element14 Community
element14 Community
    Register Log In
  • Site
  • Search
  • Log In Register
  • About Us
  • Community Hub
    Community Hub
    • What's New on element14
    • Feedback and Support
    • Benefits of Membership
    • Personal Blogs
    • Members Area
    • Achievement Levels
  • Learn
    Learn
    • Ask an Expert
    • eBooks
    • element14 presents
    • Learning Center
    • Tech Spotlight
    • STEM Academy
    • Webinars, Training and Events
    • Learning Groups
  • Technologies
    Technologies
    • 3D Printing
    • FPGA
    • Industrial Automation
    • Internet of Things
    • Power & Energy
    • Sensors
    • Technology Groups
  • Challenges & Projects
    Challenges & Projects
    • Design Challenges
    • element14 presents Projects
    • Project14
    • Arduino Projects
    • Raspberry Pi Projects
    • Project Groups
  • Products
    Products
    • Arduino
    • Avnet Boards Community
    • Dev Tools
    • Manufacturers
    • Multicomp Pro
    • Product Groups
    • Raspberry Pi
    • RoadTests & Reviews
  • Store
    Store
    • Visit Your Store
    • Choose another store...
      • Europe
      •  Austria (German)
      •  Belgium (Dutch, French)
      •  Bulgaria (Bulgarian)
      •  Czech Republic (Czech)
      •  Denmark (Danish)
      •  Estonia (Estonian)
      •  Finland (Finnish)
      •  France (French)
      •  Germany (German)
      •  Hungary (Hungarian)
      •  Ireland
      •  Israel
      •  Italy (Italian)
      •  Latvia (Latvian)
      •  
      •  Lithuania (Lithuanian)
      •  Netherlands (Dutch)
      •  Norway (Norwegian)
      •  Poland (Polish)
      •  Portugal (Portuguese)
      •  Romania (Romanian)
      •  Russia (Russian)
      •  Slovakia (Slovak)
      •  Slovenia (Slovenian)
      •  Spain (Spanish)
      •  Sweden (Swedish)
      •  Switzerland(German, French)
      •  Turkey (Turkish)
      •  United Kingdom
      • Asia Pacific
      •  Australia
      •  China
      •  Hong Kong
      •  India
      •  Korea (Korean)
      •  Malaysia
      •  New Zealand
      •  Philippines
      •  Singapore
      •  Taiwan
      •  Thailand (Thai)
      • Americas
      •  Brazil (Portuguese)
      •  Canada
      •  Mexico (Spanish)
      •  United States
      Can't find the country/region you're looking for? Visit our export site or find a local distributor.
  • Translate
  • Profile
  • Settings
Community Hub
Community Hub
Member's Forum The Engineer's "look"
  • Blog
  • Forum
  • Documents
  • Quiz
  • Events
  • Leaderboard
  • Polls
  • Files
  • Members
  • Mentions
  • Sub-Groups
  • Tags
  • More
  • Cancel
  • New
Join Community Hub to participate - click to join for free!
Actions
  • Share
  • More
  • Cancel
Forum Thread Details
  • Replies 15 replies
  • Subscribers 533 subscribers
  • Views 3650 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Related

The Engineer's "look"

robogary
robogary over 1 year ago

In all the movies, stereotypical male engineers in the 50s and 60s wore drab colored suit jackets, white shirts, pocket protectors, straight leg pants, brown or black shoes. Female engineers, dresses, hose, and flat shoes. 

The 70s saw the suit jackets get more colorful, wide ties, wide lapels, maybe a moustache,but still somewhat conservative. Leisure Suits ughhh The ladies wearing pant suits. Modest hair styles. 

The early 80s relaxed on the jackets, as the decade wore on, ties also faded as they were seen as intimidating to a workforce. Ladies wore what they wanted as long as it was respectable.

Still neat dress was required, shirts with collars, dress pants, dress shoes or the required steel toes. 

As time goes on, casual growing more acceptable, jeans, tennis shoes/sneakers, polo shirts....

The office standard now seems to be jeans, polo shirts, tennies, with some just wearing T shirts (somewhat still frowned upon). Shaving is optional. Combing hair is preferred. Sandals are adopted by some.

Business dress is desired when customers come in.   

The "working from home" dress code drifted into the office, altho no jammies or undress in the office yet.

What is your "look" and what are your expectations for your colleague's dress and appearance  ?  What is your idea of an engineer's stereotypical look these days ? 

      

  • Sign in to reply
  • Cancel

Top Replies

  • kmikemoo
    kmikemoo over 1 year ago +4
    Okay... I'll poke the bear. First let me say that I deeply respect you all. Sincerely. The male "Engineer look" is slightly outdated clothing and socially, a bit awkward in group settings. People don…
  • dang74
    dang74 over 1 year ago in reply to kmikemoo +4
    That post was a joy to read. Very comical and insightful in its observations of human psychology. My favorite part was: "His only business suit is also his funeral suit."
  • phoenixcomm
    phoenixcomm over 1 year ago +4
    robogary Ok, I have not worked for a LONG TIME! From the '70s to the mid90s I owned my own as well. so here goes!I always at, Garrett Aireserch, Hughs Aircraft, TRW, and Grumman always had to look sharp…
  • genebren
    genebren over 1 year ago

    The movies may not necessarily reflect the stereotypical engineers (creative license). I was hired for my first engineering job in the mid 70s, my work dress was very simple (casual), nice pants (not slacks) and shirt (even T shirts were OK). If we were expected to meet with customers or being in an interview, we might have been expected to wear a suit. If we were going to be working around some equipment, or doing a 'dirty job', we could push the dress to even more casual so not as to endanger good clothes. I can remember showing up for my first data of work and my immediate supervisor mentioned how happy he was that I did not have a cigarette pack in my front shirt pocket (obviously he was not a big fan of cigarette smoke). So, maybe the stereotypical engineer of the early 70s may have had a pack of cigarettes in the pocket with the pocket protector.

