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Comment by eric_b | Hacker News Reader

As someone who wears jeans and t-shirts to work almost exclusively, this comes off as old fashioned and probably not terribly topical anymore.

That said, he's not entirely wrong. What you wear absolutely affects how other people perceive, treat, and judge you (rightly or wrongly). Good to always be mindful of what your appearance says to other people, whether you care what they think or not.

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Today’s rule is, “when in Rome”

What many don't realize is that i goes both ways. They might be dressed nicer than us, but I'm going to assume they're sleazy salesmen like just about everyone else that still wears a suit. I'll assume that no one half way competent works at the company, because we work in a competitive industry and the best people have options to work in better environments.

I'm sure most of us here have worked with enough useless consultancies to know that there is no correlation between dress and ability. It's not even a class symbol anymore, the biggest group of people that wear suits to work are in retail these days.

When you say suit, do you include sports jackets/blazers? I ask because I do see a few people who choose to wear those as a fashion statement. It's not something super popular, but you see it here and there.

Um... Some people like dressing up for work and feel professional attire gives them confidence.

This has always been important to me, and it's one of the ways that I mentally distinguish my "I'm going to go out and be professional" me from my "I'd rather not be working" me. When I tie my tie, I'm thinking about my customers and my employer. When my tie comes off, I don't think about them anymore.

So you know there's no correction between dress and ability but you're going to assume that people who wear suits are bad at their job? Seems like a poorly supported assumption.

You're right, correlation was not the right word to use, perhaps "positive correlation" would have fit better?.

I have found a correlation between dress code and competence, places that focus on the former can't afford to be picky with the latter in such a competitive market. The more talented can usually get paid just as well at more relaxed companies.

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