adminvery excited about the prospects of making a catch.
I introduced Duncan to the bass fishermen entourage present that morning. Duncan was looking immaculate and executive in his navy blue Italian suit, cream shirt, silk tie and black glass shoes.
He appeared as if he was born putting on these clothes. I gave Duncan fishing equipment to use.
However, his dressing did not give him too much leeway to fish in most muddy areas of the dam.
He had to restrict himself to fishing along the dam wall, which was just a tenth of the whole dam.
Duncan had to scurry for cover at midday, as there were some light showers. In the process he soiled his designer trousers.
Fishing in the areas within the proximity of dam wall was flat that day, so was Duncan’s harvest.
His dressing barred him from taking advantage of fishing opportunities presented by other spots in the dam.
To add insult to injury, he had to spend the greater part of the day fishing alone as most of us went to the lucrative muddy areas where we had to go into the water to access attractive spots in the dam. Duncan was reduced to a mere spectator of the game.
Duncan failed himself by failing to ascertain the correct dress code for fishing.
What was supposed to be an exciting outing turned out to be a boring lifeless outing for him.
He undertook to participate in a game in which he was not physically prepared for.
Duncan is not alone in failing to appreciate the importance of adhering to a specific dress code for a specific occasion.
Most people do not understand the ingredients of a balanced wardrobe. Average people just buy clothes without understanding the specific needs they are fulfilling.
Most people make emotional purchases instead of needs based purchasing. This year I attended the Institute of Directors awards dinner.
It was strictly a black tie event. However, I noticed the business luminaries of Zimbabwe dressed in yellow, brown, blue, grey and pink suits. The same could be said about the ties.
These are supposed to be the role models who lead by example. If the business leaders behave like this, what lessons are these leaders giving to their subordinates?
Going round the tables I could not identify anyone who I could say was illiterate.
Despite their MBAs, degrees, diplomas, more than 50 percent of the guests failed to adhere to the dressing requirements for those two nights.
This was a clear demonstration that most people do not pay attention to detail. If they understood the instruction then it implies that most people do not respect order or instructions emanating from people who do not wield direct authority over them.
What is the importance of
dress code or colour scheme?
Dressing conveys a lot of messages to the general public. The way one presents himself or herself through dressing reflects the way one thinks or behaves.
Among the messages conveyed by dressing is financial desperation, poverty, carelessness, lack of order, professionalism, orderly, meticulousness, ambition, conservativeness, level of polish and flamboyancy.
This implies that dressing can communicate both negative and positive messages and or behaviours about people.
Though most people talk highly about how polished they are but their dressing in some instance shows how uncouth and unbalanced they are.
The black tie events are normally designed to formalise events as well as to give an air of professionalism.
However, sad to mention, that even some members of the organising committee as well fail to observe their own rules.
Colour schemes for weddings are designed to make the event colourful and eye-catching.
In most cases the ladies’ clothes colour match with the décor at the venue. All this is designed to make a semblance of order at the event.
Why do most people fail to respect dress code or colour scheme?
Most people fail to respect the colour schemes because they don’t like to read, resulting in them failing to follow the laid down instructions.
Most of the people who graced the IOD awards dinner and MAZ Superbrands awards can afford to buy black suits and black ties or have these in their wardrobes but failed to comply because they did not take time to read properly the dressing requirements.
Most people do not understand the importance of giving each day the dignity it deserves.
Most people put on clothes without understanding why they are dressed that way that day.
Though most bosses boast of having personal assistants, the complimentary roles of these personal assistants is highly questionable if they fail to advice their bosses about the need to comply with basic dress code for the day or for the night.
Some people have an anti-establishment mentality, such that they always find it difficult to comply with anything that has a semblance of forced choice.
Some fail to adhere to dress code because of lack of knowledge. How often do you meet people putting on nightdresses, eveningwear, slippers, morning shoes and so forth during the day?
It is my humble submission that people must take their needs seriously when buying clothes.
Taking one’s needs into consideration can enable one to buy a balanced wardrobe.
The writer is a managing consultant at CLC Training International. E-mail chiganze@ iwayafrica. co.zw.
leeroy