Someone pointed out to me that the inconspicuously rich (and I'm talking loaded) drive very ordinary cars. I thought that was cool and I began to notice it more.
I don't know what rich architects drive, but I have seen vanity license plates with "(name) AIA" on them. I thought "Give it a rest."
I know that cool movie stars went through a Prius phase. Me? I'm not cool at all. I support Detroit and drive medium-priced, long-lasting American cars, after consulting Consumer Reports for that model's track record across various years.
I know a guy with a BW 1M, and the plate reads 1CA. I had to ask his wife, it stands for Number 1 Construction Administrator.
I personally drive an '83 320i. And all the loaded people I know mostly drive large BMWs and Mercedes, and then keep all the fun stuff in the garage until the weekend.
And Will, I like the alpha thing. I have to use how I dress to keep my male students in line. If I didn't look school-marm-strict, they would try to walk all over me. Reminds me, I better find that yard stick before school starts back up.
Is it hard to find parts for a 30 year old BMW? I found myself going to the wrecking yard for occasional parts for an early 90s GM car after having it for about 10 years. I picked up a fan blower motor that failed for $35. The price at the dealership was absurd.
I worked with a guy who collected ties. He always wore a different one everyday. Some were to die for. He also had a thing for the Mistress of the Preacher with the wife who always looked like she had just been to a baker who put frosting on her face. Strange can't recall any of the names.....It must have been another one of those glorious Media Moments.
I worked with a guy who collected ties. He always wore a different one everyday. Some were to die for.
Yeah, I've got a weakness for ties, so I have to stay out of that part of the store, since some bargain can always be found. It's not like a price tag is attached, so you might hear a compliment or two on a tie that cost a pittance. I picked up this pale pistachio green bas relief paisley tie at Macy's for between $20 and $30, where the paisley patterns are hardly detectable, and it looks great with a light tan summer suit and a white dress shirt.
We dress in "Speedos" in our shop. Who ever knows when the best wave is going to happen, even when you inland. Now I don't think you will find speedo prices going up because there collector items. However you might have to worry about the cost of shoes or flip flops as their prices are going off the scale.
it actually depends upon the situation like if you are going for an interview then you may wear light color shirt with dark trousers then if you are working for a company then may wear coat or blazer etc. And if talk about myself then I normally used to wear some light shirt with trousers or Camilla & Marc - Designer Forum or blazer but only sometimes.
I think designers of all kinds should put some thought into what they wear. There's a lot of aesthetic overlap between clothes and building - tight or loose fit, layering, material transitions, fasteners, etc. It seems strange to me that you'd dress like a regular person and then try to convince a client to build something more interesting than a regular building. It also seems odd that a designer would buy a suit off the rack if they could afford a tailor.
You know what, it's refreshing to see that the majority of the comments here are "pro" understanding the importance of how one dresses. I had a conversation with some of my peers about this, and a few of them were offended that I would even bring this up as "important". They thought it was so trivial, and yet, in my eyes, I see it as a defining detail especially if you are in the design industry. Like many of you have mentioned, it wouldn't make sense for a designer to look sloppy and not know how to put an outfit together...why would a client assume that he/she has good taste then within a project setting?
Its definitely not about how expensive your clothes are (My motto: Ballin' on a Budget!), but its about how you put your outfits together and maintain some creative individuality in the process. Even if you wear blazers or button downs or "all black everything", it really just relies on the FIT and the DETAILS. There are actually many parallels with fashion and Architecture which can be important to recognize.
I'll throw in my two cents. I think more important than what your wearing is how you wear. And what I mean by this is fit. I promise you that a poor fitting suit l
I'll throw in my two cents. I think more important than what your wearing is how you wear. And what I mean by this is fit. I promise you that a poor fitting suit looks ten times worse than being underdressed for an occasion. Unfortunately most men hear in america wear a suit 2 sizes too big for them. Also I know architects love black but honesty in terms of fashion black is not office appropriate and should be reserved for formal occasions.
Maybe its shortsighted on my part, but shouldn't the emphasis be on getting work as an architect rather than "looking like an architect"? Get the job first, then work on the fashion statements, later.
Creativity and competence comes from within. Brooks Brothers OUTLET, Nordstrom Rack, and Men's Wearhouse will do just fine. (George Zimmer and his grating "I guarantee it" are no longer part of that outfit). Just buy classic shit. And then have some high end jeans, a polo shirt, and loafers for less formal situations.
I remember going off to a-school and I would see these undergrads dressed in black turtlenecks or pullovers, wearing little round glasses, and thought "Oh, they must be avant garde." Within a matter of weeks, that preconception was shelved. They sucked in both their design work and their academic work, and then you no longer saw them hanging around the a-school. Can you spell "eyewash?"
