There comes a time in every mans life when he has to pick his first suit. It used to be that this was the making of a man; the suit would command, inspire and flaunt ambition to those in lesser attire. Then came the power tie, something Wall Street believed would inspire greatness in the eyes of the beholder. Feminists would critique, however, that the tie itself is just a representation of the phallic male symbol of power and that its presence alone was unnecessary and that any addition would be Freudian. Middle and lower, entry level, management even caught on to the trend and when the piano tie was even considered to be "a power tie" the fad was truly over.
Nowadays however the number of additions, colours, styles and fabrics can literally drive a man insane. As it is these days a mans first suit is no longer bought for his first job ( and by first job I don't mean the paper round as a teenager, that would be silly, although the tips would have probably been a little better). As childhood gets ever shorter these days its more like a boys first suit, then a mans.
My first suit was bought from ASDA "George" for my senior school, 6th form or college, depending on where in the UK you come from. It was also either year 11, 9, lower 5th or G7 depending on nothing at all and probably made up by the school you attended. I never really understood the difference or similarity between the ever complicated English schools system. Anyway.....
Today's suit can consist of trousers, jacket, waistcoat, tie, bow tie, cufflinks, shirt, pinstripe shirt, pinstripe trousers, pinstripe suit, pinstripe pinstripe pinstripe, socks (any colour as long as they are brightly coloured and in no way match anything else you have on) and of course shoes (which also don't need to match the colour of your suit). Women think they have it bad. Admittedly we only ever have to make this choice once, but then there comes the never ending array of ties that we apparently need. If there is one thing I loved about my first Suit it was that the tie was bought by the school and was identical to everyone else’s. Perhaps this would eliminate any phallic competition between men that ties allow; big knot, small knot, tight knot, long fat bit, short thin bit, visa verse, tucked in, and many more.
The whole process has become a complete farce, I like to think of myself as creative, but even with all these options you’re still just in a suit, like everyone else. Lets be honest, who is ever actually comfortable in one of these. In meetings we take the jackets of because its impossible to write anything with them on, in the summer we don't even wear ties and you're always going to get the staff fool wearing all pinstripes with a stripy tie!
Why not just wear nice smart trouser, like chinos or smart jeans, and a collared shirt. Most creative agencies do. It’s comfortable, smart and no way near so much of a bother. Don't get me wrong, I loved my first suit, and I love my University Tie, it made me feel part of something but when it comes to actually doing work, being creative and comfortable enough to allow me to perform at work, I'd rather not wear a suit.
When everyone and anyone can wear a suit, and the meaningfulness of wearing one is thus lost, why wear one at all. I say not wearing a suit suits me perfectly.
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