# Wearing suit jacket at desk



## marsh283 (Mar 8, 2012)

Hello all, first post, lurker for a few months. I did some searching through old threads and it seems like the consensus is that one should wear their suit jacket at all times. My issue is that while working at my desk, on a computer, etc. that I am getting a lot of wrinkling at the sleeve/shoulder junction and in the crook of my elbow. I have no issues with overheating, etc with the coat on or off, just curious if this is normal/acceptable.

Thanks!

-Cam


----------



## dks202 (Jun 20, 2008)

I usually wear mine for a while in the morning. If I go out or have a meeting I put it back on. In the summer (South Texas) same thing but I don't wear it outside much. I carry it to and from the car.


----------



## gtlam713 (Mar 8, 2012)

If you have to wear jackets, and also have to always wear them sitting down at a computer most of the time, I don't really think you have any way of getting around it. You're stuck in that position most of the time, so it's going to have an effect on the jackets.

I'm new too here, but I imagine the only way around the issue would be to get a suit in a fabric that is more resistant to wrinkles, or get a suit in a fabric that is supposed to have wrinkles. Then again, you might look a little funny sitting around an office in nothing but linen/seersucker suits, so you might be better off with the former option.


----------



## Starch (Jun 28, 2010)

marsh283 said:


> Hello all, first post, lurker for a few months. I did some searching through old threads and it seems like the consensus is that one should wear their suit jacket at all times.


You may be right that that's the consensus, but that doesn't mean everyone agrees with it. There's a bit of a split in the world between people who perceive wearing a suit as dressing up all fancy, and people from the pre-business-casual era who wore suits every work day for decades and tend to think of them as just regular clothes.

Unless you go waaaay back, the practice of removing one's suit coat while working at one's desk has been standard practice for a long time.


----------



## CuffDaddy (Feb 26, 2009)

Goodness, I'd be very surprised if that were the actual consensus. I work in a suit-and-tie environment, but even the oldest and most sartorially conservative members of the firm (guys who will literally wear a jacket and tie to the office *on a Saturday*) remove their jackets at their desks.


----------



## LawSuits (Nov 1, 2011)

When I worked at a very stuffy firm of very conservative dressers, there were some who wore their jacket all the time, but there were others of the old guard who only wore it if they stepped out of their office - and did not wear their jacket at their desk. This was long before everyone had a computer on their desk - some old partners actually had their secretary at a separate desk in their office! And amongst those guys, some had the jacket on, some had it off.
One of my colleagues went dashing to the men's room without his jacket, and came dashing back to get it, despite the urgency of the dash.


----------



## arkirshner (May 10, 2005)

Rules, conventions, traditions, and etiquette of men's clothing are made to serve man, man is not made to serve rules. The "rule" that a man should not remove his jacket is for the purpose of preserving a certain standard of decorum in the workplace, as well as symbolically demonstrate a certain seriousness of purpose. If keeping on one's jacket furthers either of those purposes it makes sense. (Depending on one's psychology, keeping a jacket on, even while working alone, may reinforce a serious of purpose.) Disclosure, it is now lunchtime and I am alone in my office, my jacket is off and I have allowed myself to be diverted from work. 

On the other hand, if (a), you will not be seeing customers, (b), your workplace culture is to remove jackets, (c), those who may make decisions that can affect your career are not around, (d), your motivation is the same, jacket or no jacket, (e), you can get away with the lower level of motivation that comes with taking off your jacket, (f), all or more than one of the above, than take it off. 

I can hear someone coming back from lunch and so I will end now, put my jacket back on, and at least look serious.


----------



## marsh283 (Mar 8, 2012)

Sounds good, I figured it would be a better practice to take the jacket off. My workplace is very conservative at all, so it makes sense. The thread I was looking at on this forum was about six years old, so perhaps those posters were really stuffy and don't post any more!


----------



## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

Up to you in the end.


----------



## amemovox (Jun 26, 2005)

CuffDaddy said:


> Goodness, I'd be very surprised if that were the actual consensus. I work in a suit-and-tie environment, but even the oldest and most sartorially conservative members of the firm (guys who will literally wear a jacket and tie to the office *on a Saturday*) remove their jackets at their desks.


I agree! I wear a suit daily for work. These are my "guidelines"

1. On the way to work in a car, suit coat on hangar.
2. Working at desk, suit off on hangar.
3. Client/customer meetings, coat on.

If you are staring at a terminal all day, do yourself a favor and take off the coat.


----------



## godan (Feb 10, 2010)

Do a search for Decline of Suits in the Workplace. I just tried and failed to post the link, but a variety of opinions is expressed. My own is that the suit jacket is an impractical garment to wear for work at a desk or terminal, but the thread is lively.


