Q. Can clothing tell you much about a person?
Answer: No, I don’t think the clothing of a person tells “much” about a person except only how much “fashion-conscious” he or she really is. Besides, I never really feel “comfortable” with “judging” a person based on his or her “clothing”. However, sometimes, the clothing of a person provides a special “clue” to what a person does for his or her job. For example, a person with “workboots” and “dirty trousers” would most likely tell us that he or she works in the “farms” or he works in “construction”.
Q. Why do some companies ask their staff to wear uniforms?
Answer: Companies generally ask their staffs to wear uniforms mainly because they want to ensure “uniformity” across all levels of their “staffs”. This is done either to help employees identify with their companies or to boost morale at all levels of their staffs. For example, if a “lower” level employee at a company finds that he and CEO are wearing the same kinds of “dress”, the “lower” level staffs feel that he is no “less” than his CEO and that both contribute equally for the profit of the company. Besides, some companies want their employees to be easily recognisable by customers, for example, employees in a restaurant, and therefore ask the staffs to wear uniforms during office hours.
Q. What are the advantages and disadvantages of having uniforms at work?
Answer: The main advantage is that it helps reduce the “psychological and ego” gap between the high-level employees and those of the lower levels because they all wear the same kind of “dress”. Secondly, it helps promote the company “brand”, especially, when wearing the uniforms outside of the work. Thirdly, the uniform helps identify and separate the employees from the customers, when working in an environment that involves serving customers by remaining physically present with them.
The disadvantage, of course, of wearing uniforms at work is that it limits “self-expression” of the employees as they can’t seem to “wear” what they like. Besides, some uniforms may also be considered as “objectionable” to some employees on religious and cultural grounds.
Q. When do people wear traditional clothing in your country?
Answer: It all depends on the moods of the people involved as well as the weather. However, generally speaking, people in my country like to wear traditional clothing during religious festivals and ceremonies and wedding ceremonies. Many people also choose to wear traditional clothing during “New Year” celebration (different from the English “New Year” calendar).
Q. How have clothes fashions changed in your country over the last few decades?
Answer: Clothing styles and fashions have significantly changed in our country over the last few decades. As a result, traditional clothing today is “frowned upon” unless they are worn during some “traditional festivals and celebration”. In fact, today we can see that even a 60-year-old person is wearing “blue jeans” and “t-shirt” which was almost impossible to imagine before a few decades. Besides, there are many more choices of clothing fabrics today than what it used to before a few decades. Anyway, these changes are not unexpected because the clothing companies are coming up with newer and newer fashions in order to “break” into the new market segments.
Q. What is the difference between clothes that young people and old people like to wear?
Answer: As far as I can see, today there is a very small difference, if any at all, between what young people and old people like to wear. However, it is not unusual to see some old people still are choosing to wear traditional clothing most of the times while young people have no interest in wearing them whatsoever. Besides, both the “young” and “old” people today want more from their lives, and therefore, it is only natural that both generations would want to bring some “styles” and “colours” in their lives by wearing dresses that are trendy and fashionable.
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