Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he would rather spend his time making business decisions than “silly” or “frivolous” choices on what to wear, hence his trademark hoodie/T-shirt combo.
I suppose if you founded a multi-billion dollar company that revolutionized media you can write your own rules about dressing for work, but I have to wonder about the rest of us: the realtor who shows up for an open house in sweats, the banker in American Apparel threads, or the hairdresser in full “athleisure”.
As a comfort-pant enthusiast, I don’t have a problem with everyday sweats, but would I wear them to an interview or to a work-related meeting in order to be viewed as being more serious about my work?
Zuckerberg has a point about the amount of time we spend pondering what to wear, but dressing ease can be achieved without resorting to hoodies and Ts. Striking the balance between style and simplicity boils down to choosing loose-fitting fabrics, relaxed fits, and quality-made threads. There is just as much comfort in a soft cotton blouse, stretch-waist pants, and ballet flats as there is in loungewear.
Examples include the Rachel Comey cotton Glinda jumpsuit, on sale for $499 at One of a Few in Gastown. The basic black one-piece is a stunner that will last for many seasons. For a thriftier option, try Aritzia’s Donnie jumpsuit – on sale for $59.99.
For men, I would say visit Vancouver’s Wings + Horns for the twill tweed utility pant, which is coming soon and will be priced when it’s available for fall. The local line also carries fashion sweats for men in the $200 range, though I’m not sure they’re office material … yet. The Ripstop button down shirt ($215) is also an ideal work piece.
If you’re really committed to keeping it simple and following some of Zuckerberg’s style ideals, buy 10 of the same shirts and comfy pants so you don’t have to spend time pondering work wear.
And if anyone dares question why you wear the same outfit every single day, you can tell them how – just like Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg – you are so singularly focused on your job that you don’t want to be weighed down by decisions as frivolous as fashion.
The topic of work dress codes came up in the media last month when BC Assessment employees in Kelowna won the right to wear shorts and blue jeans to the office. Managers were clamping down on staff’s attire, but unionized employees successfully fought back against the effort. An arbitrator concluded that employees could use their own “common sense, reasonableness and good judgment” to determine what they wore to the office.
I’ve worked in offices with and without defined dress codes. In one office, staff was prohibited from wearing denim, which I believe is a dated decision given that jeans can be easily dressed up. Another office I worked in had almost no rules around dressing, which had a certain appeal in that it meant having to spend little time thinking about office attire, though I would spruce it up when I had an important interview or meeting. But the lackadaisical approach did show in the way some of us dressed, including me. I could look a little sloppy at times … or maybe I was just taking my job really, really seriously.
