Missing the straitjacket

AFR says:

03:41pm | 22/10/10

apart from knowing the dapper man gets the girls, Don Draper has taught me how to be a chain smoking womanising alcoholic

fairsfair says:

12:44pm | 22/10/10

consider your self lucky. I would kill to only have black or navy or pinstripe to choose from. It can look totally different with a different coloured shirt and tie. You can get through an entire working week with two or three sets (depending on how much you wash). Women on the hand are required to have an ever rotating supply of clothes of varying style. Don’t get me started on shoes. It is an expensive expensive world and their are other types of expectations Eric. If I bought two suits and rotated them day in day out I would labelled frumpy and/or a tight arse. I’d rather have a uniform during the week so I could spend my money on clothes I actually want to wear outside of work hours.

Dale says:

12:45pm | 22/10/10

It was once suggested I wear a suit and tie to work by my boss. I promptly explained that the last advice I received on getting dressed was in kinder and this was his last warning about treating me with such disrespect. Funnily enough the subject has never come up again.

iansand says:

12:46pm | 22/10/10

Feminist plot.

MattJ says:

12:52pm | 22/10/10

Eric you are hilarious.  Never known anyone to hate women like you do.  Frankly I prefer the suit, less choices, keeps it simple.  Can’t imagine anything worse then trying to come up with a different outfit each day.

Shama says:

12:56pm | 22/10/10

Its a feminazi conspiracy to keep men trussed up good and proper.

But you have my permission to wear a dress.

Kordez says:

12:59pm | 22/10/10

I’m not sure it is expected of men. I don’t wear a suit or uniform to work except on International Suit Up Day.
Females are more creative when it comes to clothing, but only because they are willing to wax, shave, pluck, tan, style and match fashion with shoes to underwear. Unless men are willing to shop, wax and shave often, I can’t see them sporting much else around the office.

All things aside, a suit looks good… on a dude…

cRook says:

01:16pm | 22/10/10

I wouldn’t know if there was a greater variety of female dress so much as a lack of variety of male dress. Women have skirt with shirt and jacket, pants with shirt and jacket and dress with jacket. Men have pants with shirt and jacket. Men have ties, women have make up. Men shave face, women pluck eyebrows. Either way, I always feel like an invisible lemming wearing ‘the uniform’. Which I like. It gives me a confidence baseline because I think that people can’t tell that I feel nervous and incompetent when I look like all the other successful people.

Eric says:

01:46pm | 22/10/10

Looks like I hit a nerve!

A hidden issue in the workplace?

Davo from St Kilda says:

02:18pm | 22/10/10

@Matt - Where do you get the ridiculous idea that Eric hates women because he states the obvious fact that men have practically no choice about what they wear to work while women can wear anything and everyting under the sun? You’ve obviously never worked in an office in your life, otherwise you’d undestand that there is a strict dress code for men but not one for women. I suggest you become better informed before you make such ridiculous comments.

iansand says:

02:43pm | 22/10/10

Davo from St Kilda - You’re new around here, aren’t you?  Fellow worker Eric has rather strong views on a couple of issues.

Shama says:

03:13pm | 22/10/10

“Eric: Looks like I hit a nerve!”

Blimey all this time I thought you got up every morning, linked to The Punch and typed out a rapid fire jumble of words which basically each time is “its all the fault of the wimmen” for a sane debate.

Robert Smissen, rural SA, God's own country says:

04:51pm | 22/10/10

Ties & suits are a feminist plot

Eric says:

09:00am | 24/10/10

So much paranoia!

I just pointed out a fact - and one which nobody even disagreed with. Yet we have people accusing me of “hating women” and calling it a “feminist plot”.

Please show me where, in what I said about workplace dress standards, there is any element of blame or hatred? I suspect it’s the haters who are projecting their own emotions on to me.

Shama says:

09:33pm | 24/10/10

Eric - No one is replying to your comment itself.  They are poking fun at your long history of commenting on this site.

But thanks for letting us know you have been unjustly accused of hating women.

Shama says:

09:33pm | 24/10/10

Eric - No one is replying to your comment itself.  They are poking fun at your long history of commenting on this site.

But thanks for letting us know you have been unjustly accused of hating women.

Eric says:

02:53pm | 22/10/10

Fair enough, Ka. I am personally in favour of a wide variety of options for all sexes.

But I was a bit taken aback in one workplace, where most of the men wore shirts and ties, but one woman wore a bare midriff top! Not that I objected to the sight - but she would complain about sexual harassment if anyone commented.

Lostie says:

03:02pm | 22/10/10

Ka - you can.

The difference is that a guy who doesn’t wear a suit will get dragged into the bosses office. Hell, if you don’t wear a tie in my office you can expect to be paged: “Mr [boss], would like to see you in his office.”. This I know from experience. I only made that mistake once.

Meanwhile, there was plenty of gossip about the young lady who consistently turned up in jeans and thongs, but the boss didn’t say a word about it. It hasn’t harmed her progression or employment in any way. Equally, there is a woman in our office who wears a suit (trousers/jacket) every day, always black, nearly always a white shirt - I’ve never heard any one say a negative thing about her (well, not about her attire).

I don’t understand that double standard, but I certainly believe that women will not be punished (except, perhaps, socially by their female colleagues) for donning the suit day in, day out.

As we come into summer the difference becomes obvious. I would kill to be permitted to wear short sleeves. Maybe this year will be the year that I finally do…

AFR says:

01:38pm | 22/10/10

+1 - Every place i’ve ever lived/worked/visisted - the ZZ Top song rings true “coz every girl’s crazy ‘bout a sharp dressed man”. Funny side note though, I only realised i’ve been buttoning my top jacket button lately, Ari Gold style.

H of SA says:

02:25pm | 22/10/10

As a sharp dressed man myself (after work – weekends I’m a dressed down man) I’ve noticed something different, not every girl likes a sharp dressed man. Goes this way from my observations – sharp dressed woman likes a sharp dressed man, hipster girl likes a hipster man, goth woman likes a goth man, surfer girl likes a surfer man ect ect ect. Lead me to the view that if you wear what suits you then you’ll probably end up with a lady that digs you for you – which is nice and relaxing.

Chuck says:

11:11am | 25/10/10

Nope, happens in Brisbane to me a lot.

I figure it’s code for “too many dudes, not enough chicks in here”

dancan says:

02:45pm | 22/10/10

Sounds like you need to vent, write an article and submit it to the punch!

marley says:

02:54pm | 22/10/10

So what’s your problem with escaped internal monologue?  At least the guy has an interesting conversation with himself.

Nicole says:

03:08pm | 22/10/10

Would you like cheese and crackers to go with that whine? Pro tip: It is not mandatory for you to read these ‘resume filler’ articles, so don’t read them.

bicuspid says:

03:59pm | 22/10/10

@Dancan
Touche! It’s lines like your’s that make me read The Punch.

Author says:

09:39am | 23/10/10

haha you are right..i did miss the onesey and twosey!

stephen says:

09:08am | 23/10/10

The problem with Jed, dear, is that he was hitched ter Grannie,
and yer kin wail yer bagpipes all yer want about money,
but I’ll stick ter poor, and wait fer Ellie.

Project Man Aging says:

09:44am | 23/10/10

So true..as a suit myself I can say that we’re largely devoid of any productive skills…but I can whip up a humdinger of a Planning Spreadsheet!