# What to do with suit jacket when in office?



## Pipps (Dec 20, 2005)

What is the best thing to do with a suit jacket on arriving in the office in the morning?

1. Coat stand
2. Back of chair

I can't see that either is ideal, mind you! :icon_pale:


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## ceaton (Feb 15, 2006)

rp. said:


> What is the best thing to do with a suit jacket on arriving in the office in the morning?
> 
> 1. Coat stand
> 2. Back of chair
> ...


Coathanger on back of office door for me. I did the chair thing, but then realized that I had 19 inch shoulders and probably a 24 inch chair.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

Hanging the coat up properly would certainly result in less wrinkling of and potential damage to the coat. I learned that the hard way several years ago when after hanging my coat on the back of my office chair, I went to push back from my desk and the tail of the coat somehow got entangled in one of the rollers on the chair. Never did that again!


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## A Questionable Gentleman (Jun 16, 2006)

I use a valet stand that I bought at Bombay Co. Looks good, does the job well and has a drawer for keys/wallet.


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## Will (Jun 15, 2004)

There is a third choice. You could wear the coat.


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## Holdfast (Oct 30, 2005)

I generally keep it on unless it's boiling hot, in which case either the chair wears it or I just lay it down gently on a spare chair.


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## dragon (Jan 28, 2006)

I read somewherethat hanging it on a chair ruins the coat and that you should always hang it on a hanger or on a coat rack.


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## Pipps (Dec 20, 2005)

I think hanging the jacket on a coat rack looks like it's causes it more disfigurement. The small peg on the coat rack looks to be stretching the collar unnecessarily.


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## Drag0n (Aug 24, 2006)

If a good hanger is not available, I fold my jackets.


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## EL72 (May 25, 2005)

Will said:


> There is a third choice. You could wear the coat.


That would be the first choice imo.


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## DaveInPhilly (May 16, 2005)

If I don't wear it I fold it over a spare office chair, or, as right now, it is laid out across a low file cabinet.


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## Trenditional (Feb 15, 2006)

Will said:


> There is a third choice. You could wear the coat.


I'd opt for the hangar also.

I just don't see the benefit of sitting at your desk in a coat. Now, if you're dealing with clients all day long then maybe sitting in your coat is acceptable. If you're just at your desk working, talking on the phone etc., I think wearing your coat might be a bit unnecessary. If you work in an office where everyone else hangs their coats, then keeping your coat on might look as out of place as if you didn't wear a tie and everyone else had a tie on.

Just my 2 cents


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## Srynerson (Aug 26, 2005)

Will said:


> There is a third choice. You could wear the coat.


Now that's just crazy talk! :icon_smile_big: More seriously, most offices these days are kept heated for the lowest common denominator tolerance for cold. As a result, I often find myself sweating just sitting at my desk in a shirt and slacks. Keeping a jacket on would get very ugly indeed.


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## odoreater (Feb 27, 2005)

Definitely keep a spare hanger in your office and just hang it up. Wearing a coat while sitting at your desk working makes you look pretty ridiculous and hanging it on your chair is not good for the coat (I know this from personal experience - one time I managed to ruin the roll of a coat's lapels by leaning on them with the suit hanging on my chair and basically crushing them).


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## EL72 (May 25, 2005)

odoreater said:


> Wearing a coat while sitting at your desk working makes you look pretty ridiculous


Why? I'm at my desk now with a coat one and don't feel the least bit ridiculous. If anything, I find people in shirtsleeves are the ones looking ridiculous.


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## EL72 (May 25, 2005)

Srynerson said:


> Now that's just crazy talk! :icon_smile_big: More seriously, most offices these days are kept heated for the lowest common denominator tolerance for cold. As a result, I often find myself sweating just sitting at my desk in a shirt and slacks. Keeping a jacket on would get very ugly indeed.


I find the opposite around here actually, where offices in the summer are kept at sub-arctic temperatures and that a coat is essential to keeping hypothermia at bay. :icon_smile:


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## odoreater (Feb 27, 2005)

EL72 said:


> Why? I'm at my desk now with a coat one and don't feel the least bit ridiculous. If anything, I find people in shirtsleeves are the ones looking ridiculous.


What you don't know though is that secretly your co-workers are laughing at you and talking to each other about you. Wearing a jacket while sitting by yourself in your office working, where there are no clients or whatever there, makes people look stodgy and like they are trying too hard.


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## constantmystery (Apr 18, 2006)

Whenever possible, get out from behind the desk and wear the jacket! It will also keep your butt from spreading which will have a better long term effect on your appearance. 
I prefer to do most work standing and I note that several captains of industry and government agree that we are more productive that way. Weekly meetings became quicker when all parties were standing!


