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The Rise of Power Jeans – A Clarification

Posted on 16. Nov, 2009 by Andrew Dumont in Public Relations, Random Musings

I recently hit a huge milestone… a quote in the Wall Street Journal. The WSJ has been the top of the pops for me since I was a kid,  while others read Dr. Suess, I was reading the Money and Investing section of the journal (obviously I was a weird kid). The quote was in a piece called “The Rise of Power Jeans”, an article that explored the history and progression of jeans in the workplace. Although the quote was a long time dream, it was almost bittersweet, as it was placed in an article that was not set in the context of my quote, in turn causing a bit of confusion from many friends and readers on my position.

So, I thought it was time for a clarification. My quote read…

When someone shows up to an interview or meeting in anything other than jeans, it shows inexperience and a lack of confidence.

Which is true – for our company, and for much of the tech world, but not in all industries. As a rule of thumb, I believe that you should dress to the level of the interviewer, nothing more and nothing less. This will obviously vary by industry, but try to adapt to the culture of the company, it will give you a huge upper hand in the interview process. The way someone dresses at an interview is so vital because it does show culture. Skills can be taught, culture can not – keep that in mind.

For those of you that are curious, below is my email that was sent to Christina (editor at the WSJ) on the topic…

In the technology industry, wearing anything other than jeans at an interview is considered odd. When I first started at Tatango, I was very new to the web 2.0 world. I interviewed in slacks, went to all my meetings in slacks and even wore a suit on occasion. However, after working in the industry a bit, you realize very quickly that suits, slacks and the like are outside of the norm. In my opinion, when someone shows up to an interview or meeting in anything other than jeans, it shows inexperience (I was a perfect example of this) and a lack of confidence. Personal image in the technology industry is based primarily on resume (past companies, social media influence, connections, etc.) and not on physical image. In a way, wearing jeans and a polo to an interview displays fortitude, it says to the interviewee, “I don’t need to impress you with my clothes, I’ve got the chops.” Take a look at the biggest names in the industry, Mike Arrington, Pete Cashmore, Gary Vaynerchuk, Guy Kawasaki, etc., not once have you seen them in anything other than jeans. By stepping outside this norm of the industry, you morph yourself into someone that is uneducated in the field and lacking the desired skill set.

Tags: workplace attire, wsj