When I was a teenager, I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up, but I knew that I didn’t want to wear a suit to work and I didn’t want to carry a brief case. Fast-forward . . . I ended up being a lawyer who often wore a suit and often carried a brief case. But I still don’t like dressing up and trying to look impressive. I’d much rather hire someone who was really proficient than someone who tried hard to look proficient. I’m not denying that having a certain look enhances a lawyer’s effectiveness in many situations–conspicuous consumption functions as a Darwinian display [1]–but old impulses die slowly.
Maybe that’s why I enjoyed reading this NYT article on the business casual [2]that is popping up at Barack Obama’s new house.
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