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Comment by davidw | Hacker News Reader

People wear all kinds of silly fashions here in Italy, which is pretty much the fashion capital of the world. Some of them may be well made, name-brand silly fashions, but they certainly look odd 5 years out from when they were 'in'.

I'm with Zuckerberg, and Jobs with his 'uniform' on this one: most of that junk is a complete waste of your time. The only winning move is not to play. You don't have to wear just sweatshirts and jeans, but pick stuff you like and get on with life and stop worrying about it.

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Mimicry has its place for those who haven't succeeded globally by the age you're supposed to start wearing formal, or at least "decent" clothes, like Zuckerberg and Jobs did.

by the age you're supposed to start

"supposed to"? According to why? And what gives this amorphous "they" any standing to dictate such a thing?

Fuck that... I like to dandy it up and rock the "two and a half piece" suit look sometimes (that is, waistcoat and - in my case - a cravat, but no outer jacket), but I do it because I like it, not because somebody says it's what you're supposed to do. And the rest of the time, this 40 year old sees no reason not to wear jeans and a Twisted Sister t-shirt.

Why don't you put "jeans and Twisted Sister t-shirt" version on LinkedIn profile?

In the neighbourhood I'm known as "the bathrobe guy with funny facial hair", so I get you. I don't want attract people around me who will judge a book by its covers, but majority people I interacted with are living in that cave. It is pretty oblivious to walk around and think that your appearance doesn't matter to substantial number of people you do business and socialize with.

If you want to leave appearance of laid-back honest doer, that's fine. Not all people do.

Why don't you put "jeans and Twisted Sister t-shirt" version on LinkedIn profile?

That's actually a damn good idea. The picture that is there now is just one I picked because it's a halfway decent picture. I'm not terribly photogenic, so I usually try to avoid having my picture taken at pretty much all costs. If I had a good picture of myself in jeans and a T/S t-shirt, I'd switch it right now.

As soon as I can get a new picture taken, I'll do it though.

It is pretty oblivious to walk around and think that your appearance doesn't matter to substantial number of people you do business and socialize with.

Oh I don't think it doesn't matter to some people, I just try very hard not to think about those people or their opinions. Maybe if I would "play by the rules" more I'd be richer or more successful or whatever, but it's just not worth it...

After all, as they say

    Getcha a 3-piece Wall Street smile and son you'll
    look just like me
    I said "Hey man, there's something that you oughta know"
    I tell ya Park Avenue leads to Skid Row.[1]

[1]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJrbHapH5pM

I think the failure of so many in the software/IT business to dress and groom to professional standards has important consequences. The perception of the social prestige of the occupation is lowered in the broader society. This in turn invites the misguided pointy-haired-boss managerial approach to developers. In the eyes of many, software people appear to be some sort of lower level technicians like the guys who stock the soda machines, because that's how they're dressed. Ergo software development must be commodity labor like the soda machine guys. We should outsource!

The personal computer industry has its roots in the late-60s/early-70s California counterculture, which deliberately rejected those "professional standards" and the corporate mindset which went with them. It is not a "failure", but a conscious expression of a different value system.

People typically care more about the respect of their peers than the respect of random people in general. Wearing a suit among software people doesn't make you look "professional", it makes you pretentious at worst and just a bit weird at best.

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