February 5, 2025

"If... your dress is for internal satisfaction — if it is an expression of your own sense of gender and what it means to you..."

"... simply wearing what makes you feel most like yourself and reminds you of your own belief system is the answer. If the point you want to make is about old gender norms, simply failing to buy into them, literally, may be enough. Maybe that means wearing chunky boots with a big tread rather than stilettos. Maybe it means a concert tee underneath a suit jacket.... If you want it to go further... there is a simple way to turn a fashion choice into a form of protest. Create a uniform for yourself that stands out simply because it is different from the uniform of the majority.... Wear any garment consistently, and at some point everyone else should get the message... "

The NYT style writer Vanessa Friedman writes in "What Should I Wear to Protest an Unspoken Dress Code? A reader asks how to push back against the resurgence of traditional dressing. Our critic discusses the history of rebellion through clothing and how to make a true 'fashion statement.'"

Speaking of a concert tee underneath a suit jacket and creating a uniform for yourself, I'm remembering that NYT article that's been getting a lot of attention —"Inside Musk’s Aggressive Incursion Into the Federal Government" (blogged here by me yesterday). It says:
Some of the young workers on Mr. Musk’s team share a similar uniform: blazers worn over T-shirts. At the G.S.A., some staff members began calling the team “the Bobs,” a reference to management consultant characters from the dark comedy movie “Office Space” who are responsible for layoffs.

I have a feeling Musk's guys look much cooler than the Bobs in "Office Space"... 


... and I bet they cause more anxiety.

What would you say you do here?

A funny answer would be: I protest gender norms.

42 comments:

Wilbur said...

A jacket - whether suit or sport - is like a purse for men. It holds everyone you'd otherwise have shoved in your britches: wallet, keys, glasses, checkbook, etc.

I loved to wear one.

Charlie Currie said...

Wearing a tie is a sign of rebellion. The new men came in with their suit coat too small. Their pants too tight. And, the top two buttons of their pressed white shirt unbuttoned. They screwed up the world - fundamentally changing the world, as they would say. Once you see them, you can't un-see them.

Charlie Currie said...

The new new men wear jeans, sportcoat and t-shirt. They're in the tech world. And, again, once you see them, you can't un-see them.

Kate said...

"When it comes to women, that appears to mean high heels, long hair and lavish eyelash extensions." Except for the shoes (unless you consider the Tunnel Runway), she's described a lot of black WNBA players. Kinda racist, dude.

rhhardin said...

Bermudas

Big Mike said...

When the corporation I used to work for gingerly (very gingerly!) introduced casual Fridays back in the mid 1990s they attempted to define what would be “acceptable” for “business casual.” That included skirt length, only so many inches above the knee, which I presume would infuriate Althouse even more than men wearing shorts (and BTW shorts were banned for both genders — only two genders thirty years ago). Two male engineers belonged to Highland clans and, wouldn’t you know it, they showed up on Friday wearing kilts in their respective clans’ plaid pattern. The next iteration of the guidelines left off skirt length.

Curious George said...

One of my co-worker's at a (Madison tech company) husband wore a kilt. Can't imagine why someone would want to...especially in the winter.

Jamie said...

I'm having a hard time viewing Doc Martins with a dress, as described, as edgy. T-shirt with sport coat too. Is this writer writing for people who have yet to join the twenty-first century?

wendybar said...

What are they protesting now?? The government using USAID as a slush fund for their political cronies??? Do they hear themselves?? This is what Democrats USED to fight. Now they are fighting for more Government corruption. Ignorance REALLY IS bliss, I guess.

Ann Althouse said...

"One of my co-worker's at a (Madison tech company) husband wore a kilt. Can't imagine why someone would want to...especially in the winter."

Same reason young guys wear shorts around here in the winter.

Adam2Smith said...

In my last job in Silicon Valley, I always wore a sport jacket, dress shirt, and tie in the midst of a crowd of torn T-shirts etc. My way of rebelling against uniformity. When I attend my son's community orchestra concerts in San Jose, I wear the same, and am always the best-dressed man in the place, save the orchestra in their tuxedos.

hombre said...

How strange that two billionaires, a crashing boor and a South African, may save the republic.

Disparity of Cult said...

All the girls walk by, dressed up for each other
"Wild Night" - Van Morrison

rehajm said...

I wear my workout clothes to the golf course. The pros on staff say it doesn’t violate the dress code and it pisses off some of my prick neighbors as a bonus…

Mary Beth said...

I protest gender norms.

We have already talked to a dozen others with that job description. I'm afraid there's not enough originality of protest to keep you all.

narciso said...

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1887038847629877714.html

Tom T. said...

A jacket with a concert tee describes English Lit and Theater professors for the last fifty years. Might as well grow your hair long and ride a recumbent bicycle while you're at it

narciso said...

zero hedge is an iconoclastic outfit, you dont expect publications like politico and the ap, who are recipients of aid funds would report on it honestly,

Big Mike said...

@Curious George, perhaps he gets a kick out of female co-workers trying to find out if it’s true what Scotsmen wear under their kilts.

TaeJohnDo said...

Or cargo shorts. Cargo pants for a more formal look.