I need some pointers...lol. Where i work they wear normal clothes and all have there own tooth brushes in office...(?)..... I would think to where a suite and tie everyday, but between working 45 hours a week and going to college at the same time putting on the same color socks is proofing to be difficult.
Thanks for that link, ssarch - I think it made the rounds here awhile back. I'd say all of those people are dressed very well, but only two are really impeccable. Several of them have proportion and/or silhouette issues. And IMO anyone in a white shirt and black pants looks like a waiter - unless they cover most of the white shirt with a cardigan or vest or something, or a white shirt with a black suit, of course (but then don't take off your jacket unless you're seated).
And IMO anyone in a white shirt and black pants looks like a waiter
Or, if they come in pairs, and have badges, a couple of Mormon missionaries. People make jokes about answering the door naked to get them to make a quick 180, but I wonder if people really do that.
Don't dress like a Civil engineer. And I take exception to the comments abt Zaha...beeatch was Hott (in 1984). Plus, Sacks of potatoes have a hidden appeal. And fer gawd's sake, don't wear no Hawaiian shirts.
In school, the CEs were typically jeans, polo shirt, and tennis shoes guys. I didn't see any pocket protector types. They seemed pretty cool, but they kept a glass partition, as opposed to a glass ceiling, with the architects. The thing I noticed in architecture was the obsession with black articles of clothing, glasses that made a statement, and a concerted effort to look like (faux) intellectuals. I'm no CE, but that's how I dressed in architecture school. I think I have only one black item of clothing, and it's a tourist t-shirt in which to wash the car.
Not wanting to beat-a-dead-horse but was interested in this subject and read a great deal in Search. I was surprised to read that current ideas on dress and what is being worn is not as bad as I was thinking. I would only reinforce the thought that dressing-the-part is expected and this idea that you have to match-the-hatch and wear what your clients wear is ridiculous. Yesterday my doctor was wearing parts of a great suit under his lab coat and I was wearing Kakis and a polo, should I take him aside and tell him to change his dress the next time I come in to look like me? I expect him to look-the-part and we should too, always.
I think the examples below all look-the-part – notice what they all have in common - a jacket.
Today I'm wearing a loose geometric print shirt and pinstripe trousers. With socks, and, as always, my People for Urban Progress Clerk handbag made of the repurposed fabric from the RCA Dome roof - each bag unique.
A nice blazer or suit jacket is a must. More important than the jacket itself, though, is quality tailoring.
I like to grab lightly-used stuff on eBay for cheap and have it tailored to fit. YSL, Jos A Banks, Armani, Christian Doir, you can find all these jackets and suits for under $100. Once they are tailored well, they look like (and really, they are) $500 jackets.
I just got a cashmere-alpaca blend jacket in pale yellow with light brown checks for $40 on eBay. It was probably a $800 jacket when new.
Sep 9, 14 12:10 pm ·
·
curtham,
Green pants can work if you want to communicate a more 'artistic' creative approach.
Dressing the part at the same time, recognizing the comfort zone of the client. It isn't to be or about dressing like the client but dressing appropriately for the client with consideration of who the client is while also being true to yourself to extent and the message / impression you want to communicate to the client.
It's a balance. You don't want to dress inappropriately to the client but also be recognized instantly by the client... your role or get the impression you want to communicate. Big message... you are a professional and you want to be taken seriously so you need to communicate that. If your message is also about being creative then a touch of that could be.
In men's wear, the magic is in the subtle details.
I have a dark blue blazer/suit jacket. I may wear brown, dark blue/navy, or black pants. My dress shirts are black, white, light or a more mid-tone blue usually.
My shoes are usually a hiking boots or similar such foot wear due to our hillside and rugged terrain. Usually a decent pair not ones too beaten up.
How it all goes together as a composition is among the most important factors. It is important that how you dress makes a good impression on you to the client and that they feel comfortable working with you.
First meeting with the client, I'd say is like a first interview. Context of the occassion is a factor to bear in mind.
I don't always wear the suit & tie arrangement. The context of the occassion is a factor in determining.
How to dress like an Architect
BB:
Someone pointed out to me that the inconspicuously rich (and I'm talking loaded) drive very ordinary cars. I thought that was cool and I began to notice it more.
I don't know what rich architects drive, but I have seen vanity license plates with "(name) AIA" on them. I thought "Give it a rest."
I know that cool movie stars went through a Prius phase. Me? I'm not cool at all. I support Detroit and drive medium-priced, long-lasting American cars, after consulting Consumer Reports for that model's track record across various years.
Put your hands up for Detroit...i luv this city...
I know a guy with a BW 1M, and the plate reads 1CA. I had to ask his wife, it stands for Number 1 Construction Administrator.
I personally drive an '83 320i. And all the loaded people I know mostly drive large BMWs and Mercedes, and then keep all the fun stuff in the garage until the weekend.
