Uniforms are Ridiculous

I don't like appearance rules on jobs not requiring an uniform, but believe it or not, uniforms do serve a practical purpose on some jobs. Yes, some of them are ugly and uncomfortable, but would you like to lose a job solely based on a ridiculous principle? Let's not get Chaotic Stupid here.

Thankfully, I'm qualified enough that I can afford the luxury of choosing where I want to work. I'm more troubled over those who don't have a choice.

A uniform which doesn't look terrible is a good uniform in my book.

@Jesus Saves: No, it's totally empowering to wear stiff uncomfortable work pants to an office job.

Horses for courses, man. If you're going to be sitting at a desk, wear a nice comfortable suit.

I think you have it backwards Rott.. Work pants are comfortable, because they are usually wash-and-wear and flexible from, you know, work.

It's like the difference between a military dress uniform and cammies. The dress uniform is uncomfortable, it involves shirt stays, starched and pressed pants and shirt, possibly your dress jacket, it sucks. Oh, and low quarters are murder on your feet.

Cammies are flexible, involve big comfortable boot socks with some nice worn in boots, a t-shirt, button-up pants, and your blouse. It's pretty frigging comfortable, like working in your pajamas.

Actually stiffness of Jeans is a matter of design and wear. Mine are very comfy.

There's a military surplus shop close to home. I'm thinking of buying some boots and stuff. Which articles would you say have the best cost-to-quality ratio and are suitable for inconspicious civvy wear, and from which militaries*

@Barkey: You're thinking BD Us. I'm thinking Levis 501◊.

Rocky crap you reminded me of Half Life Full Life Consequences: "... and the pants were dead..." These pants look like they might be actually capable of dying.

Anyway, son, you are talking about one thing, people are talking about something else entirely, and...

And I want one of Rock Lee's outfits now... they're so ridiculous they curve back into awesome.

Never had them in school, but I always hated the idea of uniforms. Partly because I enjoy being creative and having control over what I'm wearing, and partly because styles/fits that work on the average person are almost guaranteed to be a complete flop on me (being under four and a half feet tall and somewhat curvy) and not having a uniform gives me a much better selection to choose from to find the right styles and fits. A desk-jockey's work wardrobe is a little different, as it's not so much a uniform as a style you have to conform to - but again here, a little flexibility helps.

I don't really like enforced formal style, in any case - my favorite blazer is a cropped red corduroy one that goes from dressy to casual very, very easily. You can be put together without being in formal clothes or fabrics, you just have to look like you actually paid attention and give a **** about your appearance. You can look very sloppy in formal clothes as well if they're ill-fitting, wrinkled, the colors don't work, and in that case the only air they give off is 'I can afford these easily, or at least I saved and scrimped enough so I can!', which is really neither here nor there. If I'm your boss or a client, I don't care how much you paid for your clothes or your social strata. I just care that you're diligent, competent, and if you're not an eyesore it's much nicer dealing with you.

edited 8th Sep '11 11:42:48 AM by TheGirlWithPointyEars

I really wouldn't recommend wearing military stuff on your off time. The only stuff I have that I ever wear are my boots and a fleece jacket that I got issued which I use when I go fishing.

Past that, military clothing is for military duty.

@Rott: I'm wearing a comfortable pair of those same type of jeans right now.. They are fine once they are broken in.

edited 8th Sep '11 12:37:35 PM by Barkey

I don't understand the whole "suits are uncomfortable and a sign of weakness" thing. Do you not try on the suit before hand to make sure you're wearing one that actually fits you? Or are you so obsessed with a macho image that you have to dress a certain other way that probably doesn't look that great? Seriously, how the fuck can a suit alone be a sign of weakness? So what if you're conforming. You're at fucking work, you're not on your free time where you can wear all the track pants and tacky shirts you want.

Also, have you never been to a formal situation like a wedding, where a lot of people are expected to wear a suit? (Depending on the requirements of the married couple, of course.)

