Hari's Corner

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Sensible dressing

Filed under: Life and Leisure by Hari
Posted on Fri, Sep 9, 2005 at 21:42 IST (last updated: Wed, Jul 16, 2008 @ 21:18 IST)

I am going to start off by saying that wearing Western formal clothing is literally and figuratively a big time pain in the neck. In a country where the average temperatures range between 30-45 celcius throughout the year and particularly in a city where humidity levels rarely dip below 50%, it's raving madness to go around dressed in a full arm shirt, a tie and a blooming blazer on a hot summer day. It's ridiculous, yet it is seen as the right clothing in a formal environment... by most of the corporate giants of the world.

There are a few reasons why I detest these kinds of unreasonable dress codes. The first reason is obvious. Western clothing is suited for western climates. Such clothing was invented by people who are used to living comfortably in regions where temperatures hover between 15 and 25 degrees max. Not the hot, humid tropical regions close to the equator. As I already mentioned, wearing a full arm shirt by itself is uncomfortable in a typical Indian summer day. To wear a tie on top of that makes you nearly ill. But the blazer is the figurative salt rubbed into the proverbial wound. Even in an air-conditioned room, a blazer can become quite stuffy over time. Never mind comfort... you still have to wear it because it's "professional". Never mind if you sweat like a pig inside, it's your "corporate look" that counts. I pity those who have to wear this kind of outfit on a daily basis just to adhere to the "dress code" of their organizations. I can understand their suffering.

Secondly, comfortable clothing always enhances our productivity in any situation. This is common sense. What makes a suit better than an ordinary shirt and a pair of corduroy trousers? Absolutely nothing! Practically, little is gained by wearing formal clothing except to appear formal. Which is a foolish obsession in my opinion. As long as a person dresses decently and sensibly, why on earth should he or she be forced to wear stupid ties and suits especially when they don't add to the comfort? In cold weather, I can understand the need for warm clothing. In warm weather it is plain stupid and does absolutely nothing to increase work productivity or output. On the contrary this discomfort may lead to lower levels of productivity at work. I simply cannot understand this irrational justification of excessively formal dressing. Nobody has yet convinced me why employees absolutely *have* to wear formal clothing just because they are about to meet a client. Show me one company that gained an extra customer just because their salesman wore a full fledged suit and I'll show you a customer whose priorities are seriously screwed up.

Thirdly, let me add that, on ideological grounds, I am uncomfortable with the cultural undertones of wearing such clothing. I personally detest this form of West-worship that India seems to be excelling in. We are experts at copying, aping and imitating some of the more ridiculous practices of Western culture without actually taking in the really beneficial aspects to our advantage. Clothing is one such thing. I am not totally against Western clothing, but we should figure out the point at which it stops being useful to us and learn to use and adapt it to suit our own requirements. Nobody's objecting to wearing a decent shirt and a good pair of trousers. For example half-arm shirts are excellent and practical without sacrificing any degree of formality (and let me add that this "formal clothing standard" is just an illogical and subjective "tradition" imposed often without any rhyme or reason). Common sense and a basic adherence to decency should dictate clothing - not rigid adherence to some arbitrary nonsense imposed on us by the dictates of Western culture. Unfortunately that is not the case.

In this era of MNCs and liberalization, India needs to stand up as a culturally independent nation in an increasingly homogenized world. Indian employees working in India for Indian or international companies need to put their foot down with regard to freedom in dressing. Rigid and strict dress codes should be made less rigid. Traditional Indian clothing is eminently suited for Indian weather, but surprisingly Indian wear has been downgraded by Indians themselves to the status of "informal" or lower - in many cases, not even fit to be worn in public. How stupid! It shows how deep the problem is and how indoctrinated we are in the ways of the West. Deep down, at some level, it really hurts my self respect to wear clothing that I find alien to my nature and culture (and which is uncomfortable to boot) just to show my compliance to the Western standard of dressing imposed arbitrarily and without any practical benefit to me. And I'm sure that most self-respecting, red-blooded Indians would feel the same way. India as a whole would be a prouder nation if we all asserted our right to stick to our rich and glorious culture in dressing even in a global scenario. In this context, let's remember that the one who makes the rules is generally seen as the boss. Right now, by allowing the West to make the rules (as far as formal dressing is concerned) we are pyschologically at a disadvantage when we face up to them. The best and the most visible way of reasserting our independence would be to show that we follow our own rules when dressing as far as possible. If nothing else, it would surely reinforce our individual identity in a world where nine out of ten executives wear the same old formal suit.

In closing, let me just say that decency, comfort and common sense should dictate what anybody wears on any occasion: formal or not. Nothing more or less.

4 comment(s)

  1. Western dress is annoying even in the West! If you work in the northeastern part of the United States, the summers are in the 90s (Farenheit) with lots of humidity, and yet many people, for their jobs (or for weddings), have to wear suits.I'm glad I'm in a cooler climate now and in a job where I can dress casually.

    Comment by aysiu (visitor) on Sat, Sep 10, 2005 @ 06:21 IST #
  2. aysiu, thanks for dropping by with your views. Much appreciated!Interesting to know that! I am sure that I could actually use this argument next time... ;) Who knows... we need only a sensible policy, not rigid, irrational codes which make no sense in a particular situation.

    Comment by hari (blog owner) on Sat, Sep 10, 2005 @ 07:09 IST #
  3. Yes, Hari, I have to agree... a very well thought post, I must say... and I promise I will stick around :)

    Comment by Sudipta Chatterjee (visitor) on Wed, Sep 14, 2005 @ 13:44 IST #
  4. Hi, sudipta! Welcome to my blog! Yes, I read your blog regularly though I don't always comment because it was disabled for those without a blogger account. Glad to see that you've opened your blog for anonymous comments. You always have something interesting to say...

    Comment by hari (blog owner) on Wed, Sep 14, 2005 @ 19:00 IST #

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