A friend of mine, who works in a part of his (and my) workplace that services several others, was seconded to another position for six months or so. The new task required him to interview heads of various departments and offer them assistance that would enable them to meet their KPIs. My friend told the story that he made the appointments and interviewed them all and made the offers and was universally ignored; he wore his usual workplace clobber, which was neat trousers, collar and tie, but a woollen jumper over the top. It was winter in Oz, at the time so the jumper (what Americans would call a sweater) was appropriate.

He then repeated the exercise, wearing a dark "power dressing" suit; this time they all listened and accepted his (identical) offers.

Because I'm on call as a volunteer firefighter I wear no artifical fibres and the nature of my work means such clothing is desirable and I tend to dress "down" rather than "up"; various people around my workplace have realised that it is in their interest to take notice of what I say, irrespective of their perception(s) of relative status or dress, so I don't use a polyester life. I think I can still find a tie if I look hard.

Then again, my daughters insist that what I regard as a perfectly adequate personal style (of dress) is most definitely déclassé.

Cheers, Rowan