Success is someone in a suit

Gaze

Gaze

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MBTI
INFPishy
I've been noticing recently that success is slowly or maybe quickly being defined solely in terms of living a life defined by dress that reflects status in a particular position, one which requires a suit. We more easily today accept this idea that success is someone who is in a job, field, or position where they dress more formally or "professionally" in some kind of tailored or neat wear. People who are not as dressy are not seen as successful.

I'm not referring to the norm of dressing nicely to go to work. Rather, I'm referring to how easily we accept the premise that to be a successful person or be seen as truly successful, you should put yourself in a position of importance or status, recognizable by others, to deserve the designation "success."

Although there are many people who are richer than everyone who don't dress up most of the time, we still see images in media, society, education, and the world which stresses that someone is not truly successful unless they showcase themselves visually and career wise in positions where they can show they are significant, valuable, or important, and this will obvious if they wear a professional or formal dress such as a "suit." If not, we're encouraged to see people as not being as successful or worthy of imitation if they don't reflect this.

What do you think, are we conveying false images of success in our world? What's the pro or con of this view of success?
 
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It depends what definition of 'success' you mean. Do you mean success as function of prestige and profit? In which case, many people who have this kind of success do indeed wear suits. Many, not all, but the majority do and therefore, a good suit becomes the 'symbol' that people associate with this definition.

Or do you define success as the achievement of personal desires and prosperity, in which case, success is fitted to the individual and their wants and needs.

The latter is difficult to qualify because it varies. The former, on the other hand, is easier to fit into a caricature and easier absorbed into the social conscious and thus becomes the default for success.

Personally, I think that whether 'success is a suit' is a pro or con attitude depends on which kind of success an individual values. Do they want to be perceived as successful by the general populace and receive accolades and acclaim, or do they look for the type of success that will make them happy that have nothing to do with society's opinion. Or do they want both? It's rare to be able to marry what makes you happy with what makes everyone else 'ooh and ahh.' I think that in general, whenever we're at odds with what we want and what we think we should want, it's always going to make life more difficult for people. It's universal problem, whether we're talking about success, life habits, body images, the kind of partner we should have, etc.
 
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This looks like it could have been interesting.
 
I've always seen people in suits as successful people, and people in "nice work clothes" as less than successful. The suit has a lot of symbolism as seen in the book Dress for Success by Michael Malloy and Class by Paul Fussel. The idea of success, at least as I have perceived it for a long time and as I have observed others perceiving it, are people who go to work to manage others or money, and basically look just like Don Draper. I have evolved this perception in myself to see people who obtain mastery over their craft or are a wealthy venture capitalist. I think there is an emphasis on the visual aspect of success, which gives the illusion that lawyers are successful when they may be really sucky (here I reference the lawyer town I live in, and I used to work for a successful lawyer who had many sucky lawyers working for him). Worth mentioning is that inheriting your money is not success.
 
In the book I referenced they talk about how the people who would now be considered the 1% do their best to look unsuccessful in public, and prefer to not be seen in public because 1. Why do they want to speak to poor people and possibly get robbed and 2. All their things are way nicer than the things offered in stores, restaurants, etc.
 
Success is so individually defined. Success to me is defined as being able to not destroy others - emotionally, physically, financially etc. It is so easy to destroy - it's not even a game worth playing. Therefore depending on the game one chooses to play and set themselves the task of succeeding at success is such a fluid concept. A harder game and one I derive pleasure from 'winning' is having everyone win - as well as myself. To succeed in this game one has to win with oneself as well.
 
I agree with you Gist, there is a sense in which success is marketed as suited. I think this is saturated in stock photography that is used in articles and this is one reason we see a lot of this association. But to me this just screams "Welcome to telemarketing!" Suits in general are a lot more affordable than they were in the past.

I'm reminded of Newland Archer in Wharton's "Age of Innocence" who finds it so comfortable to dress up in the evening that he doesn't understand why others don't (which is because they don't have the luxury he does).

In terms of clothes, I think "success" is the ability to choose what to wear at any time, regardless of the expense of the clothing or the rules of the social setting.
 
I actually don't think success is defined by a suit anymore, at least not what we traditionally perceive as a "suit."

Success is when you embody your ideals and those ideals are reflected in the clothes that you wear. When you understand yourself and your ideals you can demonstrate them aesthetically to a certain degree.

The "suit" has always been about minimizing your brain space so that it can be used on other things. You get a nice suit, a nice look that you can repeat easily and not put thought into it. The people that are putting tons of thought into it are still trying to figure themselves out. Figure it out and be done with it.

http://www.becomingminimalist.com/wear-one/

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Gist said:
I've been noticing recently that success is slowly or maybe quickly being defined solely in terms of living a life defined by dress that reflects status in a particular position, one which requires a suit. What do you think, are we conveying false images of success in our world? What's the pro or con of this view of success?
Click to expand...

Could be. People are generally motivated by perception and appearance these days. Personally... I wish I lived in a world which placed more value on intrinsic things. Joy. Contentment. Peace with the self and harmony. That wonderful feeling I get when I know things are in their place and as they should be.

Stuff like this is a good reminder to me personally... To do all that I do. For me. Not for money or for anyone or any thing. Just me.
 
While I view success differently, I agree that society still views the suit as the symbol of success. Suits denote security, stability and income. Dressing well gives the impression that a person is more mature.
People judge the cover.
I've been in many situations where I've been judged by my clothing, either because it is too nice for who people perceive me to be, or too nice compared to my peers in a public setting where it is expected people will dress differently, or (usually same clothing, because my wardrobe is fairly uniform) perceived as "not nice enough" because I don't wear publicized brands or anything flashy or trendy.

A well-dressed man is more attractive to me as well. Even if he is wearing a band shirt, he will look nicer (to me) if it fits, if the graphics are well-designed, and he makes effort with pants, shoes, hair, etc. Men look sharp in suits. My husband can make my knees buckle when he wears a suit.

All this said,

Success is a life well lived.
A life well lived is different for each person.

I personally won't view my life as a success unless I fulfill some of my dreams, which is mainly to produce a work in one of the areas of the arts I excel at that I believe defines me and my talents to my greatest abilities. I do not mean fame, or money, or popularity, but simply that I accomplished something complete, and of value, with the talent I was born with.... otherwise it would be like having wings and never flying.

But aside from that, success is love, health, wellness, happiness, and being able to handle the bad times at an even keel.
 
If you wear a suit ? The world treats you differently. I used to wear them to work, and to Court and it changes how people see you. Given any choice though, I'd always wear dark jeans, a shirt and a jacket, french student rebellion circa 1968, and carry a book. No surrender to "the man" lol.

No beret though, I'm still British..
 
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