I had a guy I used to work with tell me about corporate dress codes in the 70s and 80s. I cant remember what industry he was telling me about but I want to say it was banking or mortgage. Junior level associates had to wear a white dress shirt and tie every day of the work week. Middle tier employees and managers had the privilege of wearing pale colors like blues and tans with their suits. Upper management or C suite people got to wear shirts with stripes or a pattern (gasp). I'm glad we dont wear suits every day but I think the pendulum has swung too far thr other way. People come to work dressed like they're ready to work in the yard.
On the other hand in many of the outdoor working industries the official designated workwear has taken much of the individualism out of worker appearance. This was of course as health & safety became an important corporate department, not that I am saying that is wrong in itself. Myself I think I saw the end of this individualism back in the eighties working in the oil exploration industry both marine and on land. In warmer climes shorts, t-shirt and flip-flops on your feet was almost a uniform. Now one would see a standard coverall, steel capped work boots and hard hats as standard issue. At sea expect to see bulky survival suits on top of that. In the days of big money in the seventies I remember buying some beautiful soft leather boots in Rome which disintegrated after a few months walking in the Libyan desert, but they were comfortable;-) An Australian friend, a ship's engineer, had his coveralls tailor made in Bangkok with no sleeves on them at all and these he wore in the engine room along with flips-flops (shower shoes).
I never had the problem of what to wear to work. My entire adult life I wore a uniform. Four years with Uncle Sam US Navy/Marine Corp and thirty years with the Philadelphia Fire Department. Now it's jeans and Tee shirt.
Vince
I think school uniforms sounds interesting.
"I think school uniforms sounds interesting."
When I started work in insurance in the City in London back in 1963 it was dress code for males to be in dark suits, dark shoes and woe betide if you wore brown shoes with a blue suit or vice versa. White shirt with a neat tie, subtle motifs were allowed or your old school crest. No flower power ties or leary shirt colours. Ladies were to wear a two piece or skirt and blouse (white) dresses were permitted, no gaudy colours, no high heels above one and a half inches. Senior members were to be addressed as Mr .... or sir. No beards and no long hair. This continued until the late 60's when more freedom was given though nothing outlandish allowed.
School was always regulation uniform but the richer parents bought quality corduroy whereas us commoners made do with flannel and hand me downs. Hated the school caps but appreciate the headgear now in a Manitoba winter.
Dear Ian, blame the climate, not the dress regs. Here in Canada it was similar apparel for me and my mates in school (back in the day...sigh), but the climate did not allow for short pants or short sleeves during the school year.
The ONLY problem I recall, was everybody trying very hard not to damage their "school clothes", or face the wrath of their parents. Actually, there was such a thing as parental wrath in those days, as in the the vast majority of human history. Such a pity that we coddle our offspring nowadays in the Western world, as our competition everywhere else prepares their's to win.
"everybody trying very hard not to damage their "school clothes""
1956 school uniform New York style...khaki pants,white tee shirt, black motorcycle jacket if you afford one.Its amazing what they let us come to school wearing.
Phil,
I can relate to your post. My dad also worked for IBM and I followed him for 30 years myself. I started in Franklin Lakes/ Montvale NJ. I started off like my dad with the dark suits and white shirts. I was a programmer right out of college. After a few years I transferred to Boca Raton, FLorida. I went to work dressed the same way when I first started there - Then one day - my manager and project leader - told me it was time to shed my "garb" and get with the program. The programmers were dressed down before it became the norm. I remember donating several old suits and shirts after I was working there for awhile. Steve
I was a UPS driver for 30 years. My color palette was pretty limited. My biggest decision in the morning was whether to wear long pants or shorts.
The name seems familiar but I did not know him. At the high point Boca had just over 10,000 regular employees on the Payroll. I know because I was the programmer that supported the Payroll application at that time and the "old" programs were written to handle 9,999 only.
Steve
Steve, i had no idea IBM Boca had that many employees...at its height with manufacturing we had 7,000 employees at Kingston. When the doors shut on 7,000 jobs they thought the city of Kingston would go under...but for some reason it survived.
IBM Raleigh had more than that but many came from other sites (Entry Systems from Boca). Of course since selling off the PC and servers the staff is significantly reduced.
Yes, Boca went over the 10000 employee mark during the PC Boom era until all of that was moved to Raleigh. I spent weeks at a time in Raleigh during the transition of PC Company. I was one of the last groups that turned out the lights at the Boca Raton site and we were re-located to a few floors of a Bank of America (Nations Bank) building in West Palm Beach. Then I wound up moving to Atlanta after that. Steve
i remember the first migration from Kingston to Raleigh...the powers that be thought that the good old boys in North Carolina would be overjoyed to work in an IBM facility..i don't believe they got as many as they thought.
As a young man i followed my father into IBM..a weekly paycheck and benefits help if you hope to have a family. I was told to you had to wear the uniform..mostly blue suit,white shirt and wingtip shoes to get ahead. Then i met the programmers...they were the exact opposite of the IBM image...it turned out that the tall guys in the fancy suits were figureheads and managers. The programmers were something else...many did not have degrees from R.P.I. and M.I.T., many came from off the farm in Pennsylvania or somewhere or drove 18 wheelers in a previous life...but they had a genius for coding...some were just plain crude..others had little humor or social graces...but it seemed like they lived there 23 hours a day..they just dug what they did,unlike many who were drones like myself. Anyway they forced IBM to lighten up dress codes.
re: Things were seldom what they seemed.
