Strange Famous

So, today me and my boss were having a "discussion" about my scruffiness etc

One of the things he threw up was apparently I was very scruffy when I went to the work Xmas Party. Now, I have no clue what I wore to go to this, but to be clear about th facts this was not at a nice restaurant. It was at a function centre on Suffolk Showground with a sit down meal then a free bar.

It would not in my wildest dreams occur to me to dress up to go for a meal that i consider casual. Ive gone to the pub in my slippers and pyjama's before (I had an early night cos of a headache and a mate knocked on my door and asked me to come down th pub for 2 or 3 Kronenburg or Stella). I would go to the pub on a Saturday night with girls there quite happily in a pair of tracksuit trousers covered in emulsion stains and a shirt with the collar ripped off and a hole burned around the middle.

Am I normal, or am I the crazy one here?

What person dresses in a special way (ie - does not pick up the first clothes that they see when they get out of bed or walk up to the clothes pile which arent plainly in need of being washed) just to go out with some people they work with and have a drink with your pals to celebrate the season?

__________________
"Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate,
for all things are plain in the sight of Heaven. For nothing
hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain
without being uncovered."

The Gospel of Thomas

blade02

I think it would be great to just go out in whatever you feel like wearing. However, how you present yourself makes a large impression on people before they decide whether or not to learn more about you. That combined with the fact that life is full of unpredictable opportunities, I always try to dress in a way that presents myself in the way I'd like. Image is a large part of perception, why handicap yourself by not presenting the image you want?

vanblah

Unless I'm going to Home Depot (or whatever the equivalent would be in the UK) I always like to wear nicer clothes than my house clothes. If I'm going to a bar or whatever I wear even dressier clothes.

I do it because it makes me feel good.

Willravel

You're not crazy. It's a holiday office party, you're not going to a nice club or a black tie dinner. You were just there for some company and some spirits. I can't imagine trying to impose "no t-shirts and clean shavin" rules for our office Christmas party.

Manic_Skafe

Ditto and especially if it has anything to do with work.

I wouldn't rent a tux and get a straight shave beforehand but I couldn't imagine being comfortable in a supermarket unless I were dressed decently. Half a track suit and a stained shirt to a bar? No way.

__________________
"Porn is a zoo of exotic animals that becomes boring upon ownership." -Nersesian

Psycho Dad

It is certainly going to depend on where you work, but I'd think a good rule of thumb for the work Christmas party may be:

If you work on the plant floor, chances are you need to dress up more than you do at work.

If you work in the office and wear business casual, you are likely OK

If you wear a suit and tie all day, you can dress down a bit from normal

We don't have parties at work so I don't worry about this shit.

__________________
Don't always trust the opinions of experts.

Cynthetiq

I like to dress nice. It makes me feel more presentable and gives me better self esteem.

I feel grubby in t shirts, jeans, and sneakers. I try not to wear that if I can get away with it, but sometimes I have to dress to fit in, and that's what I wear.

__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

Glory's Sun

I'll go to a bar in regular clothes.. but regular house clothes don't involve tracksuits and torn collars..

if I know other potential business people are there, then naturally I'd dress up a little bit. trendy club.. nicer clothes.. going to the ballpark.. jeans and polo.. or jersey..


your manager may have just been giving you a hint that you need to check your appearance a bit more..

sapiens

Where I live now, shorts and an untucked button down shirt is appropriate casual wear. Anything work related, I always err on the of dressing formally.

braisler

Strange, was your boss addressing you as a superior? That is, we'd like to see you dressed more work appropriately since you represent the company, etc. Or was it more of a friendly conversation between two guys (assuming male boss) and he was just relating his take on your look.

Yeah, I would dress a bit differently to go out to a bar than I would to go shopping or just around the house. Not necessarily dressed up, but smart casual look. I too like to present myself well, but part of that for me is to not be overly formal. I'm not a stiff, formal kind of guy, so I don't dress that way unless it is really called for.

genuinegirly

I like having an excuse to dress up.
So, yes. I dress up when going out for a drink with work associates.
I NEVER, ever ever throw on whatever clothes I happen to find first. Even if I'm just lounging around my apartment, I want to wear something ironed, clean, tidy - and maybe even cute.

__________________
"Sometimes I have to remember that things are brought to me for a reason, either for my own lessons or for the benefit of others." Cynthetiq

"violence is no more or less real than non-violence." roachboy

SecretMethod70

If I'm going to be with people I am professionally associated with, I try to look relatively nice. Part of it has to do with giving the right impression, and part of it is that I just feel more comfortable that way.

__________________
Le temps détruit tout

"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

Lucifer

A good piece of fashion advice I got years ago has stood me in good stead:

Always leave the house dressed as if you are expecting to end up somewhere fancier than you expected. What if a limo pulls up, plucks you out of the parking lot, someone thrusts a martini into your hand and introduces you to a countess. Will you be ready?

__________________
I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls.
- Job 30:29

1123, 6536, 5321

snowy

Typically when I go out, I wear jeans or corduroy trousers and a cute top. Sometimes I throw on a nice jacket. I might even go as far as putting on my dressy trousers, a really cute top, and a jacket, along with my ballet flats. There is almost always makeup involved, mostly because it's fun.

