Scott’s Brewed Thoughts
I think as a society, we’ve gotten a little too relaxed. And I’m not saying that’s all bad. For example, when ties disappeared from business casual, I think everyone silently agreed that was a win. Nobody has ever said, “You know what I miss? Feeling like I’m being strangled by a decorative rope.”
But somewhere along the way, business casual turned into “I woke up 7 minutes ago, and this was on the floor.”
Now I understand different jobs have different dress codes. If you work in a warehouse, a shop, construction, or IT, crawling under desks — wear what makes sense. You need to move, lift, crawl, and survive the day. I work in IT. I’m under desks, running cable, moving equipment, and carrying enough keys to open a small prison. I wear jeans & a Polo. But they’re clean jeans, no holes, and they hold my everyday carry: flashlight, knife, keys, and probably three USB drives that I have no idea what’s on anymore.
But if you work in an office and the dress code says business casual, I don’t think that should mean a graphic T-shirt, ripped jeans, and sneakers that look like they survived a house fire.
Maybe dress pants and a polo? Button-up shirt? Something that says, “I work here,” not “I just stopped in to use the Wi-Fi.”
What really got me thinking about this was delivery drivers and uniforms. Think about it:
- USPS — uniform
- UPS — brown uniform
- FedEx — uniform
- Pest control — uniform
- Target — red shirt, khakis
- Amazon — vest, usually looks presentable because they’re jogging marathons to front doors all day
But the other day I got a delivery, and the guy had the Amazon vest on over what looked like either a tank top… or possibly just hopes and dreams. And I thought, we have officially reached the “the vest is good enough” era.
We need to be better than the vest-is-good-enough era.
And then there’s the pajama situation.
When did pajamas become acceptable public attire?
At some point, we all just agreed, “Yep, SpongeBob pajama pants at Walmart — totally normal.”
I’m not saying I’ve never run to the store in questionable clothing. Everyone gets one emergency gas-station run per month, where fashion rules don’t apply. But some people look like they woke up, gave up, and went out.
Even with remote work, I really think you should still get dressed for the day. You don’t have to wear dress shoes in your living room, but at least put on real clothes. It does something to your brain. Pajamas are for sleeping, not spreadsheets.
I really believe that how you dress sets the tone for your day.
You dress like you’re going to accomplish something, you probably will.
You dress like you’re going back to bed, well… that might also happen.
This isn’t about wearing a suit every day.
It’s about not giving up on society, one pair of pajama pants at a time.
Anyway, that’s my rant for the day.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go find my flashlight, my keys, and probably the server room key that somehow ends up in my pocket every weekend.
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