I don’t know what success means to you but to me it’s always meant not having to shave or dress up for work. Guess I was way ahead of the curve on that but I couldn’t be happier that the world eventually caught up. Nobody bothers to shave or dress up for work anymore . . . or to go pretty much anywhere in public, for that matter.
Not that everyone looks like ZZ Top and Duck Dynasty but the tide has definitely turned in favor of facial hair . . . for men, that is. And in the geek heartland of Silly Valley you’re far more likely to see executives dressed in t-shirts or hoodies and skinny jeans than button down shirts, suits and ties.
Don’t ask me why but I’ve always felt comfortable in jeans, t-shirts and sneakers. I don’t mind button down shirts but can’t stand tucking them in. Maybe it’s some sort of personality flaw or my mom dropped me on my head when I was little. Who knows?
Don’t get me wrong, I dress up fine, have a closet full of nice clothes and all that. I just don’t like wearing any of them. What can I say; suits just don’t suit me.
And no, I don’t have a “uniform” I wear every day. I’m very into variety as a way of life. If I had to eat the same food, do the same work, hang out with the same people and wear the same clothes every day I’d go bonkers from boredom.
Related: What You Wear Matters, More Than You Realize
The big question is where do we go from here? Is the trend toward dressing down our clothes and dressing up our faces here to stay? Is it cyclical, meaning will clean cut and suits come back? Or will it evolve into something entirely different like the flower power 60s hippies with their Nehru jackets, elephant bells and body paint?
Who the heck knows? All I know is I’ve looked and dressed more or less the same since the beginning of time and I’m tickled that the style eventually caught on. And no matter what goes down in Paris, Hollywood or Manhattan’s garment district, I’m sticking with what works for me.
Come to think of it, that’s a pretty good metaphor for pretty much everything in life.
Image credit CDN Digital via Flickr