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All this would indicate is that there's a new dress-code. e.g. not turning up in jeans, hoodie/t-shirt (or whatever counts for 'casual') marks you out. It's jus

by amirmc 15y ago

All this would indicate is that there's a new dress-code. e.g. not turning up in jeans, hoodie/t-shirt (or whatever counts for 'casual') marks you out. It's just another uniform. When you can rock up wearing a suit or a hoodie and be treated exactly the same is when dress no longer matters.

gruseom 15y ago
No objection to your second paragraph but I think your first is precisely wrong. It's not a new dress code, same as the old dress code. It's the side effect of a shift in economic relations. Last year a video surfaced on HN about technical founders in the 1970s who would end up with 2% of their companies after taking investment. From there to, say, Zuck controlling Facebook and wearing hoodies because he likes hoodies is just a massive, massive change. It's happening for historical reasons. And to the extent that Silicon Valley is the avant-garde of the economy at large and YC the avant-garde of the valley, we can project where the trend is headed. A commenter said that Buckminster Fuller preferred informal attire but couldn't get away with it in his day. Technical/creative people haven't changed. What's changed is the balance of power shifting toward them. But the point's not really about clothes, and I feel like the heart of Jason's post got lost in this discussion. You should be who you are, that is, who you really feel yourself to be, because to fake it for the sake of others' approval is to give up your strength and the best things about you. That puts you in a weakened position. Are you going to do as good a job articulating yourself that way? I doubt it. But suppose it works and you get investment from people who wouldn't approve of you otherwise. Then what? Is that a good place to be? Maybe the dude in the story was secretly looking forward to finally getting to wear fancy shoes and a crisp shirt - in that case, more power to him. But the story was premised on the idea that he didn't really want to.
- flomo 15y ago
  As a prominent counter-example, Bill Gates was famous for showing up at tech conferences with a grungy t-shirt, unkempt hair, etc. (And like Zuckerberg, he didn't need to impress any bankers.)

by amirmc 15y ago

gruseom 15y ago

No objection to your second paragraph but I think your first is precisely wrong. It's not a new dress code, same as the old dress code. It's the side effect of a shift in economic relations. Last year a video surfaced on HN about technical founders in the 1970s who would end up with 2% of their companies after taking investment. From there to, say, Zuck controlling Facebook and wearing hoodies because he likes hoodies is just a massive, massive change. It's happening for historical reasons. And to the extent that Silicon Valley is the avant-garde of the economy at large and YC the avant-garde of the valley, we can project where the trend is headed. A commenter said that Buckminster Fuller preferred informal attire but couldn't get away with it in his day. Technical/creative people haven't changed. What's changed is the balance of power shifting toward them. But the point's not really about clothes, and I feel like the heart of Jason's post got lost in this discussion. You should be who you are, that is, who you really feel yourself to be, because to fake it for the sake of others' approval is to give up your strength and the best things about you. That puts you in a weakened position. Are you going to do as good a job articulating yourself that way? I doubt it. But suppose it works and you get investment from people who wouldn't approve of you otherwise. Then what? Is that a good place to be? Maybe the dude in the story was secretly looking forward to finally getting to wear fancy shoes and a crisp shirt - in that case, more power to him. But the story was premised on the idea that he didn't really want to.

flomo 15y ago
As a prominent counter-example, Bill Gates was famous for showing up at tech conferences with a grungy t-shirt, unkempt hair, etc. (And like Zuckerberg, he didn't need to impress any bankers.)