crossing our fingers
I don't know how long it's been since I posted my rant about our company dress code. It comes to mind now because we have just changed from summer "casual" to...ummm...whatever is not "casual".
The standard around here is shirt and tie. I hate ties. I'd rather go without, but that's how it is. In most companies, when you go casual, it means dockers and a golf shirt. Our company is a bit different. We work in the golf industry, and some knucklehead in upper management believes if we dared wear golf shirts to work, the perception (I'm not sure from whom) would be we don't do any work, but rather play golf all day. Nobody would think that of the banks or insurance companies in town, where golf (or polo...pick your sport) shirts are the norm, because...well, because they don't work near golf courses, or polo ponies. The fact that we are very productive and can show the results of days spent hard at work and not playing golf doesn't seem to matter much.
My personal opinion is that train of thought should be derailed. It's a crock of shit. First of all, there are people who believe we play golf all day here. There always will be. They think that now, without the added window dressing of golf shirts, and nothing is going to change that opinion. We could show up in Armani suits, or we could show up in leather thongs straight off a Chippendales calender (my apologies for the mental image that accompanied that part of my argument), and these people would still think we play golf all day. Our version of "casual" comes in about three pages of legalese that can be boiled down to three words. Lose the tie. Still the same kind of dress shirt, capable of supporting a tie. Still the same pants. You just don't have to wear the tie. For that reason I boycott the summer "casual" policy. I wear a tie all summer, and when people ask me why, I tell them.
I refuse to be appeased by the half-assed excuse for a casual dress policy. I want it all dammit. I want to dress like the rest of corporate America in the summer. I want my goddamn golf shirt. Until I get it, as much as I hate ties, I will wear one in protest. I refuse to participate. Some boycott the policy and wear golf shirts despite the rules. The beauty of my boycott is it is well within the dress code rules. There's nothing illegal about it, and yet, my protest draws attention. If I could get everyone to participate, upper management would have to scratch their head and wonder why...why nobody is satisfied with their attempt to appease the masses with something that isn't what they want. Alas, most of the lemmings gobble up the scraps they are offered and won't hold out for steak.
For that reason, some consider me strange. I wouldn't argue against them. You will now, too, because none of that is the topic of the day, but it does set it up.
It seems at least once a year (and very recently), the newspaper here has an article in the lifestyle section that argues against my viewpoint. It says corporate America is tired of the informal look and the pendulum is swinging back. Men miss their suits and ties. They bring in experts from..where? Retail outlets for business apparel, of course...the very people who stand to profit if this trend was indeed out there. Is it? Hell no!
I have many friends who work in the business world. We occasionally meet for lunch, and my lack of a golf shirt in the summer makes me the object of friendly jokes, and some half heartedly wish me luck in my protest exercise. None of them are yearning for a suit and tie. They're happy, at least apparel-wise, that they aren't me. So who is spotting this trend? NOBODY! The people who say they are, are the people who sell suits and ties. They're crossing their fingers, hoping their prophesy becomes self-fulfilling, because they have inventory that isn't moving. Nobody wants their suits and ties. Nobody will wear them if not forced to by convention. They thank God for weddings and funerals. They're hoping to stir up some business.
Please, enough with the new trend. That emperor has no clothes.
The standard around here is shirt and tie. I hate ties. I'd rather go without, but that's how it is. In most companies, when you go casual, it means dockers and a golf shirt. Our company is a bit different. We work in the golf industry, and some knucklehead in upper management believes if we dared wear golf shirts to work, the perception (I'm not sure from whom) would be we don't do any work, but rather play golf all day. Nobody would think that of the banks or insurance companies in town, where golf (or polo...pick your sport) shirts are the norm, because...well, because they don't work near golf courses, or polo ponies. The fact that we are very productive and can show the results of days spent hard at work and not playing golf doesn't seem to matter much.
My personal opinion is that train of thought should be derailed. It's a crock of shit. First of all, there are people who believe we play golf all day here. There always will be. They think that now, without the added window dressing of golf shirts, and nothing is going to change that opinion. We could show up in Armani suits, or we could show up in leather thongs straight off a Chippendales calender (my apologies for the mental image that accompanied that part of my argument), and these people would still think we play golf all day. Our version of "casual" comes in about three pages of legalese that can be boiled down to three words. Lose the tie. Still the same kind of dress shirt, capable of supporting a tie. Still the same pants. You just don't have to wear the tie. For that reason I boycott the summer "casual" policy. I wear a tie all summer, and when people ask me why, I tell them.
I refuse to be appeased by the half-assed excuse for a casual dress policy. I want it all dammit. I want to dress like the rest of corporate America in the summer. I want my goddamn golf shirt. Until I get it, as much as I hate ties, I will wear one in protest. I refuse to participate. Some boycott the policy and wear golf shirts despite the rules. The beauty of my boycott is it is well within the dress code rules. There's nothing illegal about it, and yet, my protest draws attention. If I could get everyone to participate, upper management would have to scratch their head and wonder why...why nobody is satisfied with their attempt to appease the masses with something that isn't what they want. Alas, most of the lemmings gobble up the scraps they are offered and won't hold out for steak.
For that reason, some consider me strange. I wouldn't argue against them. You will now, too, because none of that is the topic of the day, but it does set it up.
It seems at least once a year (and very recently), the newspaper here has an article in the lifestyle section that argues against my viewpoint. It says corporate America is tired of the informal look and the pendulum is swinging back. Men miss their suits and ties. They bring in experts from..where? Retail outlets for business apparel, of course...the very people who stand to profit if this trend was indeed out there. Is it? Hell no!
I have many friends who work in the business world. We occasionally meet for lunch, and my lack of a golf shirt in the summer makes me the object of friendly jokes, and some half heartedly wish me luck in my protest exercise. None of them are yearning for a suit and tie. They're happy, at least apparel-wise, that they aren't me. So who is spotting this trend? NOBODY! The people who say they are, are the people who sell suits and ties. They're crossing their fingers, hoping their prophesy becomes self-fulfilling, because they have inventory that isn't moving. Nobody wants their suits and ties. Nobody will wear them if not forced to by convention. They thank God for weddings and funerals. They're hoping to stir up some business.
Please, enough with the new trend. That emperor has no clothes.
Labels: Bizarro World
John put this out here at 7:03 AM
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