[anigbrowl]

That's true, but - and it's a big, big but - he doesn't have any power over you. He's venting his feelings about his experience, but the people he's talking about are his employers and that puts him in the position of having to accept their mockery and control over his wardrobe in order to keep receiving a paycheck.

See, while I think the author has something of a chip on his shoulder, he's got some historical and demographic basis for it, and chips weigh more heavily on younger shoulders; it's easier for me to be philosophical about life's obstacles insofar as I've survived to middle age in reasonable comfort and so on. And no, I don't think this is an unacceptable way to speak. It's unacceptable in the workplace, and I'd be lukewarm towards it in a social context, but people have to the freedom to think and express things that I find odious to the extent that I have the freedom to disagree or walk away without any negative consequences. That's not the case in an employment situation, because while you can walk away there's a measurable economic cost to doing so.