One of the great things that Baby Boomers brought to the American business culture was the idea of "Business Casual". Up until 1990 I worked in an environment where guys wore ties and gals dressed to the nines. In the early nineties Baby Boomers began to gain control of the business environment and wool pants gave way to khakis which gave way to "Casual Friday" jeans.
So I gotta ask: "What's up with TV anchors wearing those neck chokers?" Both on a national and local level I am constantly amazed at how the "news" folks still hang on to this aging dress code. Really - who are they trying to impress? If you wear a neck choker in the tech world you are written off as a power-broker bureaucrat that doesn't know much about the work.. and I do wish that the idea is an uninformed one.
So my suggestion is that TV and Cable News Anchors start slowly and get a bit casual on Fridays and weekends. Maybe substitute a sweater or golf shirt for the starched shirt and neck chokers? What do you think? Do you care what they wear?
The only way I can keep up on business attire fashion is by watching the news. I don't see people in suits and ties anymore. I haven't bought either in over a decade. I do have a closet full of ties and dress shirts from the old days. I just can't bring myself to throw them out.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first started working as an engineer I actually worked on a drawing board with a pencil a long time before AutoCAD. Everybody wore a tie. We had to replace our ties frequently because they worn out rubbing on the edge of the drawing board and none of the engineers wore silk ties. When I transferred from Dallas to NY, I was told that my light blue suit was unacceptable. I had two choices - charcoal grey, navy blue - and a vest was a must. The last several years that I worked I wore jeans everyday. At first they would occasionally ask why I was in jeans and it wasn't Friday. I always said that I would be on the pilot line in R&D later in the day. Eventually, they quit asking.
ReplyDeleteNow, I only wear a suit and tie for retirement dinners, weddings and funerals. These opportunities are infrequent enough that I never know which size I'll be able to wear!
I really love the casual feel for most things. Weddings, funerals and special events are fine but for the rest of life no neck chockers is fine with me and my husband. Hubby hasn't worn a tie or suit except for the last funeral we went too. I'm afraid his wordrobe is quite out of date.
ReplyDeleteNever thought too much about the news anchors but you are right. Why not?? Maybe they think the suit and tie business gives them more truth and authority to their listeners.
I wish preachers, particularly my husband, would realize that no tie is OK. Brian wears a tie every Sunday. In his defense, I think its still sort of expected in our area though - this is still the midwest Bible Belt and our church is a pretty conservative one. Me, I gave up dressing up a long time ago. I wear jeans all the time. The people in our church eventually accepted it but I still occasionally get a comment about it. One lady recently came up to me crying and saying "Oh you don't know what you've done for my daughters - you've made it so much easier for them to come to church". I was shocked and replied, "It was my pleasure - really". ;)
ReplyDelete> Really - who are they trying to impress?
ReplyDeleteSeveral million people? And the only tool they have to increase their credibility is their appearance?
:-)
Ummm. The sign-in "Comment as:" widget you have here is really difficult to understand and use. I'm never able to comment as a Google account in less than 3 tries. I eventually figured out I can choose Google, do a preview, watch it fail, do a preview again, watch it succeed, then post the comment. All in all, it makes captcha pretty appealling.
ReplyDeleteProbably right Kevin.. a lot of (really) old folks out there are still impressed by the neck choker :)
ReplyDeleteBut what about the younger jeans wearing demographic? Small wonder many of them get their news on the net.
Kevin, I just post as Google but then again I am already signed in. Wonder if anyone else is having issues with commenting?
ReplyDeleteThe tie thing has always fascinated me: "why would anyone CHOOSE to wear one if they don't have to?". Years ago when my boss started working at our ministry he was shocked that the dress code included ties for men. He went on a crusade (no pun intended) to have the dress code changed and he did it! Most of the men saw him as a hero of sorts, a few guys kept on wearing ties.
ReplyDeleteI think they look nice for a special occasion but it would drive me NUTS to have one around my neck!!!
I have the same problem that Kevin has, especially, when I'm using my Blackberry. It usually fails me twice then accepts.
ReplyDeleteThanks Joe and Kevin. I changed the commenting back to the way I originally had it.
ReplyDelete