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I used to work with a guy that was known for dressing nice, very formal. Back in the 2000s, he would wear button-down shirts, slacks, nice shoes; he stood out f

• iknowSFR 1y ago
  Wasn’t the same true of his original attire selection, though? If he wore jeans in the 2000s, he would have faced consequences. So he wore slacks. What’s really changed?
  • saulpw 1y ago
    As the parent comment said, he stood out for dressing nicely those years ago. Wearing jeans in the 2000s was not just tolerated or accepted, it was expected. I remember feeling wary of engineers who dressed up for interviews then, like they were trying too hard.
    • iknowSFR 1y ago
      Ah, I interpreted as a reflection of general work cultures. My 2000s years were always formal.
    • Sohcahtoa82 1y ago
      My general belief for interviews is to dress one step up from what you'd be wearing on a day-to-day basis at that job. I wear shorts and a t-shirt (often a DEFCON or BSidesPDX shirt) usually, so I'd wear jeans and a solid color t-shirt or possibly a polo to an interview, though I haven't done an in-person interview for a job since 2016. For remote interviews, I'm in sweatpants and a polo. In the early 2000s, I wasn't a tech worker yet, but I always assumed engineers were wearing khakis and a polo, so I would have shown up to an interview with black slacks and a button-up shirt, maybe even a tie.
    • seadan83 1y ago
      My impression is dress-culture was (and still is somewhat) different on the US East vs West coast. The tech company I worked for in the mid 2000s on the East coast explicitly forbid jeans in the dress code.
      • 0xffff2 1y ago
        Very much my impression too. I work for an org with sites scattered across the country. My colleagues in Virginia still regularly wear suits, while I in California haven't even owned a suit in many years. For no particular reason I can discern, the gradient seems to be pretty linear. Our Texas people are right in the middle formality wise.
        • zeroCalories 1y ago
          It entirely depends on the industry. Banks, government, defense, etc. will feel very stuffy even on the west coast, while web companies will have greasy unshaven slobs even in Manhattan.
          • 0xffff2 1y ago
            I'm sure that's true, but the interesting thing to me is that it's the gradient exists within an industry too, at least for me in government R&D, we're not at all stuffy out here in the West.
• ilc 1y ago
  I call this "Wearing your uniform." You need to look like you are a person who would be doing the job. You wouldn't hire a gardner with smooth hands, clean shoes, and no dirt under their nails would you? Car mechanics, you can see it in their hands, and the way they act around cars. Every profession has its tells, from what we wear, to our physical traits etc. After a while, you know if someone adds up or not. But part of that is changing with the times. :)
  • goatlover 1y ago
    Don't understand what physical appearance has to do with tech.
    • lovich 1y ago
      If you work on a team with a size >1 you are dealing with other apes and will have to deal with social signaling
    • clintmcmahon 1y ago
      Actual tech, nothing. Company politics and "being a culture fit", unfortunately in some companies it means a lot.
    • inetknght 1y ago
      It has to do with the culture of the company you're working for. Professional companies are stereotyped to suits and ties, and company attire is often part of company dress code. Tech companies are stereotyped to kids and what they wear, and company dress code (if it exists) is often super-lax except for executives -- because the executives need to interact with Professional companies and look the part. There's a lot of in-between, and it really depends on what company you work for and somewhat to what company you want to work for.
    • beng-nl 1y ago
      That’s the exact thing that GP is trying to spell out. They’re not saying that how you look impacts your real ability; or vice versa.