fourworlds

A t-shirt and jeans has been my daily garb of choice since I was old enough to choose my own clothes. This photo of me was was taken for a High School newspaper ad in my Senior year. (I’m wearing an iron-on-letter “Make It With An Elf” shirt and a “McCarthy for President” button.)

Over the past month, I’ve spent a lot of time working on a creative project for a client that has a fairly hierarchical dress code. Executives (and want-to-be’s) wear suits and ties, while support personnel are typically attired in Business Casual. One of the guys I’ve been working with admitted feeling like he needs to wear a suit to be taken seriously within the organization.

Oops.

Although I generally take a “When in Rome” approach, I ended up attending a few initial ad hoc meetings in a t-shirt and jeans. And I found that instead of relegating me to the Business Casual Worker Bee Caste, my arguably inappropriate apparel seemed to move me outside the hierarchy.  It contributed to giving me a sense that I had the Consultative Court Jester permission to speak freely and offer perspectives that those within the organization might be afraid to voice.

Maybe I’m reading too much into a little cloth and a few buttons. But it seems to me that organizational structures that promote conformity and hierarchy work against innovation and creative thinking. I’ve also noticed that even the most die-hard “professionals” will loosen up and come up with their own out-of-the-box ideas if given a safe and supportive environment.

Although I’m sure there will be plenty of dressed up days in my future, I’m still of the opinion that Business Casual is an oxymoron.