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September 02, 2008

Boxers, briefs, or . . . V-Neck tee shirts?

One of the pleasures of not working in a law firm is that I don't have to worry about what to wear. In particular, I don't have to worry about what's appropriate for business casual.

My personal view of business casual is that it's foolish. Either poop or get off the pot. In other words, dress like a man (in a suit), or dress regular casual.

In case you, too, have avoided the farce of business casual, you might not realize what kinds of problems this creates.

Here's an important question (via Above the Law):

Q. My son will be working as an intern in one of the big Wall Street firms this summer. They do not have to wear ties but will be wearing dress shirts. Should he wear a crewneck T-shirt under his shirt, which will obviously show at the neck, or a V-neck? Thanks!
I'm going to tell you the correct answer (my answer, that is). Wear a crew neck shirt with a collar that at most peeks out. Never wear a V-neck tee shirt. The V is not a masculine shape, if you know what I mean. You'll look like a freakin' metrosexual. And, no, you may not skip the tee shirt entirely when you wear a dress shirt. No bare chest for you. Because if you don't wear one, the armpits of your dress shirt are going to look as if your personal glaciers have been melting from global warming. End of story.

I didn't like answer of the columnist who posed the question, so here's a second opinion, also via ATL:
According to Carney, "in some circles it's seen as risqué and trashy not to wear an undershirt." And I'm sure a lot of people would argue the display of chest hair could potentially paralyze an otherwise promising career. However, the case study after the jump demonstrates that for some people, and only if you are sex on a stick like the subject that follows, letting your curly q's stick out can be the ticket to the big leagues. Bow chica wow wow.
And if you click on the link, note the problem with the men in the photo. They have TWO buttons open. Only one, guys. Only one.

Now, in light of the models at the top of the ATL post, and the lustful comment from a German reporter-ess when seeing Barack Obama work out at the gym, I had planned to photoshop the Democratic nominee in various tee shirts.

It turns out that wasn't necessary. I found a site called Dress Up Barack Obama. There aren't tee shirts there, but there are a lot of other clothing options at the site. To play, click on "Let's Get Dressed."

If you want to see what I came up with there, copy and paste this into the appropriate box at the site:

{f:1,mc:_level0.character_mc},{d:5013,c:hat,y:-72.95,x:1.55000000000001,mc:hat003},{d:4011,c:glasses,y:42.5,x:30.55,mc:glasses001},{d:3011,c:shirt,y:111.5,x:15.5,mc:shirt009},{d:2007,c:pants,y:201.6,x:22.8,mc:pants002},{d:1009,c:shoes,y:340.05,x:16.1,mc:shoes003}