Why do you dress that way?

I get asked this a lot, so I wrote a glorified FAQ page. #

1. The original reason was social engineering lite. Occasionally I would have to dress up for events in high school, and I noticed that when I did people treated me differently. There’s a ton of research into subconscious biases that’s honestly really fascinating, but suffice it to say that police officers are usually nicer to well-dressed people that they pull over.

   Doesn’t telling us this negate the effect?

   Probably a bit.

   There is a flip side: I had to dress down a little bit when I lived in Portland because folks there weren’t really keen on suit-and-tie types. Fun Fact™.

2. Closely related, but I’m (almost) never underdressed. I tend to forget events (like interviews) but have never had to run home and change.

3. Remove unnecessary decision-making. I hate having to make trivial decisions, and I consider choosing an outfit one of those. I carry a quarter in my wallet for most other ones.

“What about… #

• working out?” I have a separate set of identical workout clothes.
• yard work?" Same as above.
• when it’s really warm?" I roll up my sleeves; I don’t overheat easily. In extreme cases (see Orlando in June), I’ll wear yard work clothes.
• swimming?" I think I have some swim trunks somewhere.
• showering?" Seriously?