Is the suit relevant in your life?

[Matt Deckard]

It's 2008. Many men have suits though many men do not. Could be the older ones that wore suits in their younger days though now don't believe they need them for any reason whatsoever. could be the younger ones that don't see the point in owning a suit yet might have a pair of dress pants and a tie for when they need one.

The question I have for you is... do you really need to wear your suit and why? None of your personal reasons of it making you feel good and honorable and respectful... I'm asking if you, for career purposes or dress code for occasion purposes must require a suit to live your life. I know Steve Jobs can show up to anything in a turtle neck and jeans... what-about you?

 

[Artigas]

Suit, or at least shirt and tie, is a must for Church on Sundays. If you go in daily wear, you will feel quite underdressed in any of the meetinghouses of my faith. Other than that and the odd "formal" occasion, I don't really have need for one. Just enough reason to justify owning a suit and a couple of jackets and pairs of trousers.

And bowties... lots of bowties...

 

[SteveN]

The question I have for you is... do you really need to wear your suit and why? None of your personal reasons of it making you feel good and honorable and respectful... I'm asking if you, for career purposes or dress code for occasion purposes must require a suit to live your life. I know Steve Jobs can show up to anything in a turtle neck and jeans... what-about you?

Absolutely. I'm moving from a tech position into one of marketing/sales in a start-up. Not only is a suit and tie (perhaps not very well done, but worn nevertheless) de rigeur in Australia & most of Asia for sales positions, but the companies we're partnering with (the main one anyway, three letter acronym) have a tradition of more formal dress.

So, for us, it's easy: Yes, it's a 'requirement' to have a suit.

Now, the choice of suit, and the selection of vintage elements, that's up to me, and why I'm here. If I have to wear one, I'm going to wear what I like. In my opinion, wearing a good-looking and well fitting suit, with nice materials, will help set me apart from the other hordes of salesmen and help to lend a bit of credibility, something many start-ups struggle with.

- SteveN

Pssst. Anyone wanna buy some software? I've got a great deal. Just in.

 

[J. M. Stovall]

The only time I really get to wear any of my swell vintage suits is church or brunch at the country club. If I wore one to work I would be among jeans, shorts, and t-shirts (unless they had a meeting planned). And there are only six of us so I wouldn't be impressing anyone. I still dress vintage in a Bing Crosby casual kind of way and I'm still way overdressed compared to the others.

 

[John in Covina]

Here in Southern California suits are more of a counter-cultural revolution. They are required in so few jobs or situations that it has become meaningless to the m-asses. Those few business that do require them are holdovers from a different age and few are likely to persue such jobs.

In a place were late teens and early twenties girls will walk around in public in their pajamas, grown men wear slippers to the mall and people show up to funerals in t-shirts, shorts, flip-flops, and a big gulp in hand, suits may as well predate the stone age with the meaning of their use lost in time. (Modern day 7-11 archeologists speculate that it must have been religious in nature!)

Regionally the slide is nearly complete as we are indeed "Slouching Towards Gommorah!"

I have no situations that a suit is a requirement in this society, however I wear them for situations that merit it in my eye.

 

[Spats McGee]

A suit is critical in my career. I'm a lawyer. I simply cannot go to court in anything less. In fact, when family and friends asked me what I wanted for law school graduation, I asked for gift certificates to mens' stores so that I could get more suits and ties for work.

 

[donCarlos]

Steve Jobs is wealthy enough to appear naked on public, it´s not a good example lol

Answer to your question - NO, I am not required to wear a suit at all, except one or two occasions a year.

Well, why should I wear a suit on college? Nobody does, but I´m still trying to do my best, even though I try to avoid all the more formal looking combinations of clothes which can not be called a suit.

 

[GBR]

At the present time suits are of diminishing relevance in business.

That said they still command their place and should not be dismissed. What should be said is that one cannot hold on to the past, it if goes then let it, life evolves.

 

[GBR]

Why? A church is the last place that formality should required for your god. True, congregations make up their own rules but they are the ghouls that attend without really understanding the true significance of what they are singing/muttering/thinking about.

All forgiving deities of any type do NOT look at the attire of the faithful/suckers that keep them in business.

Suit, or at least shirt and tie, is a must for Church on Sundays. If you go in daily wear, you will feel quite underdressed in any of the meetinghouses of my faith.

And bowties... lots of bowties...

 

[Matt Deckard]

A suit is critical in my career. I'm a lawyer. I simply cannot go to court in anything less. In fact, when family and friends asked me what I wanted for law school graduation, I asked for gift certificates to mens' stores so that I could get more suits and ties for work.

You are a lawyer in Arkansas...

In California you can often see lawyers without suits... just spoke to a trial lawyer here, they go tie-less at times.

As for church... it's not a requirement of the church and i don't think anyone would be ostracized for wearing a t-shirt and denim trousers.

 

[Artigas]

Why? A church is the last place that formality should required for you god.

If you were to appear before a King at court, would you do so dressed in jeans and a t-shirt? God is a King, and the clothes I wear when I appear before Him show respect to His position as such. That's my take on it. You can think what you want.

