The Marching Bland
By Izzy
Plain shirt + plain suit = totally boring. Guys, add a pattern or a tie to create some visual interest.
Home | Shoes! | Manolo for the Home | Manolo for the Big Girl | Manolo's Food Blog | Manolo for the Brides | Teeny Manolo | Ayyyy!
Manolo Moda | Consolation of the Shoes | Basement of the Bargains | Gallery of the Horrors | Manolo's Forums | Manolo's Newsletter |Talk to Manolo!
May 12th, 2006 at 11:18 am
I agree. These guys need help, but so do the rest of us. What the world needs is men’s fashion advice that takes business casual seriously. Most of us work in offices where wearing a suit would be laughed at. So we default to wearing a suit-without-tie, or khakis-and-a-polo (the new suit). Every year I read in GQ about how ‘the suit is coming back’ and every year I go to my job and the suit is nowhere in sight. It ain’t coming back. The suit will be worn in thirty years by ushers and hotel clerks only. White tie and tails is already extinct and the dinner jacket is holding on by its fingernails.
All the style rules, Flusser, etc. that I can find is all about how suit pocket angles and peaked lapels should be constructed. Biz cas is an afterthought. It’s fascinating stuff, really, but 95% of it is of little use to me. Even wearing a blazer to work is a miscalculation in a media or entertainment or Internet company office.
Would LOVE some good advice/examples on how to really work biz-cas. Not just ‘blue shirt, khakis, navy blazer’.
May 12th, 2006 at 3:34 pm
Oh I weep for this generation! There is no imagination or effort put into the clothes one finds in the office now.
For Monday – Thursday, I wear a suit, sometimes a double-breast to break the style. I wear this in a sea of khakis and mismatched shirts. My shoes are the oxford style. No loafers with a suit for me. I take pains to ensure that my socks match my suit. I shudder when I see the athletic socks worn in the office.
My efforts have not gone to waste though. Management has handed down an edict: No jeans or sneakers allowed. Privately I was told that I raised the bar for the expected dress.
For the casual Friday, for the sake of creativity: no khakis! Some nice casual slacks (not jeans) should suffice. These should not be a wallet breaker. Some shirts with color and collar should be the norm. They don’t have to be button-down, but they do have to be appropriate for the office. I suggest looking at colors far away from blue and white if you can.
“Even wearing a blazer to work is a miscalculation in a media or entertainment or Internet company office.” from the response above.
Why should it be a miscalculation? Fashion is individual. If you dress fashionable, you shouldn’t be a copy of your coworkers. If you dress up a tad more than your peers and with a little saviour-faire, you make a statement about yourself and show that you have imagination and courage.
May 12th, 2006 at 3:55 pm
This reminds me Walter Mondale’s Presidential race. Almost every guy on his campaign wore the same combination of a grey suit, blue dress shirt and a red tie – dubbed a “Full Norwegian” by the press.
May 15th, 2006 at 11:29 am
I agree the plainness is overwhelming, but how about the unibrow on the middle guy?! Bleech.