----------



## RM Bantista (May 30, 2009)

marsh283 said:


> Hello all, first post, lurker for a few months. I did some searching through old threads and it seems like the consensus is that one should wear their suit jacket at all times. My issue is that while working at my desk, on a computer, etc. that I am getting a lot of wrinkling at the sleeve/shoulder junction and in the crook of my elbow. I have no issues with overheating, etc with the coat on or off, just curious if this is normal/acceptable.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> -Cam


It may be the humidity. This does not happen to me. Very seldom do I see wrinkles except with linen, which is normal and expected. When I do, I hang the suit and brush it, let it rest over-night, brush it again and put it into the closet. (What I ordinarily do any day.) Usually the wrinkles do not persist. Sometimes there are too many clothes in too small a space and I see wrinkles. This happens in stores. It can happen at home. Best to have more room. Usually, it means it is time to pack a few things into plastic boxes and put them away for seasonal storage or take items to a charity and let them go to a new home.
I don't see wrinkles from wearing my jacket at my desk or in my car. As it happens, I am not wearing a jacket at the moment. I am at home with my slippers on. I am wearing a wool tie, OCBD, Lambswool cardigan sweater vest, and Austin Reed wool slacks, but it is Friday night and I have hung my BB db blazer after brushing. Wore that all day in the car under an overcoat taking a casual day thrifting and running errands. No wrinkles. Humidity 62%, VERY high for my area, but lower in the car and the house (air conditioning in the car and gas heat in the well insulated house). 
Other people have different experience, I know, but it doesn't happen to me as a usual event.
regards,
rudy


----------



## DoghouseReilly (Jul 25, 2010)

I get wrinkles but find they work themselves out after being hung up for a few days. Steaming and brushing after wear helps too.


----------



## mommatook1 (Apr 17, 2008)

Jovan said:


> Up to you in the end.


Best answer so far.


----------



## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

DoghouseReilly: Best to press rather than just random steam.


----------



## marsh283 (Mar 8, 2012)

Thanks, guys, for all the answers. As far as a suit brush, any suggestions as to what to get? How often/what types of garments?


----------



## dba (Oct 22, 2010)

When I was a detective, I worked domestic violence cases almost exclusively. I spent a lot of time with victims, crisis center workers and judges. I always wore a suit or sport jacket and slacks. The rest of the detectives were more casual as the dress code allowed it. 

I would bring a week’s worth of clothes with me on Monday, work out at the department gym, shower and get dressed for work. Each morning I’d arrive early, work out and go to work. While working at my desk my coat, would be on a coat rack; shoulder holster and gun over my chair back; tie loosened and sleeves rolled up. If I left the building to talk to a suspect, I didn’t give a **** what he/she thought of me and I’d usually just wear a 5-11 Tactical Vest over my gun. If I was going to speak with anyone else, I got properly re-dressed.


----------



## RM Bantista (May 30, 2009)

dba said:


> When I was a detective, I worked domestic violence cases almost exclusively. I spent a lot of time with victims, crisis center workers and judges. I always wore a suit or sport jacket and slacks. The rest of the detectives were more casual as the dress code allowed it.
> 
> I would bring a week's worth of clothes with me on Monday, work out at the department gym, shower and get dressed for work. Each morning I'd arrive early, work out and go to work. While working at my desk my coat, would be on a coat rack; shoulder holster and gun over my chair back; tie loosened and sleeves rolled up. If I left the building to talk to a suspect, I didn't give a **** what he/she thought of me and I'd usually just wear a 5-11 Tactical Vest over my gun. If I was going to speak with anyone else, I got properly re-dressed.


Sir,
Thank you for your service.
That looks very similar to my Sandia Woods Guide Vest, though not exactly the same but very similar. Mine was a thrifted item. And I know these types of vests can be dear. Passed on a similar thing at $89.00, but I don't need it that much. I am glad you had good service from yours and are still here with us to tell the tale.
Please be welcome to our community of ladies and gentlemen of generous spirit and warm hearts with an eye for style that meets ones needs.
regards,
rudy


----------



## Flanderian (Apr 30, 2008)

marsh283 said:


> Hello all, first post, lurker for a few months. I did some searching through old threads and it seems like the consensus is that one should wear their suit jacket at all times. My issue is that while working at my desk, on a computer, etc. that I am getting a lot of wrinkling at the sleeve/shoulder junction and in the crook of my elbow. I have no issues with overheating, etc with the coat on or off, just curious if this is normal/acceptable.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> -Cam


Yes it is normal for such wrinkling to occur. And yes, you will be cast out from of The League of Sartorial Perfection if you remove your jacket while at work.

Or not.

I have *always* removed my jacket in the office unless meeting with clients, or attending something of equal significance. (Of which there has been very little.)

