I am a ardent follower of the concept behind the french saying “L’habit ne fait pas le moine”. Ever since I have resumed full time studies, I have never missed an opportunity to dress up casually, usually the a pair of cheap jeans, t-shirt, my alltime favorite “ubuntu” sweater and occasionally flip flops. During my spell at Accenture, I was kind of coerced by some obscure policy to dress up “formally”, a real nightmare.
The real trouble with dressing up is that your clothing need to be ironed which is quite a headache. Aside from the practical considerations, I think the trouble is that I remain to be convinced about the true rationale before giving this extra effort.
I spent the last two weeks at the Ministry of Renewable Energy and Public Utilities and to say the least I was the odd one out there with my jeans and t-shirt. I kind of found it amusing in having to explain my presence there to office attendants and having to bear with raised eyebrows on the first week. Its like people are trying to give significance to their functions through formal attires.
Some say that the way you dress reflects your personality and first impressions count but I follow the mantra that goes along the lines: Your inner self reflects your personality instead of your external appearance.
But I guess that’s something technical people have in common… i think.
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4 Responses for "Dress Code"
I can totally relate to that mate! Im supposed to do my summer practice here at the hospital and am forced to wear ‘formal clothes’. It’s just a pain in the arse, having to stand up all day in pants and classic shoes. In european hospitals, everybody wears scrubs and comfortable ‘crocs’, but if you would wear that here, people would think you are working as a domestic…
@Umar
Yes indeed. There was one foreign consultant who told me once that people in developing countries tend to dress up at work. Sigh! Pain in the arse indeed.
Very true.
I usually wear a T-shirt, pair of jeens, pair of slip-on trainers and a coat (’coz of the extra pockets)
Casual attire FTW!
so very true,,specially for the last paragraph
i too worked at accenture and it was truly a nightmare to have to wear formal clothes everyday,even on fridays.it’s usually a day where some companies allow their employees to dress up casually.. but at accenture,it was formal clothes every working day.except for one day- for the independence day celebration we were all allowed to dress casually and i was so glad
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