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It's simple. To anybody who appreciates the pragmatic of "what works", suits look silly.

Let's break a suit down:

jacket: why? are you cold? there are better garments, made of better material that can keep you warm in a variety of colder than comfortable climates.

vest (optional): why? it makes you look like a poker dealer, but you forgot your green rimmed sunshade.

tie: supposedly to add some color, but looks like a noose, or a lead rope used to guide livestock around (the signal I always get from a tie), may as well just wear a shirt with some color. Predecessors to the tie are generally regarded as silly looking today. Nobody takes an ascot seriously today, bolos look ridiculous, bow ties instantly turn somebody into a fussy professor, and nobody would be caught dead these days in a cravat http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Louis1667...

oxford or similar shirt: oh where to start....buttons, from a time when fabrics couldn't be manufactured with the properties of jersey. Collar, to catch sweat from...all the sweating you're doing from the 3 layers of unnecessary clothing you're wearing. Sleeves, long to be proper, even if it's hot, buttons on the end, because again another vestigial holdover from primitive fabrics, or french cuffs, because who doesn't like to assemble their sleeves when they get dressed? Oh, and it has to be tucked in, leading to constant retucks throughout the day, or embarrassing shirt stays clipped to your socks or looped under your feet looking like some kind of lingerie reject.

Toss out that mess and we're left with ridiculous, overly expensive uncomfortable shoes that need constant maintenance, black socks and what are essentially just expensive slacks.

(edit: I'm frequently caught wearing suits for various work reasons, and I feel like an idiot every time I "suit up")




Many people, with a nice suit, feel quite good. Do not misunderstand the pragmatic importance of feeling good about yourself.

As a more accessible example: Why do you think more people wear shoes with shoe laces instead of Velcro straps?


Shoe laces are more functional.


Highly debatable.

For starters, shoe laces need to be tied, and they come undone. To use Velcro straps you simply have to press them firmly into place, and they take quite a lot of force to undo improperly.

The fact of the matter is the primary reason most people, by a huge margin, chose laces over Velcro is aesthetics (which Velcro sorely lacks).


Trust me--shoelaces provide a substantially better fit, support, and closure, despite being somewhat harder to use. Shoelaces are also replaceable in case of wear. Also, shoelaces are a standard and one might not be able to find the right shoe with a Velcro closure.


If all shoes were built with those things in mind (like say, boots are), then I might buy that. However in most shoes none of those things seem to be given strong consideration.


Well, don't buy impractical shoes then, no matter how nice they might look! (A-ha, we're back to the same argument then.)




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