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ClothesMaketheLawyer 11 - 11 May 2008 - Main.ThaliaJulme
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I am having trouble understanding what is at the crux of the discussion, in class and in the comments on Mina's paper, about clothes and class. I see that we categorize each other according to socioeconomic status, based on our clothes. Yet, Eben observes that it is a rare law student who dresses properly for an interview (I, for instance, know next to nothing about suits, let alone the nuances of buttons and collars). So we can assume that many incorrectly attired law students are offered jobs anyway, and learn to dress properly for their respective jobs once they already have them. It follows then, that I wear will depend on what I do, and not vice versa. If I change jobs, my clothes will change. So if clothes are not a bar to raising one's socioeconomic status, but rather an indication of that status once attained, where and when does the relationship between clothes and class become important? | | | I mean, I just see all these things (suits instead of jeans, brand choice, shirt colour) as arbitrary concessions to the society we have to live and work in. I definitely agree that showing you know the difference between a suit and jeans is different from showing that you know the difference between an ivory and a white shirt. But it seems to me like a difference of degree rather than type.
-- ClaireOSullivan - 11 May 2008 | |
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I hope you guys don’t mind, but I would like to redirect the conversation a little bit.
Maybe we could get back to Eben’s response to Mina’s paper. I am sure men are judged by their clothing as well, but women experience a different kind of judgment. Whether or not the person who made the boot comment meant to be sexist, the fact that comment had such an effect on Mina is meaningful. I really do not think men think about their image the way women do. To be taken seriously women have to tone down the cute and the sex.
Also, I would like to answer Claire’s original question (“where and when does the relationship between clothes and class become important?”) with another question: When didn’t this relationship exist? I gladly concede that my reaction is probably a product of my personal experience, but I cannot remember a time when class and clothing were not related. Would you mind clarifying the question? Are we being law specific? Are you wondering lawyers must figure out how to dress like a lawyer?
-- ThaliaJulme - 11 May 2008 | | |
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