During the 2008 presidential election primary season, there was at least one site that scrupulously tracked HIllary Clintonâs pantsuits.
I never understood the brouhaha about fashion. Why is such superficial thing so important for some people?
Also, why the wannabe fashion police are so often taken seriously?
Yeah, the suit is a uniform. Depending on your venue your uniform will be more or less closely looked at. The venue determines how âclubbyâ things are. Some clubs need to adhere closer to fashion than others. Iâm guessing if he worked in venture cap in San Jose there would have been comments made.
This has two prongs, really:
- Disproportionate attention to, and judgement of, womensâ appearance compared to mensâ in professional settings, where it should be irrelevant.
- Menâs fashion at this level of dress has almost zero stylistic choices. Itâs a uniform. There is nothing distinctive that makes one suit stand out from another. Itâs boring as hell, but itâs difficult to get it âwrong.â
I knew a woman who had five dresses for work, one for each day of the week, because she refused to spend more of her money on work fashion than that. I remember thinking it was pretty genius, and that I would NEVER do that. Now, how many guys essentially do have a handful of work clothes they cycle around in a similar manner?
All of us?
Edit: I think itâs not unusual for men to do this:
I do think that straight men tend to be very dismissive of fashion though (not surprised that the criticism of the female anchor in the article mostly came from women) - largely, fashion ignores straight men and straight men ignore (or ridicule) fashion. Why is following sports acceptable but fashion not?
This isnât the article I was looking for, but itâll do.
Many men, in my experience, get a bit nervy when they see a woman taking an interest in something that has absolutely nothing to do with them â for all of fashionâs faults, one thing in its favour is that it is utterly uninterested in the opinion of heterosexual males â and their instinctive response is to mock it.
Essentially, I have 2 shirts and one pair of pants for work. White shirt 4 days a week, blue shirt the remaining three. I wear the same shoes and belt every day. My socks, which vary widely and wildly, are never in view. Nobody complains. Nobody compliments. My clothing choices are only very partially due to work requirements. Mostly they simplify my life.
I have black socks and white socks. The white ones are for sports, the black ones are for everyday. If one sock gets old, I throw it out. Everything else can match with its respective colour, so I only ever have a maximum of two (temporarily) odd socks. Itâs not that Iâm completely uncreative, but I see socks as primarily functional (in addition to being cheap and easy to lose or put holes in).
I have a friend who buys his socks in bulk. Buy a couple hundred of identical black socks. Shove them in a drawer, donât bother pairing them. Grab two each day, throw any away when they get holes.
iâm a sixth grade science teacher in texas. nine years ago one of my students told me the 4th week of school how many shirts and pants she thought i had. remarkably she was right. at the time i had 5 button-up shirts and then an assortment of 3 âspirit shirtsâ â t-shirts i could wear on fridays. i also had one pair of black slacks, one of khaki, and one of navy blue. i resolved then to never be so easily pigeon-holed again. i now own 43 different shirts, 3 different pairs of jeans, 3 pairs of black slacks, and 3 pairs of khakis. additionally i have now 6 spirit shirts, and i qualify for every dress-down day that is available and thus have 6 tie-dyes and 2 infini-tees available. i can go 34 school days without repeating a shirt if there are no friday dress-downs and 44 if there are a couple of those. it really isnât fashion that drives this as it is avoiding being pinned down.
Hereâs a video showing him in the same suit each day, her in an ever changing wardrobe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4it1k5OP9Q
Sadly, you notice that many of her outfits are pretty hideous. Not to the level of writing to the show about. But it makes him look smart for opting out of the fashion game.
A strange game. The only winning move is not to play. How about a nice game of chess?
I understand that the fashion industry and its acolytes are very silly, but I have to say that fashion is pretty important to me. Iâm a statistician so if I were being culturally normative I might dress very soberly. There are certainly no expectations on me in my workplace. But for me fashion is a way to express myself creatively. I mostly donât follow trends and I dress reasonably flamboyantly. At the moment I am wearing hot pink tights and a silk bomber jacket with a cartoon tiger on it and a zebra necklace. I wear this to work! I am looking forward to being a really amazingly dressed older woman.
I think @crashproof fairly succinctly nailed the pertinent issues here, making my post here redundant. 
Well durrr! Obviously youâre not one of the popular kids, hel-lo?
Never was. The popular ones were usually shallow and maddeningly boring, so no loss.
I am lucky enough to be able to wear jeans, but still have to wear semi-business-casual shirts.
I do tend to have fun with socks though. The louder the colors and more obnoxious the patterns,the better.
I was late to board this bus, but thatâs totally what I do now. I buy a buttload of a particular mid-length white cotton thickish athletic sock at Costco, and when they eventually wear out, I throw them out. But they last years since I have so many of them.
Iâve worn Leviâs jeans pretty exclusively since 1981 or so. Occasionally Iâll try a slightly different color or weight, and these days itâs always 527 slim boot cut jeans, in one of the cheaper finishes. My shoes are always comfortable New Balance walking shoes (I stopped buying Nikes and other brands when their running shoes became so unbearably hideous). And I wear various t-shirts, and (weather permitting) plaid flannel shirts with the occasional hooded sweatshirt. I have a handful of black collared shirts for somewhat dressier occasions, and Iâll rent a tux for the Emmys or the odd wedding, but otherwise I wear the same damned stuff week after week after week.
I donât mind dressing up, but generally I canât be bothered. It hasnât adversely affected my career in any way I can notice, but thatâs one of the reasons I chose the industry in which I work.
It does occur to me that I really need a haircut this month, however.
What is it with Americans and white socks?
ALL OF US.
(noallcaps)
Yes, but, those shops, they canât always guarantee the suppliers, and sometimes they change the pattern of the weave. THEN WHAT?! Imagine getting to the last pair then that! It doesnât bear thinking about (shudders).
