Attractiveness has always affected opportunities afforded to people and other people’s perceptions of you. This is not just in tech. Hell, it influences elections! This is just human nature and has been studied extensively. It’s just trendy to bash Silicon Valley for this, because, you know, everyone on Wall Street is wearing suits for the comfort factor...
However, I think there’s an upper bounds on where that matters, and I think it mostly matters when climbing the corporate ladder. If you look at the richest men in the world, most are not supermodels.
The moral of the story - if you want to play the game you have to play by the game’s rules. Otherwise, play a different game.
The richest men in the world didn't get rich as an employee of someone else, which is the case for most people in the article and on this board. They either created a company, inherited or married into wealth, or simply looted and pillaged it from other people.
These people make up an infinitesimally small proportion of the general population, and as such don't make for a good counter-example.
They make a good counter-example to the point of playing a different game. If you want to get rich, there are other ways to get there without having the worry about the attractiveness factor.
Of course conformity is the reason for the suits, but I'd like to point out that if you're wearing suits 5 days a week it would be foolish to not buy a comfortable one. Good materials and a good fit can make for a very comfortable suit.
More comfortable, I dare say, than the casual attire I must wear when working for west coast tech companies, lest I not conform to west coast tech company expectations. T-shirts and hoodies lose their charm when they start to feel like a requirement. Nice silk suit trousers feel nicer than blue-jeans, if they fit well they feel as nice as pajamas, but the looks you get in a west coast tech offices when you wear such clothing are withering.
Fully agree, that's what I wear now. It's a lot more comfortable than traditional denim, but still not quite as comfortable as the silk slacks with elastic wastes that I wear to weddings and whatnot.
However, I think there’s an upper bounds on where that matters, and I think it mostly matters when climbing the corporate ladder. If you look at the richest men in the world, most are not supermodels.
The moral of the story - if you want to play the game you have to play by the game’s rules. Otherwise, play a different game.