TaeJohnDo said...

I gave my 35 year old son all of my Rush Limbaugh ties, which he now wears to work. Everyone loves them - so colorful and bold and retro. I used to wear them when I worked at a community college in S. IL. People loved them until they found out the label.

ALP said...

Am I the only one who thinks this letter is fake?

Lazarus said...

What Should I Wear to Protest an Unspoken Dress Code?

Bianca Censori and Lady Godiva, a real freedom rider, have some ideas.

tcrosse said...

I'm one of those guys who wears a bow tie when neckties are called for. I inherited a collection of them from my father, who wore one. As an octogenarian I can get away with it, and I usually get compliments on it.

n.n said...

Gender refers to sex-correlated attributes (e.g. sexual orientation). Dress as an aesthetic expression is to normalize a favorable juxtaposition of the binary sexes.

Rabel said...

"That said, dress has been a form of rebellion against pretty much any kind of norm, gender included, since Joan of Arc donned male armor in the 15th century."

Joan of Arc's clothing choices were not a rebellion against norms.

boatbuilder said...

Also warns other golfers to avoid you.

Lee Moore said...

Everybody will be Grace Jones for 15 minutes.

Talking of which I see that some starlet tried to make a splash by wearing her birthday suit to some premiere or suchlike a few days ago. Yawn. Grace was doing that 50 years ago.

Rabel said...

Fight the dress code! They really are still stuck in high school.

john mosby said...

hombre: how about a crashing boor and a crashing Boer?

JSM

Former Illinois resident said...

Another stupid article, intended to exhort readers to "fight" workplace decorum as if individual privilege is more important than common civility and respect. A dress code requires employees to adhere to rules intended to create both a harmonious work environment without distraction or disruption for maximum productivity, at a price-point achievable by all participants. Dress codes can be fulfilled at Walmart or Neiman Marcus; ostentatious display of "personality" not desired.

Former Illinois resident said...

Colored talon nails, unable to type or write.

Former Illinois resident said...

In 2001, two high-powered downtown Chicago attorneys attended our meeting in executive conference room in cargo shorts, bare feet, and Jesus sandals. Not casual Friday, not Italian designer togs, not pedicured feet.

One Fine Day said...

As I explained to one of my employees many moons ago: A dress code is all that stands between you and a work uniform.

WhoKnew said...

"... simply wearing what makes you feel most like yourself and reminds you of your own belief system is the answer." .. "Wear any garment consistently, and at some point everyone else should get the message.." This seems like a lot of pressure to put on choosing what to wear. I'm not sure anything I wear makes me "feel like myself" or even could. I feel like myself no matter what I'm wearing. Maybe that comes from living in the north country where the need for warmth can override any fashion sense you may have cultivated in more temperate weather.

SeanF said...

You can create your own "style", but it's not a "uniform" if you're the only one who wears it.

Old and slow said...

If you aren't Scottish (and I mean from Scotland) and attending a formal event or highland games, then wearing a kilt is strictly a lame cry for attention. Americans with Scottish ancestry who imagine that they have a "clan plaid pattern" are pathetic.

veni vidi vici said...

no; I was thinking that, too. "A reader asks"??? Is the reader a complete moron or is that just the lamest set-up for a timewaster story that was only needed to fill space on a newspaper page otherwise lacking sufficient remunerative advertisements? My money's on the latter.

wildswan said...

Sometimes I think about wearing a MAGA hat or one of those Melania Trump coats that says: "I really don't care ." into Outpost. Outpost is Milwaukee's local Whole-Food-like co-op. Trouble is, Outpost is a great store and I want to keep going there. And see, the people at Outpost mostly used to have COEXIST bumper stickers on their cars. Now no one has them. So if I wore a MAGA hat or an "I really don't care" slogan, I'm not sure they'd just coexist. Maybe I could have a hat that said: The Magnificent Six, referring to the DOGE boys coding at the Treasury. "We deal in code, my friend." But basically, I don't experience people from just one angle, the political. So I'd be tired of shocking the people at the store before I got out of the car so I'm sticking to basic elderly normie. I'm tired of that, too, and tired of winter. Right now, of course, I'm enjoying the fireworks, going OOOOOH! as a rocket soars upward over the Swamp and AAAAH! as a picture unfolds of criminals being flown out of this country rather than flown in. And after this, I do believe, there will be a spring which will be YUGE. New growth in the land and new growth in our democracy instead of the vitality of Nature mocking our politics.

Aggie said...

@narciso 11:34: Very interesting, thank you for sharing it here.

Oso Negro said...

Wendy, I forget - when did the Democrats fight this?

mikee said...

The mistake Musk made was not watching "Hackers" before selecting his group of computer nerds. The Angelina Jolie role is absolutely necessary in that movie for there to be real interest generated among viewers. Yes, Musk needs a hot chick to work the keyboards of the federal agencies. Or a muscular jock guy. Or something else to attract the attention of the protesters.

Musk, ironically, needs to diversify his assault team so when it is criticized he can play the race, card (or sex, religion, disability, ... some other legally protected status). It would work like a UNO reverse card, and would be hilarious to see him force the Dems to play their own game.