I quit dressing formally
I've stopped wearing shirts and ties when I'm working in the office. Yesterday I came in wearing my bike boots, a pair of black jeans and an Iron Maiden T-shirt. No-one batted an eyelid, despite everyone else being in formal wear.

Do they not notice, not care, or are they scared of me? It's been going on for a year now. I still dress smartly when I head out to see a customer, though.

Oh, and I do work in IT - perhaps it's normal...
(Half of Stephen Fry's right buttock pissed on your dog on, Thu 29 May 2008, 10:49, 19 replies)

me too
I'm the manager of a dept, (IT) and by far the worst dressed. I've been ramping it slowly downwards since day 1, and hovering only slightly above tramp. Well relatively speaking anyway. I'm down to knackered shoes, shit keks, and a 10 year old shirt. I stopped wearing ties about 5 years ago, and my socks dont match. Its a little embarrassing but i dont really care. Plus all the blokes - I mean all of them - are bloody metrosexuals (or gay, all men under 30 now look gay or have better hair than most wome) and spend a fortune on clothes. They dont understand when i point out to them that that all look like twats. Then again, I cant really talk. Keep it real y'all.
( I have run out of coke is a little sweaty, Thu 29 May 2008, 11:12, closed)

I'm a scientist
and I wear an old shirt, jeans and scruffy shoes almost every day, unless I have meetings to attend (tie, sometimes a suit) or lectures to give (slightly newer shirts and jeans).

Some of my clothes even have small holes in them. But because the holes have mostly appeared as a result of wearing them to work (acid splashes etc - yes, even with a labcoat on) I feel justified in still wearing them and not running the risk of damaging new clothing.

That, and the fact I'm naturally a bit scruffy because it's more comfortable.
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Thu 29 May 2008, 11:16, closed)

@ I have run out of coke
That's very true about men under 30.
I dated one last year - lovely guy, very fit - a climber - but he spent more on clothes than I did. He was always fantastically turned out. His sister is a hairdresser so he just looked fab. It was the tanning habit I wasn't so keen on. That and the fact it was bloody hard work to go out with someone that high maintenance.

My idea of personal grooming is:
leg & bikini wax - every 6 weeks
hair colour - every 6 months
hair cut - once a year (I only brush my hair a couple of times a week)
new clothes - when I see something I like and have the money

Yes, I like to look nice, but tanning booths every three weeks?! Haircuts every month!

Good god, I like to roll out of bed, shower, chuck on some clothes and a bit of slap and I'm done - 20 minutes tops. If I'm going somewhere nice, 30 minutes.

Men over 30 - more confident and laid back about their appearance.
( chickenlady b3ta's very own Elizabeth Taylor, Thu 29 May 2008, 11:28, closed)

at my desk
in jeans and a t-shirt, i have even been known to arrive in shorts and flipflops!
(pogo_it, Thu 29 May 2008, 11:49, closed)

Actually
Since I turned 30, I've actually taken more care in my appearance, so you can imagine how scruffy I used to be.

I get my hair cut every 7 weeks or so nowadays. In my student days I could go three or four months.

Mind you, I've less hair to cut now...
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Thu 29 May 2008, 11:53, closed)

I'm 18,
I wear jeans, tshirt and a pair of scruffy tattered boots or some shoes. Usually all black, maybe blue jeans.

My hair is cut whenever I see my sister or uncle, both of which can cut hair but don't do it for a living. To style it I just comb it back and brylcream it.

Not ALL men under 30 are high maintenace.

*flicks his head and makes a sighing noise* some of us just look nice naturally. ;)

Edit: That's not for work. At the job I was at I had to wear a suit monday to weds, then I'd wear the above for thurs-fri.
(Belgaer is, Thu 29 May 2008, 12:00, closed)

Dress for the job you want
not the one you have.

I've always tried to stick by this rule.

They do tend to frown on my sitting around the office in my pants though.
( Moey, Thu 29 May 2008, 12:10, closed)

^ Gunter
Shame our secretary here doesn't want to be a stripper...
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Thu 29 May 2008, 12:12, closed)

I never thought of it that way
Time for some career advise methinks...
( Moey, Thu 29 May 2008, 12:15, closed)

i think it's an IT thing. My guess is that you are a "Technical" IT person rather than a "management" IT person.
don't change. you still get paid.
() do bears shit on the wooden pope?, Thu 29 May 2008, 12:18, closed)

@Chickenlady
Noooo! Don't brush your hair! You don't need to brush curly hair, just stop it forming a vague matted clumpy scarf around your neck with your fingers and take it for regular walkies...
( Hampster Squared has stuff at www.tilla.co.uk, Thu 29 May 2008, 12:29, closed)

My office is
A shirt, tie and suit-type one.
The staff in the saw-mill and factory floor have to wear a company polo shirt.

I tend to wear jeans, my black army boots, a black t shirt and a leather jacket.
I can get away with it because I say "I have to go into the factory, and I'm not wearing a suit for that"/
( Cawl, Thu 29 May 2008, 12:41, closed)

You didn't have to explain you were in IT.....
...after you said you wore an Iron Maiden t-shirt.

Please die you walking cliche.
(Papa Chocolat, Thu 29 May 2008, 12:44, closed)

@ Hampster
The only time I brush my hair is when I wash it - so I comb it wet...that's it. And I only wash it three times a week max because otherwise it goes all fluffeh...which nice in kittin but not not in mai hayr



why on earth does talking about my hair turn me into a lolcat?
( chickenlady b3ta's very own Elizabeth Taylor, Thu 29 May 2008, 13:11, closed)

@ Papa Choclat
...I don't even like Iron Maiden. I just happen to own one of their T-shirts.

And the biker boots are actually for riding a bike in. So it's not THAT bad.

(Usually it's the same kit but with a big wooly green jumper instead of a T-shirt...)
(Half of Stephen Fry's right buttock pissed on your dog on, Thu 29 May 2008, 13:24, closed)

Pyjamas
We work from home, and often spend most of the day in pyjamas. The commute's good too.
( seeballs Doo da da doo da da doo da da doo, da da doo da do, Thu 29 May 2008, 13:46, closed)

Working from home
You could conceivably work in the nude, should the desire take you.
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Thu 29 May 2008, 13:58, closed)

@Chickenlady...again
Phew!


...is it because you haz cheezburger?
( Hampster Squared has stuff at www.tilla.co.uk, Thu 29 May 2008, 14:07, closed)

@ Hampster
Yes, I haz cheezeburger and I iz in ur hayr makin it kurrrrrrrrleeeeeeeeee!
( chickenlady b3ta's very own Elizabeth Taylor, Thu 29 May 2008, 14:10, closed)