2 posts tagged “me”

chaddy has this theory that in most cases, there's no such thing as a dress code in california. sometimes (like tonight) i worry that i'm going to be underdressed for a place, but he thinks that no one in our great state really cares how you look--as long as you look vaguely appropriate.

which, for me, is a good thing. i hate dressing up. i cannot stand to wear a tie (unless it's tied loose, such as with an unbuttoned collar or just a t-shirt) and tucking a shirt in is just painful. i'll do one or the other for special occasions, but it has to be damn special! (my everyday wear is a t-shirt and shorts or t-shirt and jeans.)

which brings me to the point of dress codes. for me, i just dress appropriately, "business casual" or "formal" be damned. i'm not going to go to a nice restaurant in a t-shirt and raggedy jeans. but at the same time, i'm not going to go out of my way to be uncomfortable in a suit and tie when all i want to do is have fun at dinner, you know? as long as i'm not the worst-dressed person there (in terms of level of dress-upped-ness and in terms of overall outward appearance), i'm A-OK in my book.

tonight we went to alfred's steakhouse in the city (pretty good place, yelp review to come). i wasn't sure what to wear so i just wore a standard going out on the town outfit [jon is wearing a shirt by diesel, tie by a random company, jeans by paper denim and cloth, and shoes by vans, all items bought on sale, natch]:
 

now, alfred's is a pretty swank-looking place. kind of like it stepped out of a mob film. when we walked in, i thought i was underdressed since there were people in suits, but then several parties came in where people were just in jeans and an untucked polo. it was then that i realized i was good. *phew*. one homeboy even kept his baseball cap on the whole time. umm, i don't care how relaxed california is, that's just plain rude in a fine establishment. (see, i draw the line somewhere!)

if i believe chaddy (and the more i think about it, the more i'm inclined to agree), then i could imagine people saying oh, those californians are messing with tradition and they're so left coast and dumb punk-ass know-it-all kids (for the record, i'm neither dumb, punk-ass, know-it-all, nor a kid), but you know? i'm ok, you're ok. i feel good in my clothes and i'm proud of the way i look and present myself. so there. however, if i'm ever in a situation where someone tells me i'm dresed inappropriately, my feelings won't be hurt. but chances are, it won't happen here in california where everyone is laid back! ha!