Hazel Park’s business district grew along John R, with more of it out on Eight Mile Road and Stephenson Highway. The men who own those businesses have a clothing problem that salaried people never face: they are the person doing the work and the person representing the company, sometimes within the same hour.
Two jobs, one outfit
At nine he is unloading something. At eleven he is across a desk from a bank, or a landlord, or a customer deciding whether to trust him with a large order. Changing clothes between the two is not realistic, so the outfit has to survive the first job and win the second.
What that means practically
Trousers and a jacket that can be separated. He works in the trousers and the shirt, and the jacket goes on for the meeting, which is the oldest solution in trade and still the best one. Select suits on our floor sell as separates, so this can be bought deliberately rather than improvised.
The cloth to ask for
Something that recovers from a day rather than something that photographs well on a hanger. Tell the consultant it is a working garment and he will pull accordingly; nobody on our floor is on commission, so the answer will be about the work.
Also for Hazel Park: The Shift Worker With an Interview on Thursday. More on style consulting, or plan your visit to our Oak Park showroom.
