Why Do You "Dress Up"?

[warbird]

Any girl who says something negative is doing you a favor. She is immediately letting you now she is not worth any of your valuable time. You immediately know to move on.

Well said brother.

 

[warbird]

My office is in my house, thus I can wear whatever or nothing. When I go to meet someone I almost always wear a suit or appropriate attire for going shooting. The type of shooting will determine the style of clothing.

I rarely wear a suit when there's no need. But I usually wear khakis and either a collared shirt or a camp shirt. I almost always wear a hat.

 

[Jovan]

Hmm, maybe this is an age thing. Because I get compliments from women (and men, too) all the time. I walked into a supermarket one day in suit, tie, and fedora, and a nice woman stopped in her tracks and said, "Now, that's how a man should look." Seersucker suits, spectator shoes, bow ties, boutonnieres -- comments, I get comments, and they are all positive. But I am 49, and my hair is going quite gray, and although I don't think I look old, I do look my age (finally!), and kind of distinguished, kind of moneyed. I get "Sir" a lot these days. I think that I must look like I "own the company." And people seem to like it.

So hang in there a few decades. It gets better.

You're actually right. I have gotten more appreciative looks from the 30+ crowd.

Any girl who says something negative is doing you a favor. She is immediately letting you now she is not worth any of your valuable time. You immediately know to move on.

Oh, for sure, but I know immediately if she is worth any time by talking to her for a few minutes. Same with men.

 

[Panache]

I dress up because because to me being well dressed is the mark of a gentleman.

I like the way I look in jackets, ties, and hats. If being flamboyant and debonair is no longer the modern style then I will tip my hat to the rest and walk a different path.

Cheers

 

[Highlander]

Well, I have alway thought that having "A STYLE" was important.. They way you tie your tie, or wear a scarf under your top coat in the winter. All say things about you.

Dressing up is one of those ways, and a true gentleman will dress for the occasion. If it's a Safari or a Hunting trip, I'll dress for that... An adventure, well that.

But for going out to dinner with a significant other... Being dressed is the way to go. It'll also inspire her to dress well also.

Panache... WELL SAID...

And for the story of the Woman saying something negative. YOU BET... Don't wait, MOVE on pass GO, get your $200 and find something new. She's not worthy of your time and effort

 

[DerMann]

When I get the usual "Why do you dress up?" question, if I'm feeling particularly haughty, I'll just retort, "Why do you dress down?"

It's gotten some pretty shocked responses, and I try not to use it, as it is snide and makes me look like I have an ego the size of Bournemouth.

Since I'm really a non-confrontational sorta guy, I'll just say (nine times out of ten) that it's my personal style.

What really gets me is the people who ask,"Why do you dress so formally?" when I wear a navy blazer, khaki trousers, striped blue shirt and cordovan brogues. To those, I quickly snap back, "This isn't formal, this is sports casual." They usually are confounded by the term sports casual, and ask how I would play football/basketball/any sort of -ball in it. Even better are the people who ask," Why do you where a suit everyday?" When in reality I have only one black pinstripe suit and a slew of different coloured trousers and sportjackets. To them, a curt,"It's not a suit." as I walk off.

Oh, by the way, these questions are all asked by fellow students at my high school. I've not yet graduated.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Knowing me, Knowing you. Ahaaaaaa.

And on that BOMBSHELL . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1v8VAt5hO8s

bk

sorry, all induced by the phrase "sports casual" which i haven't thought about for years. Hours of laughs.

 

[Slim Portly]

I chose early on a career path that had nothing to do with the pursuit of wealth. For that reason I have always been rich in everything but money, and therefore clothing was as only purchased to replace whatever needed replacing, and always with functionality and budget foremost in consideration.

Now that I am in my mid-forties I find myself with a job that not only meets my inner needs, it also pays a decent salary. Because of my new-found ability to dress for looks rather than just practicality, I have spent the past year slowly building my wardrobe and having fun doing it. I started with shirts, then ties, then trousers, then shoes. Then on to suits, cufflinks, and braces. I now have a fairly well-rounded choice of apparel, and I didn't have to break the bank to do it.

