Dress Up?

Yesterday morning, the first thing I did was check the news to see if something major has happened during my sleeping time, besides the usual, ongoing things. Not because I can't live without what you're served on X, but because if something major happens, it affects my work and prefer to know what to expect, and to factor it in.

As you know, X is full of ... everything (I'm trying to be diplomatic here and avoid using the obvious word), everyone wants attention and some would go to any length to get it, literally to any length, but there are good things there too, so yesterday I came across a post that made me think of the subject.

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Unfortunately it was too early, before 6am I think, I was still too sleepy and didn't bookmark the post, so I'm paraphrasing the meaning, without quoting it. The guy, a trader, advised everyone to dress up if you're working from home.

Dress up? I bet your first question is, why dress up? Was he naked? No, he wasn't referring to that, but to put on street clothes for working hours.

I'm not going to lie, I was a bit surprised at first, but when I read his post, could see the meaning, but more about this, at the end of my post.

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After reading the post, was thinking what people think about dressing up and how it is used (or maybe for what purpose, would be a better expression) throughout the world.

Dress How You Want To Be Addressed

A couple of years ago, when I was actively curating for one of the projects, I was reading a lot of posts of all kinds I would not otherwise read and came across several that used this saying. It seemed really strange at first, so I asked the author what it means and was told that if you want to be taken seriously and be appreciated, you need to dress up.

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There's a saying in Hungarian, according to which "Clothes don't make the man". While I agree, there's a dress code for every occasion, I also fully agree with the saying too, so I tried to explain the user that dressing up with expensive or flashy clothes won't make you a better person, but I don't think my words reached their ears or mind. Once you grow up with this mentality, it's difficult to change.

By publishing this port, I'm basically catapulting myself to public enemy no. 1 in Nigeria, as this is their saying and culture, but I'm ok with that. After so many years on the platform, it's evident to anyone that they put a lot more emphasis on clothes and appearance than others, for all the wrong reasons. With a healthy mind, no one should think clothes would make you a better person or people would think more of you, or appreciate you more for this reason.

The other shocking statement from another Nigerian once was, that "you don't show up at a job interview in beachwear because you are risking to be come the object of ridicule". Well, ridicule has nothing to do with the reason you don't show up in beachwear at a job interview and honestly, it shows how different their mentality is.

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Dress As You Wish

On the other end of the scale are those who dress as they want and don't really care about dress codes and occasions. As nothing is black and white in life, I agree, you should be able to dress as you like, but there are some social standards everyone should take into consideration and respect.

It was at the end of my third university year when we had our year end exam of commercial law, when this incident happened. There was a guy in our group, who showed up in a football jersey, which was a sleeveless top and shorts, wearing the name and the number of one of the most famous football player of the country, who I prefer not to name here.

The professor was a true gentleman in every sense of the word and I can't forget how he handled the situation. He approached the guy and informed him that he was in the wrong place as the football field is on the ground floor, north to the entrance. The guy said he was not lost, he came for the commercial law exam, to which the professor said "No you didn't. If I had respect for the class and am wearing a shirt and trousers, I expect the same from the class too. You go home and if you make it back dressed appropriately, you can take the exam. If not, you apply again in September" and kicked the guy out. Casual in this case would have been enough, but not everyone has the education to know that.

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Dress To Get Results

The two cases I detailed above have to do with education but what I'm about to write now, is exclusively a result of studying human behavior and especially knowing yourself. To get where this guy is now, you need to be intelligent enough.

Basically the guy said he's been trading from his own home, dressed in sweatshirt and jogging suit for years, but the real change regarding productivity and win rate came when he dressed up in the morning and set down to his desk as if he would sit in an office. That's when he was able to fully focus and dedicate his full attention to trading.

The funny thing is, hybrid working is a real thing and so many are working exclusively from home, so how is your home-working dress code affecting your work?

To be totally fair, we're talking about an independent trader, no boss, no re-set working schedule, unless you count the four official trading sessions, no targets set by others, you do what you want basically.

So how do you feel when working from home? How do you dress up on those days? Are your clothes influencing your work?

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