    In the mid 80s, I was promoted to a software manager, and my dress was slacks and a button up shirt, again with an expected suit when meeting customers or being in an interview.

    In the mid 90s, I stopped managing and stuck strictly with a technical leadership role.  Dress was very casual then.

    Throughout my engineering career I had a mustache and beard (except for a short period of time when I shaved the beard) so shaving was always optional.

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up +1 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
  • dougw
    dougw over 1 year ago

    I had to wear a tie in high school - back in the last century. I wore a tie to work until around 2010. I still wear a dress shirt, black slacks and black shoes. I would still probably wear a tie to an interview. I've been very successful at landing jobs when wearing a tie...Relaxed

    I don't work from home. Home is for hobbies and sweat pants.

    The software crowd around here, on the other hand, started wearing sandals and shorts and ponytails shortly after microprocessors were invented.

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up +1 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
  • kmikemoo
    kmikemoo over 1 year ago

    Okay... I'll poke the bear.  First let me say that I deeply respect you all.  Sincerely.

    The male "Engineer look" is slightly outdated clothing and socially, a bit awkward in group settings.  People don't think like he thinks so it's tough to relate - but he tries.  Good natured.  Sincere.  Right up until you prove yourself a "Flat Earther" and then... a bit condescending.  He still doesn't want a fist fight.

    The female engineer... it doesn't matter what she wears as she has a "presence".  After all, she works in a male-dominated world.  She is strong willed and assertive - and it freaks the males around her out.  She can be highly admired for her skill, but there's still a bit of "does not equal" that exists around her.  (Might be that men will never understand women - and yet, she's here.)

    My first thought was of an IT Engineer.  Young.  Thin.  Unruly hair.  Everything that I'm not or don't have.  Looks awkward in a business suit.
    What I was taught were the "classic engineers", EE's, ME's and CE's (both kinds)... middle aged, balding, slightly over-weight, only wear short sleeved shirts, slacks and shoes with no laces.  On the weekends, they upgrade to white t-shirts and newer blue jeans - nothing ratty.  Clean white New Balance sneakers.  His only business suit is also his funeral suit.  A little tight.

    Right now, we only have one Engineer that works for the company and he's an IT guy.  He in competition for "the most interesting man in the World" in my book.  Sometimes he wears tweed.  Sometimes it's business casual.  He is a true Renaisance man and breaks every mold.  He's cool in every generation.

    So... fantastic question, robogary.  Again... you all are great.  Please see the humor.

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up +4 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
  • dang74
    dang74 over 1 year ago in reply to kmikemoo

    That post was a joy to read.  Very comical and insightful in its observations of human psychology.  My favorite part was:

    "His only business suit is also his funeral suit."

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up +4 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
  • iker46
    iker46 over 1 year ago

    Great  question!

    Chemical Engineer here, PhD too. I've never used a suit or even a tie for work.

    Always shoes (not sneakers), trousers (not shorts or jeans), depending on the weather or if I'm meeting someone: t-shirt, polo shirt, shirt and sweater.

    I usually trim my hair to zero each two weeks, during cold months I've been growing a pretty big beard the last couple of years and during the hot months about 3 mm... never fully shaved.

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up 0 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
  • robogary
    robogary over 1 year ago in reply to kmikemoo

    ROFL- u nailed it.

    The interesting part of the question is the answer is somewhat age dependant. 

    My wardrobe depends on what I'm doing. If I'm in the field or lab, I gotta wear cotton long sleeves, jeans, safety shoes.

    In the office meeting customers, khakis and  dress shirt suffices. Gotta be clean shaven or neat shaven. 

    No customers: jeans, polo shirt, and tennies. Shaving is optional. No one in the office cares about fashion statements. T shirts and shirts are frowned upon, but tolerated in the summer.

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up 0 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
  • dougw
    dougw over 1 year ago in reply to kmikemoo

    We had a guy who was always pretty "dressed up" - somehow he got the nickname "GQ"...Relaxed

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up 0 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
  • beacon_dave
    beacon_dave over 1 year ago

    Are you trying to tell me that a beach thong, tool belt, hard hat and safety boots is no longer the 'in thing' ?

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up 0 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
  • robogary
    robogary over 1 year ago in reply to beacon_dave

    not at all, if you got it it, flaunt it  ......but respect NFPA70  

    image

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up +2 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
  • DAB
    DAB over 1 year ago

    When I was working, we were expected to wear ties if we were meeting with customers, otherwise we were free not to.

    I once had a secretary remark that we all dress like nerds.

    I pointed out to her that we were all very well paid nerds who did technical work, not fashion shows.

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up 0 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
>
element14 Community

element14 is the first online community specifically for engineers. Connect with your peers and get expert answers to your questions.

  • Members
  • Learn
  • Technologies
  • Challenges & Projects
  • Products
  • Store
  • About Us
  • Feedback & Support
  • FAQs
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Legal and Copyright Notices
  • Sitemap
  • Cookies

An Avnet Company © 2025 Premier Farnell Limited. All Rights Reserved.

Premier Farnell Ltd, registered in England and Wales (no 00876412), registered office: Farnell House, Forge Lane, Leeds LS12 2NE.

ICP 备案号 10220084.

Follow element14

  • X
  • Facebook
  • linkedin
  • YouTube