BusinessWeek, where I've been working for a year and a half, has a relatively amorphous dress code. At important meetings and interviews staffers often dress in business formal, while everyday attire ranges from khakis to suits, varying somewhat by department, title, and age. It sometimes feels like anything goes, especially for us younger employees, and I'm grateful that BusinessWeek appreciates my forward-thinking, 26-year-old mind-set while allowing me to maintain the fashion sensibility of an 80-year-old man.
That description might be a little extreme, but I do have a decidedly old-school approach to workplace wear, favoring classic black suits over all other options. My crazy schedule (and general laziness) prevent me from wearing head-to-toe business formal as frequently as I'd like. On those rare occasions when I do get my act together I feel my most confident, put together, and striking self, even though a formal, corporate style of dress is often associated with bland anonymity. After all, Magritte's The Son of Man, with his top hat and apple, is a symbol of the empty white-collar existence. And Superman's disguise is a business suit, worn by mild-mannered alter ego Clark Kent.
