Dress is still key to success
Years ago, when my wife and I were shopping for our first house, a real estate agent showed us a fetching four-room box and said: “This is the perfect starter home for a young man on his way up.“
I looked around glumly and countered: “Do you have one for a young man on his way down?“
I think of this episode whenever a young journalist comes to me for inspiration.
“Whippersnapper,“ I usually reply, “it’s not what you do, but where you get your advice.“
Lately I get mine from Working Mother and Working Woman, two New York magazines aimed at female office workers, though the advice seems equally on target for males.
“Don’t dress better than your bosses,“ cautions Working Mom.
This stricture could give you a few uneasy moments, providing you know enough about clothes to judge which of you is dressing better.
Anyway, warming to the cause, the magazine ends up by advising readers not to dress better than their co-workers, either.
It is surprising how much more advice there is about how you look than how you work. For example, Working Woman has put a lot of thought into the manicure problem.
First of all, get one, by all means. “Having a manicure has become the new power lunch.“
Then, oddly, the magazine weighs manicures and shoeshine – and turns the difference into “a discrepancy between male and female executive privileges.“ Says Working Woman: “While some men may casually arrange an office shoeshine, most women won’t get their nails done on the premises.“
In March, another New York publication, Success, got seriously into the shoe question. “You are what you wear on your feet,“ the magazine said with every evidence of sincerity. Then it continued:
“The best business lace-up shoe is a wing-tip or balmorals, in black, cordovan or brown. The best business slip-on is a tassled one-piece loafer.“
(Note: Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary defines balmorals as “a laced boot or shoe“ – which isn’t a whole lot of help.)
Success also advises the aspiring salesman to “carry gold“ (meaning jewelry) and learn to “make masterful toasts.“ (People who make masterful toasts happen to be among my least favorite folk, but I lack enthusiasm.)
One aspect of Success is party advice on how to give one. “The worst sin a host can commit is to blend in,“ says the magazine. “You never want people to go home saying, `Which one was the host?’ “
The magazine continues: “The secret to looking like a trendsetter instead of a fashion plate is to use unexpected touches. . . . Try to look striking and unique, but respectable.“
Its recommendations: “Lizard-trimmed silk suspenders with a woven paisley Jacquard print. Or maybe fire engine red suspenders.“
Still, men’s clothing is a long way from liberation. And the necktie, tightened years ago by an evil sorcerer around the necks of middle class males, is still in place.