Well yeah, sure, but that doesn't help the situation at all. Clowns, for example, wear bow ties informally, but that's not exactly the kind of image I would like scientists to associate themselves with either. Yes, there was a time when bow ties were fashionable as non-formal wear among non-clowns, but as you yourself point out, those days are long gone.

I like ties, and I enjoy wearing them. Are you vicariously offended that I might jeopardize my chance to get a developer job at Google or an SV startup if I wore a tie to the interview?

I've had very, very bad experiences with people who dress in suits. Indeed, the people who have had the most severe negative effects on my life have invariably worn suits. And I can't name many people I've had positive experiences with who ever wear suits.

Yet, somehow, I don't think that's what you had in mind when defending this nonsense.

It's because you haven't purchased fancy clothes that fit. There are probably some other constraints that produced this outcome (e.g., cost, availability), but I'm skeptical that optimizing for fanciness did it.

A little off topic observation here, but people who can't handle adhering to a business professional dress code are exhibiting a low resilience personality. Not a good thing.

Not to mention the reality that a button down shirt, slacks and a tie, when properly fitted, are not constrictive at all.

Not sure about that. Working without a necktie can feel like working naked. It takes some effort to change your feelings on that.

Don't know if that is just a joke, but one of the best places I ever worked people all wore suits, the systems were internal for a few high wealth people revolving around aviation.

Not pretentious, just looking as smart as you can. Same sort of logic as dressing up to go to the opera, I love to see gf in an evening dress, she likes me in black tie. I definitely look more dashing!

I should be wearing a suit now, but instead have my arm in a sling, so am in an injury friendly easy to dress casual t-shirt. No one objects (well aside my productivity drop due to one arm out of action).

You can get a suit off the rack for $200 and have it tailored at the time of purchase for maybe $20. Your mileage may vary, but that doesn’t smell like luxury at all to me. It sounds like a reasonable thing to own for people in office jobs. It is de rigueur in many parts of the world, including certain software engineering jobs in the US.

The suit will last longer than your $500 phone, too.

> Wearing a bad suit is embarrassing, and people at the upper echelons of the company almost always have better suits. It is a smell of class.

It doesn’t take much effort or cash to escape from “bad suit” category. I don’t begrudge people wearing better suits, it’s just one of a million ways people use to suss out money or class. Wearing a suit doesn’t make you more of a participant in class warfare than you already are.

Some people also use the suit to escape racial profiling. A white dude can get away with wearing a hoodie and jeans to work, but even though it’s acceptable at work, darker-skinned folk can run into problems with the hoodie-and-jeans outfit on their way to and from the office. Now, you can lay blame for those problems how you like, but think of the suit and tie as:

    // FIXME: Temporary, remove suit when problems
    // with racial profiling are addressed.

In fact it's become an anti-signal in software; people look at you funny. I actually failed an interview once because I wore a suit.

really? In business, politics and law, we tolerate a lot of manipulative, egotistical assholes. why shouldn't the nerds get a break on some things, too? If I can save 20 minutes in the morning by throwing on jeans and a T shirt and not messing with my hair, really, what's the problem with that? why should I waste time/money on dressing nicely?

Really, I think the fact that nerds aren't held to the same level of 'professional appearance' as others of the same pay grade is that manipulating others, generally speaking, isn't our job.

The fact of the matter is, how someone dresses is simply not a good indicator of honesty, skill, or anything else you might actually care about.

I know my first impression, when I see someone in a suit, is "who is he trying to impress? and why can't he do it with his skills, rather than his appearance?"

The sooner we can get over this obsession with people dressed "nicely" and instead listen to people who know what they are talking about, the better.

Any monkey can wear a jacket and tie. I hate that society automatically elevates well dressed people the way it does. To me it only signals that they have money.

Why? What is it about this attire that makes you want to do that.

All I can see is that such dress is an attempt to feel superior over others and that your belonging to such a group would allow for the feeling of superiority without the effort of intellectual advancement?

I don't get this reference. Can you explain it or show an example?

There was a time where a popped collar was a sign that you were a problematic person. Probably still is in a certain context. I think people are going to do some pattern matching with your clothing and people they've met/seen in the past. It's just a bit of human nature.

Maybe everyone should dress like Mr. Rogers or something.

That's just the point, you have a worldview and assume it is correct and should apply to everyone else. But no one worldview will encompass everyone's thoughts and feelings. Why should someone's fashion choices tell us anything about their technical ability? Was Einstein less trustworthy on the days he forgot his pants?

I mostly agree. However, there are biological and economical reasons for this that are deeply anchored, such as for example that it allows us to more easily distinguish friend from foe, and almost instantly skip forward a few leaps in trust levels when communicating.

Generally speaking, of course.

Would you though? Because tailored suits are a casual hipster staple nowadays too. You can meet a guy with huge victorian mustache and beard and a fine suit and they're a graphic designer or something....

What an introduction!?! Is this true?

I wear the exact same outfit every day. I own one belt, one coat, and zero hat. I have a small selection of shoes but they all serve a different purpose. It would be extremely difficult for me to wear a different outfit every month, let alone every day.

I don't think so. /r/malefashionadvice seems to be a popular place among young SV engineers.

Curious, were you wearing your higher quality clothing when you made this comment ?

For some, more expensive clothes increases their sense of superiority. I, for example, am less polite and less patient when I have to dress well. It isn't so much of a problem now that I am aware of it.