Self-branding and today's image of "professional"

For the past month or so, I have had the opportunity to work closely with Mike Brascia, a well-knowledged, men's fashion consultant who has been in the industry for over 33 years. Conveniently, especially for the purposes of this blog, he is also my father so taking time out of work to rant about the status of fashion and self-image didn't take much. The motivation for this post came from a discussion we had about how specifically men in general have lost a priority towards a dapper self-image in lieu of casual dress and demeanor.

To begin, I would categorize myself as being drawn towards the latter of those two sides as I believe I am a product of the society I grew up in. One would think that having a father with such fashion sense and a wardrobe to match would only have me appreciate the value I put towards dressing classy; however my personality has always struggled to find the right time and place to fully take advantage of essentially having the closet most men can only dream of. Which brings us back to the original question: Why have things changed so drastically? Why, instead of the formal suit-and-tie business fashion that was so prevalent in the past, are we seeing more jeans and t-shirts accompanied by the odd blazer? I sat down with Dad, whoops, I mean Mike, and picked his brain a bit.

"When I first got into this business thirty years ago, there is no way you would see the people dressed the way they are [downtown]." When I prodded further, he continued, "...never mind downtown, even people going out for special occasions, weddings, church on Sundays, etc... people are just not worried about their self-image like they used to be." As I took in what he was saying I reflected on my own fashion habits and how I thought to myself that I have more in common with those people in that perspective than I did my own father! It's at this time I should mention that during the interview he stopped to give me a hard time about how my attire (I was wearing slacks and a shirt) was directly hurting his business or at least wasn't helping it (he was in full suit-and-tie, as always).

As the interview continued it became clear that the issue is that a person who dresses well can come off as dressing "too well" and it being unnecessary or intimidating. "Customer's walk in and explain that they are dressed too well for their job... the most common excuse is that because their job does not entail dealing with the public directly, they don't have to look good. Another is that if the person is in a management position, dressing well may come as 'over the top' and employees may be too intimidated to approach the boss. I think that's [crap]." I didn't need to say much by this time as you could tell he was on a roll. "What do they say? 'You only get one chance to make a first impression', well, you better believe that's true... Even though you may not be dealing with the public directly or feel that you're not in a position to have to dress the part, you are constantly projecting a self-image, a brand, that people are going to judge you on. Image is extremely important, I don't care who you are." I began to feel worse and worse about not having a tie and jacket on as he talked, but then I remembered he's my father, he's supposed to do that to me.

What can I say? Even though he might have not convinced me to give up my daily ensemble of jeans and a t-shirt, he had me thinking about what it means to brand oneself a professional in the eyes of the masses. Yes, it's true that business attire today has become more relaxed and I believe the emphasis has shifted further from how an individual looks to the output they provide. However, as the professional business world becomes more competitive, the advantage of a high-end and classy attire is undeniable. "I've never seen anyone kicked out of somewhere or fired for being overdressed, but you always hear about the guy being asked to leave because he looks like a schmuck."

Well Pops, my 'schmuck' attire is going to continue to be at the core of who I am and the personality I reflect, but do you think I can borrow a tie and jacket for the rest of the day?

Finally looking the part,

Matias M. Barchman