Clothes selection

"I wonder if there is some philosophical or psychological assessment of my values."

Or a psychedelic one perhaps?

I'm thinking about some study that claims more than half of the enjoyment of vacations comes from the planning and anticipation.

and if you get caught in an unexpected rain shower your black work clothes will dry quickly!

I'm in the same boat. I buy my work clothes/ suits from Ross and Marshalls. At $10-20 per pair of slacks and $8-15 per shirt, I can wear fairly new clothing all year for a pretty good amount. Not to say that there aren't a couple seconds or stuff that doesn't perfectly fit like a $500 tailored suite would fit some handsome male model, but, I DON'T CARE.

However, my performance stuff for getting outdoors is a little different. I still don't pay retail prices for my clothes, but, I do pay and care more than the stuff I use on a daily basis.

I work on my feet, so good footwear is absolutely necessary. Otherwise, yeah, a white T-shirt, a bandanna, and a pair of old, ratty shorts is my work uniform (I work in a kitchen).

Whereas the work wear is to avoid being burned by a pizza oven and to save as much cash as possible without scaring the natives, my outdoor clothing choices may very well help KEEP ME ALIVE under adverse conditions. So, more time, planning, and cost associated with it.

As always, YMMV.

Sounds like you are pragmatic in nature and tendency. Also maybe don't want to be noticed that much or don't want to stand out in your work environment?

Other than that, do you mean like color psychology? I've read a number of things on research into color preference–it does often seem to indicate definite trends about personality and orientation. Like, i've noticed that people that most prefer the "warm" colors, like red or orange, for example, tend to be more the adrenaline junkie types and/or more physical types.

Oddly enough, a lot of the color psychology stuff that i've read, seems to match some more esoteric color oriented stuff. If you want to ask more specifics, you can p.m. me.

I work in IT and in Colorado no less.

Jeans, jeans and more jeans. I am wearing a flannel and comfy town shoes (Hi Tec low cut hikers).

When I worked at start ups/small companies, I wore shorts and walked bare footed in the office.

For our wedding, I wore sandals and travel pants. The button down was nice, though. :)

If I was back East still, I suspect it would be different. I'd be wearing Dockers and a button down shirt even being an IT monkey that does not interact with the public. And for my brother's wedding next year, I was informed I'd be wearing a tux.

For outdoor clothing, not sure how much effort I truly put in as it is fairly dialed in at this point after years of outdoor activities. Base, mid-layer, shell. The specifics may change; the overall wearing does not.

Most contexts have fairly complex unspoken and unwritten rules — and most people very quickly choose to assimilate, regardless of how "independent" they believe themselves to be! In truth, not "fitting in" carries very real and very painful consequences; we may *think* we left all that behind in high school, but we didn't. Judging others by their appearance seems to be a pretty universal human (and animal) trait.

The OP's low-key black/gray color scheme may be perfectly normal within his company/industry, and he gets to feel comfortable and secure that he fits into his environment; he is also rewarded by his peers/bosses for being visually "on board" with the program.

Remember all the hippies in the '60s who espoused rabid individualism (while all wearing the same clothing fashions)?

Even in the backpacking context, we judge people by their appearances — imagine someone showing up at a GGG in an oilcloth raincoat, with a canvas backpack and tent… wouldn't they be harshly judged? UL'ers have their "uniform" of cuben packs/tarps, trail runners (god forbid you wear lightweight boots — you'll be ridiculed), etc.

All this is NOT to criticize, but rather to point out that we make conscious/unconscious decisions so that we will feel more comfortable, blend in, and/or be rewarded in our lives. Being truly different comes with a high price tag when you're a member of the human race.

Ed. for spelling – gack!

"Being truly different comes with a high price tag when you're a member of the human race."

I had a very interesting dream related to this. In the dream, i was observing (from detached, body-less perspective) an unusual young man, i thought of and called "dolphin boy" because in some ways he was like a hybrid of a human and dolphin. Physically it was only subtle and he was much more human than dolphin, but it was more obvious in mind, vibe, and abilities. Dolphin boy was very sensitive and aware, very telepathic (for a lack of a better way to describe, could tune into others and other states of consciousness very well).

Anyways, he was under observation by some human scientists and researchers, the human scientists and researchers thought they could learn some worthwhile things from and/or about him, but they weren't getting far in their research because Dolphin boy didn't communicate much at all in spoken words or sounds. They couldn't perceive or understand how he communicated.

So, they recruited my spouse Becky as a go between communicator/interpreter. Somehow they knew she might be able to communicate better with him, and indeed, the more time she spent with him, the more he learned the lingo and patterns of typical human communication, as well as opened up more.

For a long while, i had no idea what the dream meant, but then one day like a year or more later, i had one of those aha moments and realized the dream was about me, dolphin boy was a symbol for myself.

For all of my childhood i was quiet to the point of lower to moderate spectrum autism (yet not autistic, was hyper empathic), it was around the time when i met my spouse that i started to become more communicative and open (age 21). Anyways, even when i was very quiet and kept to myself, i still tended to get singled out and usually not in pleasant ways from my peers. In some ways, in group dynamics it got more intense at times once i became more communicative and open.

I sometimes think it's a bit amusing when people go out of their way to seem different, when most of my childhood i prayed that i could be like everyone else, fit in better, etc. For awhile, i wanted to be liked and accepted. Being truly different does have a high price, and it's not something you can fake or appear to be, it's just something you are, and people can almost sense it, and with the less secure, less happy, less balanced type personalities, it's like blood scent to a shark and sometimes causes a feeding frenzy effect in them. When i was younger, i learned how to fight really well. Now, i've learned how to defend without fighting or causing pain back (usually, not always).

But i can honestly say, that i've lost most of my attachment and fears to what others think or don't think of me, as well as the need or desire to be liked or accepted. This in itself, is a perceived threat to a percentage of people. I still follow most rules and conventions, not out of fear of consequence, but of sense of consideration for others and harmony. However, on issues i view as important, i won't budge and will be completely in people's faces.

Narcissistic expose moment over.

"Even in the backpacking context, we judge people by their appearances — imagine someone showing up at a GGG in an oilcloth raincoat, with a canvas backpack and tent… wouldn't they be harshly judged? "

I'd assume they got lost on the way to one of these????? :)

http://westernexplorers.us/people.html

And being the history buff that I am, immediately engage the person in conversation!

(My wife and I caught the tail end of one of these events. Kinda cool actually. One of replicas of the historic trading forts was mere yards away. http://westernexplorers.us/morephotos.html )

One of the buildings I work in has a messed up HVAC, so I need to layer. A cold day can trigger a furnace in one part of the building and an icebox in the other. If working summer, I have to assume the AC will give out on the hottest day.