Sunday 15 December 2013

Do the clothes make the man?

When I left University, I had every intention of joining a creative agency. An agency that supported crazy, out-of-the-box (I hate that saying), thinking. One with pages and pages from sketch books spread out across the walls, where all team members wore jeans with holes in, glasses bigger than their face and had tattoos up to their neck. The type of people Steve Jobs referred to as 'the crazy ones'. We all know the speech, right?

Since then, I've moved from working for myself (quite often in pyjamas all day), to working for an agency with no dress code, to working for an agency which required constant smart clothes, and now I've been offered a very exciting opportunity to work in the most corporate environment yet (I will hopefully reveal more details in my next post!).

My wardrobe has become smarter and smarter. And, as much as I feel this is a mature change, I am less comfortable, increasingly more self-conscious and slightly worried I am losing my 'creative' identity?

My entire dissertation project focused on first-impressions and was heavily orientated around styles and genres of people - what they wear, how they present themselves, etc. Do you think presenting yourself more seriously, makes you a more serious person? I kind of hope it doesn't but at the same time I'm very eager to belong and fit into this agency.

A plus side to hiding your identity is the shock you give people when you sheepishly reveal your tattoos. To me, they show instant creativity and give a huge insight into my true personality. That can be quite fun! Plus Steve Jobs himself went from being a no-shoe-wearing hippie to a very corporate man, and he did just fine.

I don't know what it is about formal-wear but it makes me feel like I'm dressing up to be somebody I'm not, especially since it's going in the opposite direction of what I had planned. Does anybody else feel this way? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

1 comment: