The 50-year-old has been collecting suits, bow ties, and scarves in yellow, orange, pink, and other rainbow hues since he started working for the bank in the 1980s. The closet in Mark’s bedroom offers a glimpse into his three-decade career in finance. Inside the Work Wardrobes of Five Fabulous Men They also represent varying degrees of fabulousness, from subtle to full-on.
These men represent the range of demographics, occupations, and clothing styles in my sample. Their stories highlight both how men make clothing choices for work and their everyday experiences of wearing outfits that challenge masculine norms. The sidebar “Inside the Work Wardrobes of Five Fabulous Men” contains vignettes of several participants from my research (using pseudonyms to protect their anonymity). Fabulous men police their clothing to avoid “ masculinity dilemmas” at work: situations where their behaviors and appearances are in contrast to the dominant ideas about what it means to be a man. Because of this, many men save the sequined tops for the nightclub rather than the office. Unless you work at a fashion magazine or a cabaret club, these codes mostly conform to dominant gender norms that aren’t especially welcoming to men who wear feminine styles. Dress codes, whether written or unwritten, are common in workplaces. However, doing so creates a particular conflict.
LOGIC WORLD TOUR MEN FASHION PROFESSIONAL
It’s more common in the arts and fashion industries, but men also choose to dress fabulously in professional organizations. These choices are what performance studies scholar Madison Moore calls “ fabulousness” - a way of dressing and styling the body that not only disrupts gender codes but also introduces new forms of identity into the world.
While some of these men grabbed a navy suit and white button-down shirt for work, many did not - making clothing choices that defied masculine appearance norms when dressing for their jobs. We talked about how they made clothing choices each morning, as well as the memories, experiences, and feelings they attached to the garments hanging in their closets.
These men varied across races, ethnicities, body types, sexual orientations, occupations, and clothing styles. Fifty men between the ages of 22 and 78, all residing and working in and around Toronto, Canada, invited me into their homes and gave me a tour of their wardrobes. Over the past three years, I conducted a research project on men, masculinity, and fashion. I have found that the way we answer it has important implications for how men feel at work, and also influences organizational cultures in ways most managers might not consider. But what do we make of the men who reject the solid-color suit and opt for, say, an embellished jacket and sequined leggings? This question is not as trivial as it may seem. In Britain and North America, the suit is the most culturally accepted form of office wear for men. Some might add their own twist: a polka-dot pocket square or colorful socks. Most pull out some variation of the charcoal, navy, or black suit from their closet. Every morning, men make a seemingly mundane yet crucial decision: what to wear to work.
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