At my office there are approximately 120 employees, with a ratio somewhere around ten to one women to men. The women exhibit a wide variety of style, but sadly the men, almost without exception, dress horrendously. Jeans, sneakers, and untucked t-shirts are the norm. The encroachment of "casual" dress days has crept so far into my workplace that no one finds this at all troublesome, even though we are working with the public.

Of course there was good-humoured ribbing as the guys watched my dress go from a shirt and tie a few times a week to a suit every day, but with time I believe that I have won almost everyone over. I am a dedicated worker and I go out of my way to help my co-workers whenever possible, and I have found that a friend is much less likely to judge one harshly. At worst I am considered a bit eccentric, but I can live happily with that.

Dressing this way is not just a lark. Of course it is a pleasure, but it is also a way to show respect for myself and those around me. My customers are always pleased to be helped by someone who has taken the trouble to be both courteous and presentable. My supervisors receive many positive comments about me, and they have let it be known that they too appreciate my effort.

Ultimately, I dress the way I do because I want to, I am allowed to, and in some ways I am rewarded for it. I like how it makes me feel. I like how the world perceives me. Every day we create anew who and what we are. With my wardrobe I present myself as a man who knows who he is, how he feels, and what he wants. A three-piece suit worn with confidence, a fedora worn with flair, a set of two-tone oxfords worn with panache, all of this says so much more about a man than a "humorous" t-shirt or a pair of jeans with factory-installed knee holes.

As a young lad I was told by my father that one is always being watched. At the time I took that to mean that I was always being judged. Now I know that it also means I am setting an example. By dressing with style, by bringing back the past, we fight the good fight. We take a stand against entropy. We tell the world, "You can try harder. You can do better."

 

[Polka Dot]

I work better.
[...]
On casual days, I am far more likely to not feel like working, to sit sloppily at my desk. The more casually I'm dressed, the more casual my attitude toward my work. The very act of dressing carefully in the morning mentally prepares me for the day.

I agree completely. Days that I take the time to look nicely -- sadly, not everyday -- I invariably get more done. There are many reasons to dress sharp, but this is the one that motivates me.

I also feel a bit of pressure to dress more professionally now that I'm in graduate school; jeans and tennis shoes just don't cut the mustard. As a fellow student put it, grad students are often TAs or even course instructors. Being sometimes only a few years older than the undergraduates they are teaching, it's important to create that distance and authority with clothing choices. I'm not yet teaching, but in my department at least, dressing nicely is expected.

 

[PuzzledPictures]

For me, I'm just trying something different, and I get to learn something along the way. But I'm the kind of person that gets down and dirty on spot. I wear clothes as clothes. I am careful not to spill things on them or tear them, but that has nothing to do with the fact that I'm wearing a suit or even dressier pants. Even if I'm wearing a t-shirt, I don't want it to get ruined. I'm pretty laid back, though. I sit cross-legged on the sidewalk with a suit on and I eat my lunch. That's just the way I am.

 

[Ranger01]

I dress the way I dreess b/c I feel comfortable in it. I will go from one day wearing cuffed jeans, white t shirt, boots, and a biker jacket when Im hanging out with friends. To wearing a pair of kakhis, buttoned up shirt and a sport coat, when Im feeling casual. To wearing a full suit and tie with a fedora when I feel like dressing up. I have been like this since I was younger. I used to go to concerts at a local club wearing a suit. The other ppl (all dressed like they came out of a Hot Topic catalog) there would look at me and think I was crazy, I would just smile and laugh when they asked me if I was crazy, then I would ask them why the look like characters from The Road Warrior.

I am currently a autobody repair and refin student at the local tech college, but I will still go some days wearing a suit and I will just take my tie off, put on my overalls change into my boots and get to work. My instructor has actually berated me for wearing this "innapropriate" clothing to class. But I wear it anyways, I feel that no matter what job I am doing I should always look my best.

 

[Twitch]

I "dressed up" for 35 years everyday for work and am now officially sick of it. You will be too if you have to choose clothes and put outfits together for decades. Since I've been ill for ther past 4 years occassionally putting a suit on is tolerable again. Unfortunately most occassions have been for funerals. My pockets are full of those "in memory of..." cards.