Generally, I make an effort not to look like a slob, especially in work situations. Even when I had to wear pajamas for a "pajama party" at my work, I made sure they were clean and in good repair. I think I would have looked at your situation as an opportunity to dress up in something really nice, mostly because I don't often get the opportunity to do so.

Part of why I have to do this is because of my frizzy hair--it tends to make me look like I'm more untidy than I actually am, and I overcompensate sometimes.

__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

KellyC

I try to dress appropriate for the occasion and make myself look presentable when I leave the house. Bar outing with some friends is different than bar outing with company colleagues. The former I can wear jeans and t-shirt, the latter I try to dress a little better.

__________________
Him: Ok, I have to ask, what do you believe?
Me: Shit happens.

Xerxys

I dress nice at all times. Except when I'm moving large applieances and furniture. Then I wear raggedy clothes.

To each his own.

Meditrina

Excuses to dress nice don't come my way too often, so I like to do it when I can. It makes me feel good about myself. Not that I don't dress nice at work, but I like to dress a different kind of nice if going out for a drink.

__________________
"Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles." ~Alex Karras

Bear Cub

Big mistake. Should have gone in the nude.

__________________
Living in the United Socialist States of America.

JStrider

for work stuff I usually try to stay dressed on about work level... we're business casual... so polo shirt and dress pants is just fine. for happy hours or other after work things I'll typically just wear work clothes.

for just grabbing drinks with buddies... usually just decent pants and a TShirt... all in good repair and not all stained and torn up.

__________________
-=JStrider=-

~Clatto Verata Nicto

Baraka_Guru

I don't have to dress nicely for work. In the summer, my work clothes are usually T-shirts, cargo shorts, and sandals.

But I would dress up a bit if I knew the place was at least "fine casual." Otherwise, if I were going out to an event, I would at least wear a decent pair of jeans and a half-decent shirt--maybe even a button-down short sleeve.

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

silent_jay

I'm like SF, I dress nice sometimes, but the majority of times I like to be comfortable, so it's my army cad pat pants and whatever sweater is about. I don't go to bars so I don't have to worry about dressing up for that, maybe if we had a pub style bar here I'd be more willing to go out. Going out to dinner I tend to dress better, but if it's juts going to the grocery store or out visiting buddies to smoke a little something I throw on the army pants and Doc's and out the door I go.

__________________
Absence makes the heart grow fonder

spindles

Work Christmas parties - we are a small company, so tend to go to some pretty nice places - definitely dress up. In general, I'm with most of the other people in this thread - work functions are an opportunity to dress up - this is all about image.

Going for a drink - really depends on the place we are going, who I'm going with (and in the past, whether I was single). I'd be unlikely to go dressed in less than jeans and a collared shirt.

Caveat: summer in Oz is not a place to go too many places in long pants - especially going to the pub in the afternoon/evening shorts and sandals are quite acceptable.

__________________
who hid my keyboard's PANIC button?

little_tippler

I like this

Wish I could live up to it - but I do alright. I try to look nice all the time and wouldn't wear stained or dirty clothes to any place...not even at home. Well, except when I'm painting heh.

__________________
Whether we write or speak or do but look
We are ever unapparent. What we are
Cannot be transfused into word or book.
Our soul from us is infinitely far.
However much we give our thoughts the will
To be our soul and gesture it abroad,
Our hearts are incommunicable still.
In what we show ourselves we are ignored.
The abyss from soul to soul cannot be bridged
By any skill of thought or trick of seeming.
Unto our very selves we are abridged
When we would utter to our thought our being.
We are our dreams of ourselves, souls by gleams,
And each to each other dreams of others' dreams.

Fernando Pessoa, 1918

The_Jazz

When I was but a young buck in the insurance world, I went to my first open house/cocktail party thrown by one of our carriers. It was eye-opening to meet a lot of the guys that I'd eventually compete against, to say the least.

After it was all done, my boss took me aside and asked me if I'd had a good time. He pointed out that I hadn't worn a sport coat and gave me a piece of advice that I follow to this day: never be the worst dressed guy in the room in business.

At a pub, I'd say the minimum would be unstained pants and a shirt with no visible holes. For the function you described, I'd say office attire would be acceptable, given the sit-down meal.

Then again, your boss might have thought you were going casual because you wore brown shoes with your suit. That's common among the Brits I know, anyway.

__________________
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
"There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush
"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo

SabrinaFair

I would have dressed up--my general rule of thumb is "when in doubt, dress up." But that's me--it makes me feel more comfortable/confident to look my best. Which isn't to say I don't love my jeans and t-shirts--I just save those for when I'm with my buddies.

__________________
"With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy."
-Desiderata

Strange Famous

I would never, ever, consider myself in competition with the people I work with.

I know that some people do, and I expect those people get promoted ahead of people like me. I expect those people dont have beards, or wear pyjama's when they go to the pub... its the way it is. My problem is that I work in a corporate environment, and rebel against the standards of it... I guess I should either work somewhere where shit like that doesnt matter, or else make an effort - but on my life I really cant be bothered (to make an effort to behave in a "business-like" way... I know what I do inside out - and thats enough to protect me, and the rest is enough to make sure I'll never be more than an expert and a bit of an oddball until I move on I guess)

__________________
"Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate,
for all things are plain in the sight of Heaven. For nothing
hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain
without being uncovered."

The Gospel of Thomas