Why bother with a suit jacket

[univibe88]

I work in the sales department of my company. We are required to wear a suit and tie - no sport coats, no open collars - especially when going on customer calls.

But I have to laugh at most of colleagues. They will wear their suit to work in the morning and either hang their jacket up on the back of their office door or even leave it hanging on a hanger in the back seat of their car. Then they'll go on a sales call. Wear the jacket into the customer's office, and promptly take it off and hang it on the back of their chair. So the jacket gets worn for the walk between their car and receptionist's desk and back.

It's even funnier when a group of us goes out to dinner. You'll see 10 guys at the steak house with jackets all hanging on the back of their chairs. I'll look around the restaurant and see most men have their jacket on the back of their chair, if they even wore one at all. I really don't want to see everyone's wrinkled shirt poofing out over their waists.

So it begs the question, why bother with the jacket at all?

 

[happyfilmluvguy]

To keep warm and be the minority.

 

[surely]

I don't think anyone should be required to wear suit & tie. It is an invalid, irrational way of imposing hierarchal authority.

 

[univibe88]

be the minority.

I definitely keep mine on because I know I should. It's the way I was raised. My father would put on a suit if he was going into the office for only an hour on a Saturday when no one would even see him.

 

[CharlestonBows]

I don't think anyone should be required to wear suit & tie. It is an invalid, irrational way of imposing hierarchal authority.

[huh]

 

[surely]

[huh]

You're right, I was being too curt.This is a complex subject but I'll try and be brief and clear.
An adult should be allowed to dress as they please. That is, given the credit to be able to discern what is appropriate for the occasion. Yes employers have the right to make certain behavioral demands, but why suit & tie? Simply because tradition says so? Why do we get so wound up if there are 3 or 4 buttons on the sleeve? Were they not originally put there to stop using the sleeve to wipe their nose? Why are they still there? In short the only reason to impose such standards is to flex senior management power and create a conforming, interchangeable workforce.

I'm all for someone who choses to wear suit & tie & all the accoutrements;
But lets not, under the guise of style, be part of the systematic pressure to conform!

I have been known to be hyperbolic, but there is truth (I hope) in my musings.

 

[KY Gentleman]

I definitely keep mine on because I know I should. It's the way I was raised. My father would put on a suit if he was going into the office for only an hour on a Saturday when no one would even see him.

My grandfather often wore a suit because people used to dress up when they went out, they would be embarassed to be seen otherwise.Your point about wearing a jacket because you know you should or because its the way you were raised is the crux of the issue. Not many people set a good example of wearing proper attire anymore or teach kids that people tend to react to you by the way you present yourself. I can't tell you how many interviews I conduct with people dressed for a sporting event instead of obtaining a job.

 

[dr greg]

????

Again I must be pedantic, that question is raised, not begged!
http://begthequestion.info/

 

[LindyTap]

An adult should be allowed to dress as they please. That is, given the credit to be able to discern what is appropriate for the occasion.

Well I think a lot of places of business have rules for dress precisely because there are adults who can't discern what is appropriate for the occasion, in this case, to wear a suit to show a certain level of professionalism. The owners want to project a certain image about their company, an image of class and professionalism. And personally, if they let the employees pick what they wanted to wear they'd have a lot of people in blue jean shorts and Nirvana T-shirts. Yeah, that's classy right therelol. Also, I don't think suits show any kind of hierarchy if everyone's wearing them![huh]

 

[Justdog]

Jacket

Bought a dress shirt in sears. The salesperson , male, was wearing a full suit, this was the suit and formal section. Just a young guy. Was very impressed with that as I have not seen that happen in there for a while. Actually he wore a sort of retro brown with silver pinstripe. Complimented him.

 

[AdmiralTofu]

I think a lot of reason people ditch the jacket is because modern OTR jackets are just too darned uncomfortable, what with the poor armhole construction and every other design problem we've covered here on the Lounge. I even find myself hanging some of my jackets on the back of my chair for part of the day 'cause it just gets to be too constricting.

I've often thought about what a weird circle it seems to be. Folks don't wear suits/jackets because modern ones are uncomfortable -- and since people wear them less, manufacturers seem to care less about making a wider range of sizes and shapes... resulting in more of the same uncomfortable suits.

