> but I really enjoy the separation between work and home that nice clothes bring.
Holy cow, I follow exactly that principle but never realized it until you put it into words. My office is super casual, but I'm always wearing at least neat jeans and usually a button-down shirt. It feels right even though it's not necessary -- and you finally put my finger on why, that dressing up for work creates separation and room to dress down when not at work.
That's actually a great point - the days that I put on a button-up and nice jeans as if I was going into an office are days that I'm way more productive, as opposed to wearing pajamas all day.
> I did like the return to dressing better though. I might keep doing that.
Lol, dress codes were what I hated the most about the office. Although I always felt free to ignore them. I just work in a T-shirt, I need my arms free.
>Just dress the same in the morning as you would if you would go into the office, and at the end of the day, take off the work clothes and dress as you would normally at home
Tech bro problems: These are the exact same things for me
>Life looks ok for IT people working in their underwear right now, but we are heading into a very challenging time with fundamental changes in consumer behavior.
> I actually feel pressure to dress down in my role as a SWE: hoodies and jeans seem like the norm, and forget about wearing a suit (lol!) or even a dress shirt.
If Vint Cerf can wear a three-piece suit, so can you!
> I don't wear work clothes. I much prefer to be super casual.
His second paragraph on "work clothes" makes what I think is the real point, which is not to wear what you slept in. I go pretty casual, too, except I wear gray shirts with a pocket for my phone. I put it on when I start working and take it off when I am done. I find it does help define when I am working.
(Every point in his article is something I've picekd up from HN over the years.)
> Now I am curious — what are programming clothes?
For me, slacks & a button-down shirt with an open collar. Not as constricted as a coat & tie or jeans, not as uncomfortably exposed as a T-shirt & shorts: slacks & a shirt feel Just Right™ to me.
> but why would anyone would rent clothes just to go into the office?
I’m going to take a guess and assume you don’t wear the gender of clothing that they target?
> Is the HN/programmer bubble messing with my perception of what's normal?
Or maybe that’s the issue. Either way, many women who work in an office want a freshly changing attire that they can conveniently have with a monthly subscription.
Like I’d probably wear a button up shirt and slacks more often if I:
1) had fresh new looks sent regularly
2) that I never had to wash or dry clean
3) and usually don’t have to iron (although that wasn’t full proof with RTR’s delivery)
> rarely-worn, extremely expensive and generally inconvenient Victorian-era ceremonial dress
This annoys me. The 'dev-uniform' of t-shirt, jeans and sneakers is just as constraining as the 'business-uniform' of suits and button downs.
You rarely wear one, they are not necessarily expensive, and they are not inconvenient.
Basically, there is nothing inherently better about jeans and a t-shirt, and nothing inherently bad about suits or anything else that isn't in either category. The key is to not expect others to comply to your weird ideas about dress code and let everyone express themselves without stereotyping them.
> There are 5 genres of men’s clothes - business (pressed shirts, suits), casual, workout, skater, and comfort (hoodie).
There’s quite a bit of variation within those. Where I live, “casual” these days is usually something like Columbia PFG - the epitome of “dad clothes”, as my wife tells me. I tend to wear that pretty much exclusively. I substitute jeans for the shorts in winter and buy a new leather jacket about every 3-5 years. I pass my old one on to someone else.
Your point stands, though. As a man, my clothes are 100% based on practicality, and I often only discard them when they’re too worn to be presentable.
> He was visibly upset I was overdressed: "Don't you know this company doesn't have a dress code?"
The company has a dress code apparently. It's "forced casual-the-way-CEO-likes-it".
You've really got 2 options: emulate the style, or continue dressing in your style. (Or quit...) Depends if you can handle the potential confrontations and how much you care what you're wearing. It's really up to you.
I've worked with people wearing wife beaters as well as full suits in places which wanted "smart casual". Don't try too hard to look at what other companies/people do. They have their own rules which don't apply to your situation.
> If they wear suits... you probably do not want to work there so I would recommend wearing a tuxedo or nothing at all.
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).
No pants? You're working from home after all...
Only half kidding, my morning work uniform now is my cotton dressing gown ('bath robe' in US English?)
I tend to get dressed around lunchtime.
Vive la difference :)
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