The Demise Of The Suit
When I first hired on with Texas Instruments in Dallas in 1968, a formal "no suit" policy distinguished them from many other employers. Wearing a flashy Hawaiian shirt as proof, TI vice president A. Ray McCord indoctrinated us new hires about how no suits and no carpets facilitated a desirable corporate culture.
He laid it out this way.
If a worker with oily shoes wanted to discuss an idea with the company president, fear of soiling the president's carpet shouldn't discourage him. Neither should he be intimidated by the thought of facing a fearsome executive in a three-piece power suit.
I don't recall ever wearing a suit during my 18 month tenure there. And suits certainly had no place in the power plant in Helena, Ark., where I landed next--except for attending meetings at headquarters where coat and tie were the norm.
A transfer to headquarters 15 months later naturally required addressing the wardrobe issue. So my wife went shopping.
One word describes the results: colorful. I was resplendent in red sport coat, plaid shirt, bell-bottom double-knit slacks and flowery tie. Bushy sideburns and longish hair rounded out my stylish appearance. One co-worker enjoyed pointed out that my clothes looked like castoffs from the racks of the Square Deal Pawn Shop. But his bright, canary-yellow sport coat regularly afforded opportunity for jibes of my own.
My choices in attire persisted through successive job changes--until our vice president handed out a book describing how to dress on the job. Taking the hint, I quickly subdued my former flamboyancy with dark pin-stripe wool suits, long-sleeve white cotton shirts and silk ties with conservative patterns. Suits reigned.
Next came another brief stint in a power plant--and the pin-stripes were stowed for a season. But within a few months they resurfaced with a move back to headquarters.
But change was afoot.
Relaxation of the dress code crept in as many companies embraced the concept of a "casual day." So did we, with official blessing to "dress down" on Fridays unless meetings with outsiders dictated otherwise.
Then as casual day oozed into casual week, suits virtually disappeared from most offices.
The cycle now complete, I happily peck at my keyboard today in jeans and sneakers, the comfortable garb I once enjoyed as a college student. The same casual frumpiness on the outside, but vastly different within. And it would be a stretch to determine how the clothes I have worn during my career--suits or not--have impacted my productivity or usefulness.
This New Year will present its own set of unique challenges, some dictating particular clothing appropriate for the occasion. And while clothes themselves won't suit the man for the challenge, the man within the clothes will be defined by how the challenge suits the man.
May God bless each of you with success in every endeavor of this New Year!
Copyright 2005 James McAlister
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