Either way, we wouldn't kick you out for dressing informally. You would just be underdressed. That's all I said, and that is all I will say on the matter. This forum is not the place for that kind of thing.

 

[chad234]

Like Mr. Mcgee, I can not imagine appearing in court without weraring a suit. Maybe a sport coat if just having an order signed or something, but normally a suit is required.

The only time I have ever seen an attorney here appear before a court without a tie was a well known divorce lawyer who injured his shoulder in a ski accident and had his arm in a sling.he was wearing a suit with a turtleneck. My vauge recollection is that he apologized for not having worn tie.

I wear a suit every day to work except the rare day I wear a sweater vest and/or sport coat- office day with no court.

 

[Nighthawk]

Absolutely not. I'm a college student.

Don't have to, and don't really want to. [huh]

 

[suitedcboy]

Not required any more. I'm a corporate trainer and presentations used to be suit n tie but about 10 years ago that changed. Surveys of customers told us they wanted to attend in more casual attire and that suits added nothing when worn by the facilitator.

Damn shame.............

 

[John in Covina]

Someone had mentioned recently that here in So-Cal their lawyer showed up to court in biker leathers carrying his helmet.

 

[adamjaskie]

I work in IT. I'm a Java developer at a large software/services company.

It isn't required for me. The dress code at work is pretty much:
- No denim
- Pants, not shorts
- Collared shirt
- Dressy shoes (no open-toed shoes, no sandals, no sneakers)

Typical dress is a spread-collar shirt, no tie, and wool trousers.

I alternate between a button-down dress shirt and chinos or sometimes cords (I hate the look of a spread-collar dress shirt with no tie) and a suit or at least a blazer/sport coat, and wear a tie maybe two days a week (sometimes I wear a jacket without a tie, but I never wear a tie without a jacket; don't like that look either).

I have to say, I have pushed the dress code a few times. I wore a turtleneck more than once (don't know if that counts as a "collared shirt", but as far as I am concerned, if a "polo shirt" is OK, so is a turtleneck). And a couple times I've worn lightweight drawstring ripstop cargo pants. Once with Sambas (my most blatant violation), ankle socks, a navy blazer, and a pink shirt. Nobody said anything.

 

[Max Flash]

A suit is critical in my career. I'm a lawyer. I simply cannot go to court in anything less. In fact, when family and friends asked me what I wanted for law school graduation, I asked for gift certificates to mens' stores so that I could get more suits and ties for work.

I'm a lawyer in the City of London, although in corporate rather than litigation (so I don't go to court). A suit and tie is critical here. We have a no-tie policy in the office but when meeting clients, etc. we wear ties. Many people choose to wear a tie during the day anyway. I sometimes do, sometimes don't, depending on how I feel, but always wear one when going to meetings, seminars etc. Age doesn't make a difference to how people dress here (I'm 27).

Outside of work I rarely wear a suit (other than for weddings, etc.) but will wear slacks/jeans and odd jackets, especially tweed or cord.

 

[Spats McGee]

You are a lawyer in Arkansas...

In California you can often see lawyers without suits... just spoke to a trial lawyer here, they go tie-less at times. . . . .

I work for myself, so I can go to the office without a tie. Court is a different beast altogether. I rarely dress down further than khakis and a sportcoat, even when I don't have any court or meetings scheduled and I keep a spare sportcoat and a couple of ties in my office, in case of an emergency hearing. In the event that a client drops in at the office unannounced, or I do get called for an emergency meeting with a judge, it's important to me to be reasonably well-dressed.

Edited to add: I don' know about anywhere else, but one thing I will say about being a lawyer in Arkansas: I can wear a fedora and a bowtie and carry a fountain pen and nobody thinks anything about it. lol

 

[Doctor Strange]

No way. I haven't worn a suit in at least 15 years... I haven't worn a tie in over a decade!

A sportjacket is about as formal as I've needed to be anytime recently. And I really like it that way, I have never been comfortable in a suit, even at the few times when I needed to wear one regularly for work.

(I know: I'm a very poor example of a good Lounger.)

 

[Rider]

If you were to appear before a King at court, would you do so dressed in jeans and a t-shirt? God is a King, and the clothes I wear when I appear before Him show respect to His position as such. That's my take on it. You can think what you want...

Although I think God does and the Church should accept people as they are, my personal practice is that I will dress no worse for church than I would for the best customer I am meeting during the week. Why would I do less for the Almighty? For me, that means a suit and tie, or a tie and sportcoat at a minimum.

My job sometimes has me in and out of court. In the midwest, professional witnesses and attorneys are expected to be with coat and tie in Court. Doing otherwise could get you a tongue lashing from the bench for disrespect of the Court.

This thread points out the diversity of the United States in regional, industry, and personal differences regarding manner of dress.

Fact is that if I'm going to gamble, I'd rather err on the side of being over-dressed than being under-dressed. There is nothing ever wrong with being the best dressed person in the room, but I'd be quite embarassed to be the worst.

Is the suit relevant in my life? Yes. But no matter, I'd enjoy dressing nicely if it wasn't.