[gloves]

It's funny - IMHO the Hoodie Uniform was developed because people didn't seem to care about fashion or the clothes they were wearing - the stereotypical devs. I can also see how this has come full circle now though, as I think to my own office and if anyone did come in a suit, they would stick out like a sore thumb.

On one level, it seems to be a shame - suits do show a kind of respect or reverence for the place of work. On another, I think suits have their place, but as work places aim to make their offices more people friendly (some would say to keep them in the office longer) people's attires will naturally mold to fit the environment. Perhaps the dying out of the suit is something of a reflection of modern work practices and should be just seen as another item of clothing someone chooses to wear, without the significance of it being 'smart' or 'formal'.

[tjr]

When I began my career in software over a decade ago, dress shirts and pants was typical attire in my area. And that's what I wore. Occasionally someone would wear something a bit more casual, and occasionally I would too. Eventually I got to the point of wearing t-shirts and jeans frequently.

As far as I am concerned, as far as the people I work with are concerned, as far as the company is concerned, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

But yet, I was increasingly feeling ... slobbish. Like, "this is my career, this is what I do for a living, this is what I went to college for and continually read books to learn about... is this really how I want to dress?"

So I started dressing up a bit here and there. Felt silly at times, but no-one said anything. Today I'm wearing a suit-style vest and a tie. Walking in the hallways I feel conspicuously out of place, but back at my desk, I feel better about myself. I feel like I'm taking what I do more seriously. Am I really taking it more seriously? Hard to say. I think perhaps.

I don't care what you wear, and I hope the feeling is mutual. For myself, I'm kind of liking dressing up again. I don't feel that I'm conforming to any social demands or artificial constructs of what is proper; if anything, I am now going against them.

[ergothus]

I'm not in a suit, but I'm in a dress shirt, vest, and trilby most every day. I stick out amongst the hoodies and sweatshirts around me, but I've never felt any reaction more malicious than confusion.

Originally I picked this style to see if an orderly fashion imposed any kind of order upon my mind. (that was about 5 years ago, give or take a year) If so, I've not been able to discern it. I did, however, enjoy feeling a little different, and over the years as my middle-aged gut expands, I find the vest far more slimming than a Tshirt.

This leaves me in the position of being a touch conformistly counter culture AND fat. Ah well.

[linkregister]

It seems the way to wear dress clothes in the startup/tech environment is not to wear a simple two-piece suit. The folks in my office that get away with business attire wear more stylish items such as vests paired with unmatching slacks, coupled with a bold-print shirt. These kinds of looks look way more difficult to create than going to Brooks Brothers and asking for two suits.

One legitimate reason why I would expect suit-wearers to be challenged is the fear of formal wear being required in the office.

[dragonwriter]

> One legitimate reason why I would expect suit-wearers to be challenged is the fear of formal wear being required in the office.

Business suits are business wear, not formal wear, which is a whole different category of clothing. Formal wear being required in the office would be a very odd thing, indeed.

[zyxley]

> Formal wear being required in the office would be a very odd thing, indeed.

"I know it's inconvenient sometimes, but you would not believe how cheap it was to rent out this extra space from the local symphony orchestra."

[linkregister]

Oops. Thanks for that!

[ThrustVectoring]

A formal requirement isn't what engineers are against. Dressing up and getting management attention because of it is a positional good, and they're enforcing a clique of "if nobody dresses up, nobody has to dress up or get ignored by management."

[linkregister]

You're right, the business attire arms race is a real occurance. I'm being a bit dramatic, but I remember an office that stopped wearing sneakers for that reason.

[gregorymfoster]

I agree completely with your thoughts on this. So many times things start out as a small rebellion against a norm, become cool, and then eventually become the standard.

[dllthomas]

Count me amongst those who dresses up - dress shirt, slacks, jacket - almost every day. All overt reactions - where there have been any noticeable reactions - have been positive or neutral. I haven't noticed any negative reactions.