And Will, I like the alpha thing. I have to use how I dress to keep my male students in line. If I didn't look school-marm-strict, they would try to walk all over me. Reminds me, I better find that yard stick before school starts back up.
^
Is it hard to find parts for a 30 year old BMW? I found myself going to the wrecking yard for occasional parts for an early 90s GM car after having it for about 10 years. I picked up a fan blower motor that failed for $35. The price at the dealership was absurd.
Brooks Brothers is wear I shop, and I'm a bowtie wearer.
^
Brooks Brothers is fine ... IF it's an outlet store.
The last four years has been outlet BB for sure.
I wear Mr. Cat's Shoes....always buy them in Brazil.
I worked with a guy who collected ties. He always wore a different one everyday. Some were to die for. He also had a thing for the Mistress of the Preacher with the wife who always looked like she had just been to a baker who put frosting on her face. Strange can't recall any of the names.....It must have been another one of those glorious Media Moments.
I had to stop wearing the cape, kept getting caught in the car door.
I worked with a guy who collected ties. He always wore a different one everyday. Some were to die for.
Yeah, I've got a weakness for ties, so I have to stay out of that part of the store, since some bargain can always be found. It's not like a price tag is attached, so you might hear a compliment or two on a tie that cost a pittance. I picked up this pale pistachio green bas relief paisley tie at Macy's for between $20 and $30, where the paisley patterns are hardly detectable, and it looks great with a light tan summer suit and a white dress shirt.
http://www.hyatts.com/eCom/images/1/130221.jpg
We dress in "Speedos" in our shop. Who ever knows when the best wave is going to happen, even when you inland. Now I don't think you will find speedo prices going up because there collector items. However you might have to worry about the cost of shoes or flip flops as their prices are going off the scale.
^ Just in the shop or to client meetings? Do you pack it?
every time i wear a tie i think about hanging myself. today i am wearing a tie.
vado you wear a tie. A tie doesn't wear you. Many architects' ties wear them. But not yours.
searsucker or gingham checked shirt and jeans with brown shoes usually
http://www.wealthandluxurymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/151.jpg
it actually depends upon the situation like if you are going for an interview then you may wear light color shirt with dark trousers then if you are working for a company then may wear coat or blazer etc. And if talk about myself then I normally used to wear some light shirt with trousers or Camilla & Marc - Designer Forum or blazer but only sometimes.
I think designers of all kinds should put some thought into what they wear. There's a lot of aesthetic overlap between clothes and building - tight or loose fit, layering, material transitions, fasteners, etc. It seems strange to me that you'd dress like a regular person and then try to convince a client to build something more interesting than a regular building. It also seems odd that a designer would buy a suit off the rack if they could afford a tailor.
You know what, it's refreshing to see that the majority of the comments here are "pro" understanding the importance of how one dresses. I had a conversation with some of my peers about this, and a few of them were offended that I would even bring this up as "important". They thought it was so trivial, and yet, in my eyes, I see it as a defining detail especially if you are in the design industry. Like many of you have mentioned, it wouldn't make sense for a designer to look sloppy and not know how to put an outfit together...why would a client assume that he/she has good taste then within a project setting?
Its definitely not about how expensive your clothes are (My motto: Ballin' on a Budget!), but its about how you put your outfits together and maintain some creative individuality in the process. Even if you wear blazers or button downs or "all black everything", it really just relies on the FIT and the DETAILS. There are actually many parallels with fashion and Architecture which can be important to recognize.
Black shirt, black shoes, black socks, the rest will work itself out.
I'll throw in my two cents. I think more important than what your wearing is how you wear. And what I mean by this is fit. I promise you that a poor fitting suit looks ten times worse than being underdressed for an occasion. Unfortunately most men hear in america wear a suit 2 sizes too big for them. Also I know architects love black but honesty in terms of fashion black is not office appropriate and should be reserved for formal occasions.
Maybe its shortsighted on my part, but shouldn't the emphasis be on getting work as an architect rather than "looking like an architect"? Get the job first, then work on the fashion statements, later.
Moody's point is reflective of attitudes in design that value substance over style, which seem to be in the minority.
Creativity and competence comes from within. Brooks Brothers OUTLET, Nordstrom Rack, and Men's Wearhouse will do just fine. (George Zimmer and his grating "I guarantee it" are no longer part of that outfit). Just buy classic shit. And then have some high end jeans, a polo shirt, and loafers for less formal situations.
I remember going off to a-school and I would see these undergrads dressed in black turtlenecks or pullovers, wearing little round glasses, and thought "Oh, they must be avant garde." Within a matter of weeks, that preconception was shelved. They sucked in both their design work and their academic work, and then you no longer saw them hanging around the a-school. Can you spell "eyewash?"
I need some pointers...lol. Where i work they wear normal clothes and all have there own tooth brushes in office...(?)..... I would think to where a suite and tie everyday, but between working 45 hours a week and going to college at the same time putting on the same color socks is proofing to be difficult.
