We techies do not pay attention to our clothes and dressing sense. This blog is to help explain the bad habit and try to convince us otherwise.
Some of the things I mention today will sound prejudicial. (partially because the issues are culture-related).
My background
Growing up in a North Indian small-town, I never understood how much “looks” mattered. Sure, I saw fancy-looking folks. But the extra effort they put towards it always seemed an unnecessary act. As it seemed, put up to schmooze people around.
Then I moved to South India. Suddenly I was bombarded with sober looks. South Indians are very simple and modest people. Close to their culture, they have simple lives and the same thing reflects in their dressing. They dress simply … very simply.
Even for a simple dressing northie like me, the southie dressing sense was a surprise (more like a shock). I had seen boring colors. But never had I ever seen such a lack of attention to combinations, accessories, and overall looks.
But let’s not judge another culture and accept it for how it is.
A happy side-effect – an under-dressed North Indian became an over-dressed South Indian.
Later, moved to the US as part of my work assignment. Another shock was in the making for me. Westerners are conscious of their presentation. (again, seems to be a cultural thing)
From crisp ironed collared shirts to shining polished shoes. Clean-shaven faces to neatly trimmed beards. Europeans were a notch still higher. 
Most westerners looked presentable.
Back in a tier-2 Indian city, I see the poor attention to dressing once again.
Hence this blog !
Why bother ?
Why should we dress well ? If a picture is worth a thousand words, then let me save you 4000.
What do you like as part of the below packagings ?
PAUSE. Really Pause and Think !
– How were the color combinations ?
– Did the packaging enhance the usability of the product ?
– Did the packing increase the desirability of the product ?
– Would the better-packed product sell at a higher price ?
– ( the question most pertinent ) does the packaging increase the selling price ?
Hint : It does !
If we ‘engineers’ are products, then our clothes are packagings. And our employers are the clients who ‘subscribe’ to our services for our monthly salaries.
Would our clients be willing to pay more for better-packed products ?
Absolutely ! The answer is an emphatic yes !
It has been found that better-dressed folks pick up more salaries. Shouldn’t be a surprise if we factor in what we’ve understood.
This is the reason we should bother dressing well !
Act like a King to be treated like one
People who dress better get more attention. Don’t believe me … ever met an Army officer or a successful doctor ?
I live near an army cantonment area and see the JCOs, Jawans regularly at marketplaces. Here is a recent incident …
A dumb-looking girl ( daughter of an officer ) got down from a smart-looking SUV, at a dentist’s place. Accompanying her was a sharp-looking army jawan. Treated like a VIP, she was moved ahead. Despite the fact that I was ahead in the queue.
Treated like a king ! because they were dressed like ones.
We are superficial creatures. Despite whatever we might want to think.
Does he/ she mostly look good ?
Was she well dressed ?
Are they well put together ?
You betcha … they are !!
People have expectations for how a king should act, and you must meet them in order to be treated like a king.
If we dress like a commoner, we will be paid like a commoner. Dressing well sounds more important now ??
The Derivation
What does “your dressing sense,” say about you?
There are those that dress better than their job description. And those that dress lesser than their job descriptions.
Both are saying something – One that I am better and another that I am NOT.
An engineer who takes time to dress well despite all the P1 issues is saying
“I value myself, I am not rushed and am in control”
A manager who handles multiple projects, yet takes time to have his shoes shining is saying
“I am still here, I am here … I am holding on !!”
And believe it or not … leaders listen to these non-verbal messages. The VP of a busy yet well-dressed engineer perceives:
If this guy pays attention to the little things like shining shoes. Then maybe he pays attention to the bigger ones too.
Guess who will be in line for the next promotion ?
Dressing well says something about how we are within, and how we’d like to present ourselves to the world.
Also, You can’t NOT communicate. The question is – how will you communicate ?
Why do we engineers resist ?
All the above information is freely available, and (frankly) redundant.
So, why do we engineers resist dressing better ? Despite all the benefits of dressing better.
Impact to work
We, engineers, believe that the time spent on dressing better ( we don’t enjoy ), will take away time from work ( we love ).
This is partially true …
Engineering is hard work, and we love it !
Other tasks take time away from thinking for long durations. In our case, cosmetic ones like dressing better.
BUT the reason I don’t fully buy the argument is – we still do things that don’t contribute to our work. Like meetings and coffee breaks.
Jokes aside, the question is … why ?
Are all coffee breaks needed ? I know they are not !
We could skip a day or two without consequences ( been there done that )
And let’s not get started on meetings. I have a whole blog dedicated to the uselessness of them : Meetings
Yet we do the activities religiously. And why ?
Because we’ve made a habit out of it. It is automatic and therefore doesn’t need anything from our bucket of motivation.
Very much the same way – grooming ourselves can be a habit. With compounded results over time.
Social proof
Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jos did not put a lot of effort into their packaging. If you’ve seen the pictures, then you already know this.
Zuckerberg likes to put on a half-sleeved grey t-shirt and blue jeans.
Jobs was famous for his black turtleneck and blue jeans.
But we have the wrong proof. While techies by heart, both men are successful already. Are you ??
Herein lies the catch !
Once we have proved ourselves, our looks have very little consequence. For example – Zuckerberg isn’t looking to get the next salary hike or the next job promotion.
But we do. So, for us, dressing poorly is NOT an option.
I worked with someone who put on crumpled shirts and shabby trousers. As expected, we heard the hush-hush discussions about how the gentleman dressed un-leader-like.
While so, the fact remained that he was already successful. And therefore could care less about what anyone thought of his dressing sense.
So, let’s not read the wrong social proof !
The trapdoor
While the reasons suggested are pragmatic, dressing can always be overdone.
When done for the sake of our egos, then it becomes vanity. We become vain spending our time on unnecessary things. So …
Do I always dress well ? Nopes.
Do I dress well within reason ? Yup.
That’s from me, now Suit yourselves !!