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For one who agrees that appearance matters it was necessary to defend a column by George F Will last April indicting the demise of proper attire. Though there may have been those who responded similarly a scan of reactions in the media were dominated by objections to Mr Will’s opinion. Perhaps those offended only noticed the central villain of the piece - denim. The discussion is worth repeating if that was in fact the case. And if others do not understand these points a recent article also supports Mr Will’s assertions as well as the opinion held here.

At almost precisely the same time these companies were declaring their allegiance to chinos and loafers, the dot-com bubble burst—and amidst layoffs, Chapter 11 filings, and tumbling stock prices, the alleged virtues of business casual were called into question. “As America’s economy slows, business casual is proving rather too casual,” the Economist declared. Jackson Lewis, a law firm specializing in employment issues, polled human resource executives and found that substantial numbers of them believed that business casual encouraged absenteeism, tardiness, and flirtatious behavior. If you weren’t dressed like a serious, hard-working professional, the reasoning now went, you wouldn’t act like one.

Granted, the reference above deals with different but related aspects of the importance of one’s appearance but the conclusion drawn is the same. There is nothing wrong with codes including dress codes. They are part and parcel to a worthy mindset that guides our behavior and reinforces what is valued and that we respect those notions.

And this post or repost offers an opportunity to highlight another excerpt from George F Will’s column found to be both humorous and true.

Denim is the clerical vestment for the priesthood of all believers in democracy’s catechism of leveling — thou shalt not dress better than society’s most slovenly. To do so would be to commit the sin of lookism — of believing that appearance matters. That heresy leads to denying the universal appropriateness of everything, and then to the elitist assertion that there is good and bad taste.

Once again, in summary, this topic is not to suggest spending a fortune on clothing to outdress everyone around you. But appearance does matter. We are more productive, successful and are more likely to adhere to those values that advance society to higher levels of competence and sanity when we dress the part. And that depends on what you are doing at the time. In other words, dress for the occasion. Have some rules. Have some respect for yourself and others. Have a code. Have a clue. It matters.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

This entry was posted on Friday, March 5th, 2010 at 6:00 pm and is filed under wordpress, America, Public, Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.