I guess it has to be something elegant and confortable
Found this a while back
http://blogs.wsj.com/runway/2012/05/09/work-wear-office-style-at-richard-meier-partners-architects/tab/interactive/
Thanks for that link, ssarch - I think it made the rounds here awhile back. I'd say all of those people are dressed very well, but only two are really impeccable. Several of them have proportion and/or silhouette issues. And IMO anyone in a white shirt and black pants looks like a waiter - unless they cover most of the white shirt with a cardigan or vest or something, or a white shirt with a black suit, of course (but then don't take off your jacket unless you're seated).
Bring the cape back!
And IMO anyone in a white shirt and black pants looks like a waiter
Or, if they come in pairs, and have badges, a couple of Mormon missionaries. People make jokes about answering the door naked to get them to make a quick 180, but I wonder if people really do that.
^ Works better with Jehovah's Witnesses.
This is what happens when you leave architects to dress themselves.
Don't dress like a Civil engineer. And I take exception to the comments abt Zaha...beeatch was Hott (in 1984). Plus, Sacks of potatoes have a hidden appeal. And fer gawd's sake, don't wear no Hawaiian shirts.
^
In school, the CEs were typically jeans, polo shirt, and tennis shoes guys. I didn't see any pocket protector types. They seemed pretty cool, but they kept a glass partition, as opposed to a glass ceiling, with the architects. The thing I noticed in architecture was the obsession with black articles of clothing, glasses that made a statement, and a concerted effort to look like (faux) intellectuals. I'm no CE, but that's how I dressed in architecture school. I think I have only one black item of clothing, and it's a tourist t-shirt in which to wash the car.
I weat bowties all the time....weat ones!
Whenever I go to a client meeting, I wear my "Your Architect Sucks" shirt and my garwondler tie.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=garwondler
^ What - no pics?!
wait, NO chest hair? that's how i get my best clients.
I really don't get why in a generalized opinion, architect's are thought to wear just black!
To be really honest, I've not seen one architect dressed in black out in the world.
Not wanting to beat-a-dead-horse but was interested in this subject and read a great deal in Search. I was surprised to read that current ideas on dress and what is being worn is not as bad as I was thinking. I would only reinforce the thought that dressing-the-part is expected and this idea that you have to match-the-hatch and wear what your clients wear is ridiculous. Yesterday my doctor was wearing parts of a great suit under his lab coat and I was wearing Kakis and a polo, should I take him aside and tell him to change his dress the next time I come in to look like me? I expect him to look-the-part and we should too, always.
I think the examples below all look-the-part – notice what they all have in common - a jacket.
green pants? really?
if i worked in an office where people wore sport coats or blazers i would probably do that. but i don't. so i don't.
Today I'm wearing a loose geometric print shirt and pinstripe trousers. With socks, and, as always, my People for Urban Progress Clerk handbag made of the repurposed fabric from the RCA Dome roof - each bag unique.
A nice blazer or suit jacket is a must. More important than the jacket itself, though, is quality tailoring.
I like to grab lightly-used stuff on eBay for cheap and have it tailored to fit. YSL, Jos A Banks, Armani, Christian Doir, you can find all these jackets and suits for under $100. Once they are tailored well, they look like (and really, they are) $500 jackets.
I just got a cashmere-alpaca blend jacket in pale yellow with light brown checks for $40 on eBay. It was probably a $800 jacket when new.
curtham,
Green pants can work if you want to communicate a more 'artistic' creative approach.
Dressing the part at the same time, recognizing the comfort zone of the client. It isn't to be or about dressing like the client but dressing appropriately for the client with consideration of who the client is while also being true to yourself to extent and the message / impression you want to communicate to the client.
It's a balance. You don't want to dress inappropriately to the client but also be recognized instantly by the client... your role or get the impression you want to communicate. Big message... you are a professional and you want to be taken seriously so you need to communicate that. If your message is also about being creative then a touch of that could be.
In men's wear, the magic is in the subtle details.
I have a dark blue blazer/suit jacket. I may wear brown, dark blue/navy, or black pants. My dress shirts are black, white, light or a more mid-tone blue usually.
My shoes are usually a hiking boots or similar such foot wear due to our hillside and rugged terrain. Usually a decent pair not ones too beaten up.
How it all goes together as a composition is among the most important factors. It is important that how you dress makes a good impression on you to the client and that they feel comfortable working with you.
First meeting with the client, I'd say is like a first interview. Context of the occassion is a factor to bear in mind.
I don't always wear the suit & tie arrangement. The context of the occassion is a factor in determining.
Green pants can work if you want to communicate a more 'artistic' creative approach.
Approach to the fairway at a golf course perhaps. Loud plaid works too, or yellow.
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