Charlie Watts - great Tailoring comments

[Greger]

Hendrick, you pull up some interesting points. The way people think keeps changing. How many older people, corporate owners keep up with quickly ever changing young minds. Those younger people don't want to "obey" the elderly!

[Hendrick]

Hendrick, you pull up some interesting points. The way people think keeps changing. How many older people, corporate owners keep up with quickly ever changing young minds. Those younger people don't want to "obey" the elderly!

No, they don't want to obey. I fact, they look around the world mostly in disapproval and in want of things that "cant be had" anymore. What I also wanted to emphasise is that you don't have to be a conformist when you are wearing an austere garment. Some of the most beautiful creations I've seen in shows were deafeningly "silent" but meticulously executed. I guess turning one's back at percieved style or fashion or even the system as a whole is more of a statement than walking the walk!


Cheers, Hendrick

[jruley]

As a boy listening to men,  my parents generation, being told to go home and change into a suit of style out of the fashion suit or they are fired. Later they were told that even after hours they would be fired wearing any fashion at all. The company reputation was at stake. People climbing the corporate ladder paid attention. There are still companies in America that have some rules for clothes.

My experience was a bit different.  From 1980 up to retirement in 2015, I worked first as a draftsman in the engineering department of an aerospace company, then as a grad student researcher in a laboratory, then as a civilian employee on a military base.  The dress code barely changed in 35 years.  Most men wore a dress shirt and trousers to the office.  Shirt could be long or short sleeve depending on the season or your preference.  Ties were not strictly required but most salaried employees wore them.  A few guys hated them and kept a clip on tie in a drawer in case they had a meeting or presentation.  Working level engineers rarely wore suits unless they had an interview, an important meeting, were bucking for promotion or were from New York (there were a few fashion conscious ones).  Some wore odd jackets on colder days, others preferred casual jackets or coats.  Only senior managers routinely wore suits every day.  I did a fair bit of travelling to other companies in different states, and I didn't see much variation in standards of dress.

Dress loosened up even further after Sept 11, 2001 when our military counterparts began wearing utility uniforms to the office instead of "blues".  Blue jeans were discouraged but casual shirts and pants were fully acceptable, and ties and shiny shoes pretty much disappeared.  Some of the younger guys were starting to smarten up a bit about the time I retired, but most of my generation were quite happy to be informal.

I can't recall ever hearing about someone being sent home for inappropriate dress, but then engineers aren't particularly notable for being stylish  .  I'm sure there are other professions where dress is more important. 

[Greger]

Jim, watched a program on TV about movie stars and famous TV personals. The older generation. To keep their high pay they had to wear nice clothes. All the pictures show them with nice clothes. The movie industry demanded high standard clothes for the movie industry reputation as a whole. They were examples of fineness. A good image. They gave up the "lower" clothes for money.
I remember men dressed up for going to town. Suit and tie. Some of these men would never go into a restaurant without it. A lot of these people didn't wear these kinds of clothes to work. It was expected men wore suit and tie to church and downtown. Of course this has all faded away. You would be lucky to see a man in a suit and tie nowadays walking around downtown. Will uniformity ever come back? And what will it be?
As a boy in stores I'd see rows and rows of suits, sports coats, blazers, vest, trousers, ties, shirts for boys of all ages. Other than shirts none of these clothes have been Mass-produced for the last several decades. Someone said recently there is one company. Otherwise the parent is paying a tailor.

[jruley]

Of course this has all faded away. You would be lucky to see a man in a suit and tie nowadays walking around downtown. Will uniformity ever come back? And what will it be?

Yep.