I had a guy I used to work with tell me about corporate dress codes in the 70s and 80s. I cant remember what industry he was telling me about but I want to say it was banking or mortgage. Junior level associates had to wear a white dress shirt and tie every day of the work week. Middle tier employees and managers had the privilege of wearing pale colors like blues and tans with their suits. Upper management or C suite people got to wear shirts with stripes or a pattern (gasp). I'm glad we dont wear suits every day but I think the pendulum has swung too far thr other way. People come to work dressed like they're ready to work in the yard.
re: Things were seldom what they seemed.
On the other hand in many of the outdoor working industries the official designated workwear has taken much of the individualism out of worker appearance. This was of course as health & safety became an important corporate department, not that I am saying that is wrong in itself. Myself I think I saw the end of this individualism back in the eighties working in the oil exploration industry both marine and on land. In warmer climes shorts, t-shirt and flip-flops on your feet was almost a uniform. Now one would see a standard coverall, steel capped work boots and hard hats as standard issue. At sea expect to see bulky survival suits on top of that. In the days of big money in the seventies I remember buying some beautiful soft leather boots in Rome which disintegrated after a few months walking in the Libyan desert, but they were comfortable;-) An Australian friend, a ship's engineer, had his coveralls tailor made in Bangkok with no sleeves on them at all and these he wore in the engine room along with flips-flops (shower shoes).
re: Things were seldom what they seemed.
I never had the problem of what to wear to work. My entire adult life I wore a uniform. Four years with Uncle Sam US Navy/Marine Corp and thirty years with the Philadelphia Fire Department. Now it's jeans and Tee shirt.
Vince
re: Things were seldom what they seemed.
I think school uniforms sounds interesting.
re: Things were seldom what they seemed.
"I think school uniforms sounds interesting."
re: Things were seldom what they seemed.
When I started work in insurance in the City in London back in 1963 it was dress code for males to be in dark suits, dark shoes and woe betide if you wore brown shoes with a blue suit or vice versa. White shirt with a neat tie, subtle motifs were allowed or your old school crest. No flower power ties or leary shirt colours. Ladies were to wear a two piece or skirt and blouse (white) dresses were permitted, no gaudy colours, no high heels above one and a half inches. Senior members were to be addressed as Mr .... or sir. No beards and no long hair. This continued until the late 60's when more freedom was given though nothing outlandish allowed.
School was always regulation uniform but the richer parents bought quality corduroy whereas us commoners made do with flannel and hand me downs. Hated the school caps but appreciate the headgear now in a Manitoba winter.
re: Things were seldom what they seemed.
Dear Ian, blame the climate, not the dress regs. Here in Canada it was similar apparel for me and my mates in school (back in the day...sigh), but the climate did not allow for short pants or short sleeves during the school year.
The ONLY problem I recall, was everybody trying very hard not to damage their "school clothes", or face the wrath of their parents. Actually, there was such a thing as parental wrath in those days, as in the the vast majority of human history. Such a pity that we coddle our offspring nowadays in the Western world, as our competition everywhere else prepares their's to win.
re: Things were seldom what they seemed.
"everybody trying very hard not to damage their "school clothes""
re: Things were seldom what they seemed.
1956 school uniform New York style...khaki pants,white tee shirt, black motorcycle jacket if you afford one.Its amazing what they let us come to school wearing.
re: Things were seldom what they seemed.
Phil,
I can relate to your post. My dad also worked for IBM and I followed him for 30 years myself. I started in Franklin Lakes/ Montvale NJ. I started off like my dad with the dark suits and white shirts. I was a programmer right out of college. After a few years I transferred to Boca Raton, FLorida. I went to work dressed the same way when I first started there - Then one day - my manager and project leader - told me it was time to shed my "garb" and get with the program. The programmers were dressed down before it became the norm. I remember donating several old suits and shirts after I was working there for awhile. Steve
re: Things were seldom what they seemed.
I was a UPS driver for 30 years. My color palette was pretty limited. My biggest decision in the morning was whether to wear long pants or shorts.
re: Things were seldom what they seemed.
The name seems familiar but I did not know him. At the high point Boca had just over 10,000 regular employees on the Payroll. I know because I was the programmer that supported the Payroll application at that time and the "old" programs were written to handle 9,999 only.
Steve
re: Things were seldom what they seemed.
Steve, i had no idea IBM Boca had that many employees...at its height with manufacturing we had 7,000 employees at Kingston. When the doors shut on 7,000 jobs they thought the city of Kingston would go under...but for some reason it survived.
re: Things were seldom what they seemed.
IBM Raleigh had more than that but many came from other sites (Entry Systems from Boca). Of course since selling off the PC and servers the staff is significantly reduced.
re: Things were seldom what they seemed.
Yes, Boca went over the 10000 employee mark during the PC Boom era until all of that was moved to Raleigh. I spent weeks at a time in Raleigh during the transition of PC Company. I was one of the last groups that turned out the lights at the Boca Raton site and we were re-located to a few floors of a Bank of America (Nations Bank) building in West Palm Beach. Then I wound up moving to Atlanta after that. Steve
re: Things were seldom what they seemed.
i remember the first migration from Kingston to Raleigh...the powers that be thought that the good old boys in North Carolina would be overjoyed to work in an IBM facility..i don't believe they got as many as they thought.