Clothes Make The Man

As I put on a ratty pair of jeans and a well worn sweatshirt recently, I couldn't help but think of the cliche, "clothes make the man". Considering the outfit I'd be wearing, you can bet your bottom dollar that no one would mistake me for some sort of a professional unless it was a "professional slob".

 "Clothes make the man" implies that people will judge you based on how well dressed you are. The manner in which one dresses also is a way of making a statement. Case in point, the Irish laborer in the streets of Dublin. During a business trip to Ireland many years ago, I could not help but notice that men working with a pick and shovel wore a suit,a shirt and tie. Mind you the clothes were hardly tailored and bore the grime of several days work. I couldn't help but ask my Irish host why these men weren't dressed in clothes more appropriate for the work they were doing. The reply was that they were making a statement. They were the equal of any fancy dressed professional!

And then there was my POP.  On his way to work he wore a tailored suit with a white shirt and tie. A soft hat topped things off and the shoes were well polished. The clothes made the man - a proud one, a family man. To see my father going to work , one would never guess that he was going to a men's clothing factory where he would work his ass off running a row of steam presses so that his children could dress and work as professionals.

Oh yes, today being St. Patrick's Day offers concrete proof that indeed the clothes make the man. Just a dab of green on ones choice of dress, no matter how formal or casual, will make everyone Irish for the day. Erin go bragh!