 

[Kiri]

It makes me feel more feminine and like a lady. I started wearing vintage about 3 months ago. But before that I had started wearing dresses and skirts and slowly it drifted into full blown vintage. I've dressed straight vintage every day for about 2 1/2 months now, here's hoping it'll last.

 

[Gilboa]

The way of the chameleon ...

I dress up because because to me being well dressed is the mark of a gentleman.

I salute you!




When I do dress up I do so because I want to looking different from the rest. I also like to display that there IS a difference between male and female curves. I also like to slip into different 'characters' when I dress up.


And I enjoy the reactions when I appear dressed up: I do not have to open doors, I do not have to light my own cigarette and nobody swears when I'm present, manners return, just the way it should be

People are naturally more polite, have dignity and are respectful to one another when dressed up.


Let us have some fun while everything else is in chaos and continue dressing up!


Oh, before I forget:

It is not just the 'chaps' that ogle, the ladies do too!!:whistling :whistling :whistling

 

[Diamondback]

I don't "dress up", although my entire wardrobe is styled after WWII officer's khakis--I find it helps as a WWII Studies specialist to look like I know my subject, plus the similarity to some LEOs' uniforms gets me a little extra professional courtesy from TSA sometimes when I travel.

If I could find the breakaway fittings I require to wear a necktie and find a reasonably durable repro uniform jacket that's low maintenance, I might consider stepping a bit more toward "dress uniform"--the tie thing is a big one, when you've had some fool try to strangle you with your own tie once you get real interested in having some kind of quick-release option.

And I've been like this since about 2003.

 

[The Good]

When it comes down to it, my style is more of what today's business casual is, but mixed with vintage or retro elements such as a fedora, a slicked and parted hairstyle incorporating the use of Brylcreem and pomade, and a U.S. Navy G-1 style leather jacket. I frequently wear dress shirts and chinos, in addition to short sleeved button downs, polos, and even jeans (indigo "rigid" Levi 505) just about every other day. This is such a contrast to how I was three years ago, when I just wore ill-fitting, untucked logo t-shirts, baggy shorts, and faded, wrinkled jeans almost exclusively... it didn't help that I was overweight for most of the last decade.

So, why do I "dress up?" (if it is to be considered so) Because it is a part of who I am as a person. This is the image I want to present to the rest of the world; one of a sophisticated, smart, friendly, accessible, yet still a somewhat cool individual dressed for the occasion appropriately, with class.

 

[avedwards]

I'm frequently asked why I dress up in college (I wear a shirt and tie every day and a suit most days) and the answer is quite simply because I like it. Where I live people on the streets can be so rude and narrow-minded that the way I dress has nothing to do with the way I like to be perceived by others as in most cases it just draws insults from strangers. On the occaisions when I receive compliments (usually from elderly people) it's reassuring to know that someone appreciates how I dress.

When seeing friends/aquaintances I sometimes dress up for them as well as for myself because I know they will appreciate it. For example I might wear a three piece suit rather than a two piece suit because I know they'll appreciate the waistcoat and pocket watch.

 

[Derek WC]

Generally, just because I am more comfortable in a suit. If I'm not wearing one I don't feel right.

Ahh, and because of the Golden era of course.

 

[Shangas]

Excuse the term I used for wearing dressier clothes according to today's standards, but for those who wear suits and dresses on a regular basis or on occasion, whether vintage or not, exactly why do you do it? When did this feeling of creating such an image first come to you? Has it taken over your wardrobe completely or is it every so often that you decide to "dress up"? I'm very curious to everyone's answers.

I "dress up" because I was tired of looking like a slob. Also, I was tired of looking like everyone else (who also look like slobs). Jeans, T-shirt, shorts, singlets, sandals and sneakers are not becoming of anyone, and I made a decision around the time I started university education, that I would cease wearing such things.

 

[MissHannah]

I don't think of myself as looking 'dressed-up'. I'm just wearing the clothes I happen to like. I do own jeans - vintage of course - and I wear them about 20% of the time. The rest of the time it's pencil skirts, suits and dresses, all with heels. I do occasionally wear brogues or saddle shoes with a straight skirt and sweater but I have to be careful I don't look like I'm trying to be a bobby-soxer - it would be undignified for a woman of my age!