to present myself better (and to also not buy Walmart crap clothing). So, maybe it's extreme, but instead of the hawaiian shirts and jeans and things like that, I've been wearing polos and khakis. It's a small change I guess, but I'm trying to buy quality stuff, and I'm on a budget.