At least that's my perception -- I may be way off base. [huh]

-Tofu

 

[Justdog]

Jacket comfort

Just my experience so far, I do not wear a suit in my profession, but own a few, smile. The ones I do own fit like gloves. The jackets I have fit great. They are off the rack. The issue of jacket rise I dont really encounter. The fit is such I can wear them all day without irritation. If I try to engage in tasks that would not normally require a suit then there are issues. They are certainly by no means created equal. I have said I like JNY, they are usually half price onsale super 100 virgin wool made in Canada, perfect fit. I like the look of them as the JNY are 50-60 s looking but not exactly. Unfortunately they just changed that particular suit to have that stripped lining in the arms and made the arms 1 inch shorter. So I am protecting my 3 JNY religiously as they have solid linings and longer easily articulated arms, smile. Hugo Boss I find well tailored as well as Armani. Fit is roomy and comfortable. I have had great experience with virgin wool suits made currently and find todays wool fabrics excellent. I think there is still enough competition out there to get finely made reasonably priced suits. Those of you with more experience in hand tailored suits obviously no more about the finer details of fit. Have to stress that I am careful to aquire suits and jackets of a particular cut, 50 60ish conservative.
A Boss Suit I aquired would definately fall into the euro techno no way in the world articulate the arms category, smile.

 

[AdmiralTofu]

Bought a dress shirt in sears. The salesperson , male, was wearing a full suit, this was the suit and formal section. Just a young guy. Was very impressed with that as I have not seen that happen in there for a while. Actually he wore a sort of retro brown with silver pinstripe. Complimented him.

Slightly fftopic: ... I had the opposite experience at a Dillards a few weeks back. A salesperson -- also young, but nowhere near as nattily dressed as your example. No jacket, dress pants worn around the hips with a mile of fabric bunched up on his slightly-dressier-than-casual shoes, tie peeking out from the back of the collar (which I know is unavoidable sometimes -- it's happened to me before; but still), and the ol' "tie different shade of shirt color" bit (which actually can work -- again, have done it myself -- but in this case, didn't... lime green and darker lime green ). It was definitely a "I'm wearing this because I have to" kinda thing.

But he was very eager and helpful, and that kind of professionalism more than makes up (in my mind, anyhow) for the rest, especially nowadays. And at any rate, I have no room to talk... here's a picture of me three years ago, when I interviewed for the job I have now:

Embarrassed doesn't cover it.

Anyhoo -- sorry for hijacking the thread... back to jackets!

-Tofu

 

[Justdog]

Slightly fftopic: ... I had the opposite experience at a Dillards a few weeks back. A salesperson -- also young, but nowhere near as nattily dressed as your example. No jacket, dress pants worn around the hips with a mile of fabric bunched up on his slightly-dressier-than-casual shoes, tie peeking out from the back of the collar (which I know is unavoidable sometimes -- it's happened to me before; but still), and the ol' "tie different shade of shirt color" bit (which actually can work -- again, have done it myself -- but in this case, didn't... lime green and darker lime green ). It was definitely a "I'm wearing this because I have to" kinda thing.

But he was very eager and helpful, and that kind of professionalism more than makes up (in my mind, anyhow) for the rest, especially nowadays. And at any rate, I have no room to talk... here's a picture of me three years ago, when I interviewed for the job I have now:

Embarrassed doesn't cover it.

Anyhoo -- sorry for hijacking the thread... back to jackets!

-Tofu

Actually all the colors are real good but of course, where is the jacket?

 

[AdmiralTofu]

Actually all the colors are real good but of course, where is the jacket?

Didn't own one yet.

Yeah, I like the colors -- I wish I still had that shirt and tie (although with my tie collection now up to 84 and counting, who needs it? lol ). But I could really have used a jacket. And a belt. And proper dress shoes (you should have seen it -- I was wearing heavy suede boots that I'd been sloshing around in water and chicken blood at my previous job... again, embarrassment). Overall, I think I looked like a teenager on his way to prom whose mom made him dress up and he doesn't really want to go.

"You know you're taking that Hannah girl out, don't you? I promised her mother."

I'm lucky my department at the newspaper is super-casual; I'd have never made it past the interview!

-Tofu

 

[Mike in Seattle]

Yes employers have the right to make certain behavioral demands, but why suit & tie? Simply because tradition says so? Why do we get so wound up if there are 3 or 4 buttons on the sleeve?

Why a suit and tie? Because it projects an image of professionalism and respect for those around you. More importantly, it's the image that the employer wants his staff to project to the world in general, and more directly, to the customers, vendors and other businesspeople his staff comes in contact with while conducting business on his behalf.

More directly, more simply, it's because the boss says you'll wear a suit and tie. He's the one who signs the paychecks, decides on bonuses, raises and so forth, and also decides who's first to get the boot when a cutback in staff is necessary. If you don't want to wear a suit and tie to work, don't take a job where one is required.

As another said, work dress codes & so forth are usually instituted because some who were given credit for being able to discern what is appropriate for certain occasions clearly couldn't.

And more simply - if you don't wear a suit and tie in a job where others do, and wonder why raises, promotions & the like aren't forthcoming...