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## mrchapel (Jun 21, 2006)

I always put it around my chair because I have nowhere else to put it. I am afforded the small luxury of a cubicle. My space is limited, so my chair is the only suitable place for it.


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## Pipps (Dec 20, 2005)

constantmystery said:


> I prefer to do most work standing and I note that several captains of industry and government agree that we are more productive that way. Weekly meetings became quicker when all parties were standing!


In my early days I spent two years as an auditor. I would spend 8+ hour days standing around tables without sitting down once. It just felt so right.

I worked independantly most of the time, so could work how I pleased. But on the odd occasion when accompanied by a colleague, they clealry thought me mad to never want to sit down.

Your most has been most encouraging :icon_smile:


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## JLibourel (Jun 13, 2004)

I am a firm believer in wearing your jacket or suit coat at your desk. Wearing a shirt and tie without a coat looks very third-rate under any circumstance...the kind of thing the produce manager at the local supermarket might do! (Not that I have anything against produce managers, but they are seldom arbitri elegantiae.)

Very rarely do I feel any discomfort from wearing my jacket, so cold do they keep this place in the summer.


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## Will (Jun 15, 2004)

JLibourel said:


> I am a firm believer in wearing your jacket or suit coat at your desk. Wearing a shirt and tie without a coat looks very third-rate under any circumstance...the kind of thing the produce manager at the local supermarket might do! (Not that I have anything against produce managers, but they are seldom arbitri elegantiae.)


It's more civilized at AAAC. This past weekend, I narrowly avoided a lynching by produce managers at another forum for suggesting that gentlemen wear their jackets.


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## EL72 (May 25, 2005)

odoreater said:


> What you don't know though is that secretly your co-workers are laughing at you and talking to each other about you. Wearing a jacket while sitting by yourself in your office working, where there are no clients or whatever there, makes people look stodgy and like they are trying too hard.


Well, since I am an academic, and therefore don't really do any work, I suspect I am safe from the mocking glances. :icon_smile:


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## Phinn (Apr 18, 2006)

_Wearing a jacket while sitting by yourself in your office working, where there are no clients or whatever there, makes people look stodgy and like they are trying too hard._

I never take my jacket off at the office.

Almost never, at least. When required to do so by unavaoidable circumstance, I have my valet stand a few feet away, holding it in his gloved hands.


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## LoneWolf (Apr 20, 2006)

I have a hangar on a hook on the back of my office door. When I come in, the jacket goes on it, and there it stays until I leave for the day unless I have an outside meeting during the interim. 

I wear braces every day and I think they make me look "finished" enough without a jacket. Even if that wasn't the case, I'd feel too constricted to wear one while sitting at my desk.


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## Brian13 (Aug 9, 2006)

i wish i had the opportunity to wear a suit to work to even be preoccupied with these questions.
i guess i can wear one, but i would really look strange amidst everyone else and they would want to know what the special occasion was.


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## rip (Jul 13, 2005)

mrchapel said:


> I always put it around my chair because I have nowhere else to put it. I am afforded the small luxury of a cubicle. My space is limited, so my chair is the only suitable place for it.


There are available numerous devices for hanging hangers from in almost any kind of cubicle: some which hang over the top, some of which attach to the walls. Surely you can find something that will do better and more safely than your chair.


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## Zosk (May 8, 2006)

I also tend to keep my jacket on when I'm in the office. I just feel a bit "unfinished" without it. I suppose if I was going to hang up the jacket I would use a hangar on the hook on the back of the office door.


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## Bradford (Dec 10, 2004)

Take it off and put it on a hanger on a hook on the back of the door.

Put it back on if you have a meeting with the boss or a client.

I know some will disagree, but the other benefit to this is in the summer, you can leave a blue blazer (that goes with practically anything) hanging on the back of your door for nearly the whole summer and not have to wear it back and forth to the office everyday. This is of great benefit to those of us in climates where the average daily temperatures are 110-120 degrees.


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## LotharoftheHillPeople (Apr 30, 2006)

I am surprised that so many of you boys have enough room in your offices for a "hangar;" I did not realize that some of our larger cities would allow zoning for suit hangars. . Sorry, it was too easy.
But in all honesty, I avoid playing Hamlet in the office by just rolling up my coat and using it as a pillow.


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## dprof (Jul 15, 2006)

They crank the AC, so its actually comfortable with the jacket on. If I do take it off, I lay it on top of a stack of art history books, or things I need to do, thus avoiding the task:icon_smile_wink:


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## odoreater (Feb 27, 2005)

Phinn said:


> I never take my jacket off at the office.
> 
> Almost never, at least. When required to do so by unavaoidable circumstance, I have my valet stand a few feet away, holding it in his gloved hands.


