The Accelerated Management Blog!

Well, I tend to work in my pajamas most days. There's really only 2 choices for this time of year - shorts or boxers.
 

I've found that although wearing a tie can be useful, depending on the client location, you also have to wear the rest of the clothes for it to work. I try to wear as little as possible, favoring cutoff bluejeans shorts, but if I'm going out, I'll put on a tie and some sandals. If it's really cool, I'll also try to find a shirt. Once, I think I wore a coat too...now that I think about it......? Maybe it was winter though, 'cause there was a lot of snow laying around.
 

I can see the point of wearng a tie if you are going for an interview or court...otherwise I don't
 

I think that this really depends on where you are working and who your clients are. "Business Casual" seems to be the norm at most big corporations in the US these days. If you are providing certain types of professional services (legal, accounting, business consulting), I believe that you should be professionally dressed when you show up for the initial client meeting. This often means wearing a suit or jacket and, for men, a tie. After you have developed the relationship, you may choose to "dress down". There used to be an old rule of thumb called "two up" (or something like that.) The basic premise was that you were to supposed to dress at least two levels more formally than the client to whom you were calling on. I think that it never hurts to err on the side of being too conservative rather than too casual when calling on a prospective client for the first time. How you dress is really part of your personal and professional "branding". In my case, I wear a tie about 95% of the time when working. Even though dress codes have become more casual, I have continued to dress in a more conservative fashion. In my industry, I am known as "the guy who always wears the suit" and this plays well into the image that I am trying to maintain. I'm sure that in some industries, my conservative dress would make me look like a freak, but in my profession, it seems to work well. (Unless people really do think I'm a freak and I just haven't found out yet ..)
 

For years I worked landsacping and was always in a grubs wardrobe, so any time I got the chance I enjoyed the times that I got to go to business luncheons and such and had the opportunity to dress it up a bit. Now that I am on my own, I find that "the clothes do make the man" or at least helps get me into the groove of what I am doing. IF I know that I am going to be doing some marketing or meeting clients, etc. I get dudded up first thing. This seems to get me motivated and in a client meeting mode. This works the opposite way aswell. On days where I want to spend family time and not think about work, I keep dressed down and it seems to keep me from concentrating on work during my family time.
 

Long ago there was a book by John T. Molloy, "Dress for Success." It's been updated, but that book is a definitive work on why clothes matter, and what clothes work. It ought to be required reading for anyone starting a business or trying to get a job.
 

I do like your views in comment #4. "Business Casual" is also the norm at most corporations (big and small) in the UK these days. I like the view of being professionally dressed the first time you meet a client and then change your attire accordingly thereafter. I was once told if you want to get promotion 'dress like your boss'. If they always wear a suit/tie so should you!
 

Andrew, Business casual in the UK? I am disallusioned - I thought every businessman in London wore a suit with tophat and tails. Business Casual can be a slippery slope - people dress more and more casually as time goes on and this can get out of hand if not managed properly. One company I worked with had a guideline that I thought was great: "If you get home after work and don't feel the need to change into something more comfortable, then you were probably dressed too casually.."
 

Comment #8: great guideline "If you get home after work and don't feel the need to change into something more comfortable, then you were probably dressed too casually..". I've worked at places where the 'dress code' guidelines have been pages and pages long (and still abused!).
 

I always wore a tie up to the end of 2006 when, due to stress I was off work for several weeks. Since returning to work I've not worn a tie and to be honest I'm not sure why. It hasn't really made a difference to my work. I have noticed that generally fewer and fewer men at the office are bothering to wear one, however, peoples attitudes seem to be different also after a very challenging period in the company. So perhaps a slip in standards of dress does not indicate a more relaxed working environment, but moreover is an indication of a discontented workforce who go to the wardrobe in the morning and get a small amount of satisfaction from the feeling of being rebellious. "That'll teach em!" I'm thinking about starting to wear one again as I'm sure it has an effect on attitude and perhaps more importantly it effects how other people perceive you! (I'm sure it'll help cover my belly to boot!)
 

I always wore a tie up to the end of 2006 when, due to stress I was off work for several weeks. Since returning to work I've not worn a tie and to be honest I'm not sure why. It hasn't really made a difference to my work. I have noticed that generally fewer and fewer men at the office are bothering to wear one, however, peoples attitudes seem to be different also after a very challenging period in the company. So perhaps a slip in standards of dress does not indicate a more relaxed working environment, but moreover is an indication of a discontented workforce who go to the wardrobe in the morning and get a small amount of satisfaction from the feeling of being rebellious. "That'll teach em!" I'm thinking about starting to wear one again as I'm sure it has an effect on attitude and perhaps more importantly it effects how other people perceive you! (I'm sure it'll help cover my belly to boot!)
 

For years I worked landsacping and was always in a grubs wardrobe, so any time I got the chance I enjoyed the times that I got to go to business luncheons and such and had the opportunity to dress it up a bit. Now that I am on my own, I find that "the clothes do make the man" or at least helps get me into the groove of what I am doing. IF I know that I am going to be doing some marketing or meeting clients, etc. I get dudded up first thing. This seems to get me motivated and in a client meeting mode. This works the opposite way aswell. On days where I want to spend family time and not think about work, I keep dressed down and it seems to keep me from concentrating on work during my family time.
 

Long ago there was a book by John T. Molloy, "Dress for Success." It's been updated, but that book is a definitive work on why clothes matter, and what clothes work. It ought to be required reading for anyone starting a business or trying to get a job.