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From: mcgregor@hemlock.Atherton.COM (Scott McGregor)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Dress code
Message-ID: <28031@athertn.Atherton.COM>
Date: 31 Jul 90 18:41:18 GMT
References: <6610003@hpclapd.HP.COM> <847@meaddata.mead.UUCP>
Sender: news@athertn.Atherton.COM
Reply-To: mcgregor@hemlock.Atherton.COM (Scott McGregor)
Organization: Atherton Technology -- Sunnyvale, CA
Lines: 43

In article <6610003@hpclapd.HP.COM>, defaria@hpclapd.HP.COM (Andy
DeFaria) writes:
> >/ hpclapd:comp.software-eng / mcmahan@netcom.UUCP (Dave Mc Mahan) / 
9:45 pm  Jul 26, 1990 /
> 
> >>Would  you really consider,  say, an
> >>accounting firm, unprofessional   if  they   walked around  in  jeans and a
> >>T-shirt but GOT YOUR TAXES DONE ON-TIME AND SAVED YOU BIG BUCKS?  Of course
> >>not.    (Or, for  that matter,  am    I, a   software engineer,  considered
> >>unprofessional because I don't wear a suit?)
> >
> >Personally, I wouldn't care.  But I am not everyone.  

It is also interesting to consider the flip side of this.  What would you
think if you went and interviewed at a company where everyone in the software
department wore a suit.  Let's assume that you didn't get a chance to
ask anyone about this. But when you went away, what would be your first
impression?
Would you conclude that they MUST have a forced dress code?  Would you
conclude that the place is too "stuffy" for your tastes?  

That's the point, isn't it.  People DO draw conclusions from first 
impressions, and how one dresses is part of the many subtle little
things that these impressions are derived from.  I don't defend
dress codes, but I have also seen people who do like to dress up every day
be ostrasized or ridiculed as being vain by others who regularly dress
more casually.  Some of these people have told me that they don't care
how people dress and don't think others should care how they dress. But
their reactions to those who dressed formally belied that fact.

I think that many people DO care how they and others dress. I think
problem with dress codes is that some people specifically DO want to use
the way they dress to express aspects of "who they are".  When the
image of "who they are" (devil may care, free thinking, casual type)
person conflicts with the  image of that the company decision maker wants to 
see portrayed (structured, dedicated to the organization, formal) that
is where the problem lies.  In my view, dress codes are just artifacts
of the disagreement of image desires of individuals. 

Scott McGregor
(personally, I prefer varied environments with a mixture of casual and
formal dress.  I won't force that on anyone, but I might use that as
one aspect of deciding where I would be comfortable).