Ah, yes, this is much better than putting it on a hanger or hanging it over your chair.


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## MrRogers (Dec 10, 2005)

I never take my jacket off unless I'm sweating bullets....

To me its sort of like the guys who open their top collar button and loosen their tie because its "more comfortable" 

I do however try and smooth the jacket underneath me as to avoid major wrinkles

MrR


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## Patrick06790 (Apr 10, 2005)

I've got the overheated office problem. I solve this by spending as little time there as possible.


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## Brideshead (Jan 11, 2006)

At the moment I am at home between two local meetings. My jacket is laid over the arm of the armchair in the other room.

When in my office, I use a hanger that is located on a hook next to my desk that I put up - screwed to my pin-board.

I also prefer to keep my jacket on and do so whenever the temperature and circumstances permit.


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## Orgetorix (May 20, 2005)

I normally take my jacket off and hang it (with my overcoat, when applicable) in an upright locker that my employer has thoughtfully provided for each cubicle. 

Once in a while I'll keep it on while I'm at my desk, but that makes me the only man in the office who does so (including the boss), and I feel out of place. I usually only do it when I'm particularly cold.


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## jackmccullough (May 10, 2006)

Brian13 said:


> i wish i had the opportunity to wear a suit to work to even be preoccupied with these questions.
> i guess i can wear one, but i would really look strange amidst everyone else and they would want to know what the special occasion was.


Or they might ask you if you're interviewing, which isn't necessarily the best impression to give people at work.


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## yachtie (May 11, 2006)

I generally wear the jacket at the desk. If i want to take it off, I have a hanger in the back if the door. I'll unbutton the jacket while seated for SB but i leave it buttoned on my DB suits.


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## Howard (Dec 7, 2004)

hanging a suit on a hanger is more appropriate and neat for the workplace


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## Pipps (Dec 20, 2005)

so it is agreed - a hanger is the best thing to do! :teacha: 

now, i will have to consider how i can introduce a suitable hanger into my office without causing a stir among colleagues! :crazy:


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## Brideshead (Jan 11, 2006)

*Don't let them get you down*



rp. said:


> now, i will have to consider how i can introduce a suitable hanger into my office without causing a stir among colleagues! :crazy:


I know how you feel. Most people I work with really don't care about these things but we should try to draw them up to our level, not let them intimidate us........


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## 18677 (Jan 4, 2006)

*.*



jackmccullough said:


> Or they might ask you if you're interviewing, which isn't necessarily the best impression to give people at work.


Just say "Yes. I am interviewing for you supervisor's position, actually". That will put an end to silly comments like that.


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## NewYorkBuck (May 6, 2004)

ceaton said:


> Coathanger on back of office door for me. I did the chair thing, but then realized that I had 19 inch shoulders and probably a 24 inch chair.


Me too.


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## mcarthur (Jul 18, 2005)

*suit jacket in office*

I do not wear my suit jacket in my own office and accordingly it is keep on a coat hanger on the back of my office door.


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## Leicester square (May 28, 2006)

I agree with keep it on. 

A jacket shoud never come off in public, and the office is in public as far as I am concerned.


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## NewYorkBuck (May 6, 2004)

Leicester square said:


> I agree with keep it on.
> 
> A jacket shoud never come off in public, and the office is in public as far as I am concerned.


My firm has over 20,000 employees, and not one of them keeps their jacket on all day. There is no rule against keeping it on, but you'd look like quite a tool in your jacket all day on a trading floor.

I guess the idea is when in Rome......


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## kali77 (Apr 8, 2006)

I wear my jacket 85-90% of the time due to the fact I am with clients the majority of the day. However I do have a closet in my office that I hang my Jacket in the other 10-15% of the time. Sometimes I just don't feel right not wearing my jacket


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## Leicester square (May 28, 2006)

> My firm has over 20,000 employees, and not one of them keeps their jacket on all day. There is no rule against keeping it on, but you'd look like quite a tool in your jacket all day on a trading floor.
> 
> I guess the idea is when in Rome......


I guess I will look a "tool" then.


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## Howard (Dec 7, 2004)

If you put your suit on the jacket on the chair you might wind up tripping all over it.


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## Patrick06790 (Apr 10, 2005)

I tried to hire what I thought was an elderly hippie to stand by my desk in an attitude of deference, holding my jacket. Turned out he was one of the owners.


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## Howard (Dec 7, 2004)

Patrick06790 said:


> I tried to hire what I thought was an elderly hippie to stand by my desk in an attitude of deference, holding my jacket. Turned out he was one of the owners.


Why did he hold your jacket?


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## Pipps (Dec 20, 2005)

Leicester square said:


> A jacket shoud never come off in public


What possible code of conduct can such a rule be derived from?


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