I have found that old OD Green sateens (Cold war era) are plenty comfy as a jacket.

As long as the uniform matches the work environment, it's fine. And although it's a sad fact of corporate life, you are often judged by your appearance. First impressions are often lasting, get used to it.

Which is just another reason to get a work-at-home job, I think. The Uniform of the Day is boxer shorts, threadbare tee-shirt and mis-matched socks.

A well-fitted, well-worn suit is also conducive to retaining dignity.

Or to develop a charisma that tracends clothing, Will Smith style. When you radiate poise and competence even in a jersey, you know you're awesome, and so does everyone else (it still doesn't say squat about how competent a worker you are though)

Also, it's not a matter of first impressions, it's a matter of what those first impressions are based on. I think a CV and a recommendation letter are first-impression aplenty.

edited 8th Sep '11 12:50:57 PM by JesusSaves

It depends on uniform really.

This◊will propably make yo laughing stock, but I dare you to call THIS◊ non-badass. Say what you say about Gaddafi, he had good fashion sense and uncanny abbility to look like a pimp even in military dress.

This is true - there are more to first impressions to mere looks. Unfortunately, there are still people who judge soley by that visual standard, and those people are still entrenched in a position of authority.

I have a few comfy suits, mostly for weddings and really formal occasions. It is recommended to get one that is comfortable, and if your figure shifts and changes over time, either get it tailored or retire it.

^ MG would look a lot better if he got his hair trimmed and such, but that's just my decade-old military bearing asserting itself.

edited 8th Sep '11 12:58:10 PM by pvtnum11

I dunno: I don't mind dress ties and shirts that much, but i hate hate hate dress shoes and suit pants'n'jackets with all my heart and all my mind.

Suits may look good, but they hamper movement to an unacceptable degree. And dress shoes are typically murderous. Cargo pants and combat/safety boots are the way to go.

Dress shoes: It is very important to try on a lot to find something that not only looks good, but is comfortable. I've been lucky enough to land a pair of shoes that does both. I need to shine them up again, but they wear nice, are lightweight, and are flexible enough that I don't mind wearing them for hours at a time.

If that means paying a bit more for them, so be it. They're your feet; take care of them.

You're gonna have a ton of trouble getting a job then, whoever says they want nothing to do with a manager that judges by appearance. We're human. We do it all the time. And yes, dressing "professionally" does give people the image that you're prepared. It shows you woke up that morning, said "I'm going to work," and took some time to make sure you look nice. It shows you know what you're doing, and you know where you're at.

Basically, it shows you know the difference between when you're at work, and when you're not. Most people do not dress in suits because they want to, they do it because they're doing a job, so coming into work in one shows you understand what's going on.

More bluntly: Dress codes are a symbol of subservience and conformity that workplaces demand simply because they can.

Since getting rid of dress codes doesn't cost the employer a dime, any union worth its salt should be able to get rid of'em.

edited 8th Sep '11 2:32:26 PM by SavageHeathen

Because every girl crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man.

This thread makes me think of another advantage to doing away with dress codes: It makes people grade you on the quality of your work instead of an utterly arbitrary thing like a person's taste in clothing.

Restriction of movement:

...Hiking right after getting out of the office, are we?

It's not so much about taste, it's about looking professional, showing the effort that you know when it's time to work and when it's not. They don't want you to look good, they want you to ready.

And besides, even if you removed dress codes, people would still be judged on their appearance. In fact, keeping a dress code at least evens the ground because you at least know what to come to work in.

edited 8th Sep '11 2:32:50 PM by HeavyDDR

True. I think the idea is that if you can get up and look professional and have your suits all tailored and shit, it at least looks like you give two shits about the job as opposed to coming in in your pajamas. The fact that you have to wear a suit just makes it easier to judge how professional you look as opposed to having totry and judge how ironed your hoodie is.