Worse yet, I flip back my cuffs to the gauntlet button of my shirt sleeve when in my own office unless wearing French cuffs. :redface:


----------



## Flanderian (Apr 30, 2008)

marsh283 said:


> Thanks, guys, for all the answers. As far as a suit brush, any suggestions as to what to get? How often/what types of garments?


I like the Kent brand Cashmere Brush model. Good for both soft and firm cloth. Not cheap, but worth the money. You can use it on just about anything. I'd give it a quick brushing after wear, and again before you put it on. If you spend more than about 30 seconds, you're doing it too much.


----------



## RM Bantista (May 30, 2009)

marsh283 said:


> Thanks, guys, for all the answers. As far as a suit brush, any suggestions as to what to get? How often/what types of garments?


One has more than one Kiwi horsehair shoe brushes that are clean and work well. Also, hat brushes and even paint brushes can be fine. The key thing is natural bristles. But softer is better, and what is softer than cashmere? Horsehair works well with worsted and tweeds. Hat brushes will as well. They cost more than shoe brushes, but the finer the fabric, the longer the brush. Bear that in mind, and you will have garments that last. Natural bristle brushes, horsehair is softer than boar hair. Cashmere is very soft, but not widely offered. There are various items one may use for these types of issues. One does not wish to cause additional distress to the item at hand but only to preserve the knapp and plushness of the thing. This may also be smoothness of surface when speaking of leathers. Silks are different. Do not brush silks as you would wools. Silk is very tough in tensile strength but not forgiving of abrasion of the thread, of which wool, fur felts, and cotton are more tolerent. One may also brush a panama or other straw hat and improve it's useful life, but with great care as they may be delicate or tough, depending on finish.
I know, too much information.
good fortune,
rudy


----------



## joshuagb (Nov 27, 2004)

This is a good reason to own a three-piece suit -- you can take off your jacket and still look smart at your desk.

Honestly, I almost always take off my jacket and hang it if I spend any length of time at my desk.


----------



## JackKelly (Dec 20, 2011)

I generally keep my suit jacket on at all times while at the office, but I sometimes remove it in the car. However, I would not look askance at anyone who behaves differently. It's my personal preference.


----------



## Bandit44 (Oct 1, 2010)

I usually shed my coat when sitting at my desk, but it depends on the temperature. If I have a scheduled meeting with a student, often times I will leave it on. My office was once a college dorm room, so it has a nice closet with a hanging bar. I keep a pair of galoshes and a spare navy blazer always on hand, just in case.


----------



## Larsd4 (Oct 14, 2005)

You guys are over-thinking it. I wear a suit to the office everyday. Cold, wear suit coat at desk. Warm, take it off.


----------



## arkirshner (May 10, 2005)

Larsd4 said:


> You guys are over-thinking it.


Perhaps, but what some call over -thinking is simply descriptive of great minds on idle.


----------



## RM Bantista (May 30, 2009)

arkirshner said:


> Perhaps, but what some call over -thinking is simply descriptive of great minds on idle.


LOL,
Best Regards, Alan!
rudy


----------



## JWM1960 (Jan 23, 2009)

I just looked in the mirror. Indeed I have gotten wrinkles due to working at my desk, especially around my eyes and mouth. I am quite certain it has more to do with age than whether i wear my jacket.


----------



## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

Hahaha, priceless.


----------



## Brandeis (Jul 6, 2008)

This thread started a long time ago with a question about whether a financial adviser in Nashville should wear his jacket at his desk when meeting with clients. I read through the postings without realizing how old they were.

Here's a posting (with video, if you care to watch) from "Real Men Real Style" called The Difference a Jacket Makes. https://www.realmenrealstyle.com/the-difference-a-jacket-makes/

The site's owner begins this way: "Imagine a product that will adds inches to your perceived height, shaves 20 lbs of your midsection, and makes you appear more muscular. And the magic item can do all this instantly!"

If someone is coming to you as a professional, or if (for whatever reason, including age) you need to project authority, the jacket is an outstanding tool.


----------



## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

No doubt. But that's 'meeting with a client'. Everyone agrees that under those circumstances a coat is appropriate, however the OP was asking about sitting at his desk, alone. Personally I liked the idea of letting the temperature dictate. On those occasions when I wore a jacket in the classroom, that's how I operated.


----------



## Miket61 (Mar 1, 2008)

I understand they have relaxed their rules significantly since, but when I worked at UPS in 2001, they required men wear suits five days a week, even in the Accounting office in an industrial area (to make it easier for the hookers and drug dealers to recognize us getting lunch at McDonald's).

The standard rule was that we would hang our suitcoats on hangers at our desks. When we went to a meeting or to lunch we were to wear them. But no one sat at their desk all day in their suit jacket.


----------

