the cultural significance of fashion

Hello my peanuts--

The title of this posting may seem trivial given the content of the rest of the blog.  But I have a topic that has popped up a few times and bears discussion.  I am talking about--the suit.  Yes, you heard that right--the suit.  As purple was once a symbol of royalty, and bared legs a symbol for, oh, "ease", what you wear can make a big statement about who you are and what you are up to.  While it is true that in modern times we are supposed to be less apt to judge a book by its cover, there are still social norms that dictate a style of attire for certain occasions and chief among these in the science and engineering fields, is the idea that professionals wear suits.  I have been surprised recently by the volume of young men and women who do not own a suit.

This may seem trivial, but a suit is the uniform of choice for the job interview.  Even if you will work in shorts and a T shirt after you are hired, a suit to the interview tells the interviewer that you are taking things seriously, and are making an effort to put your best professional foot forward.  The rules of decorum vary across fields and what you wear to get a job at Vogue, for example, may differ.  But in engineering the suit still has a strong hold on expressing that you are a "serious" candidate.

Suits need not break the bank.  Hit your local thrift store, or check out sample sales.  Take a too large hand me down and have it retailored to fit. Check out "Dress for Success", an organization that accepts donations of suits and distributes them to women in need.  Find a suit that fits well and that is COMFORTABLE.  This is key.  Interviews are typically all day affairs.  You may have to do alot of walking.  An elegant but comfortable shoe should also be in your repertoire.  A too tight, or itchy suit and painful shoes will make that interview day drag on-and-on and get worse as it goes.  Trust me on this. I interviewed for a faculty position once with stylish pumps which turned out to be some sort of medieval torture device for feet.  We walked ALOT on that interview, all over campus from one office to the other, up and down.  By the end of the day I could hardly hear  myself think anymore above the din of screaming coming from my feet.  I now carefully vet my shoes, and use nice cushy inserts. The shoes are still stylish, but now I can stylish and still be able to walk all day.

Another fashion term you'll see in engineering that confuses lots of people is "business casual".  This means not so stiff and formal as the suit, but still radiating the sense of professionalism.  It usually amounts to this:

men = dress slacks (bottom part of suit), button down shirt, tie (optional), no jacket required
women = trousers or skirt (bottom part of suit), blouse, maybe a sweater, no jacket required

So in summary, the suit--get one.  Learn how to use it!