Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.life From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Doctor seeks prescription for stubble Date: Thu, 12 Nov 92 14:51:51 EST Message-ID: \SE E;LIFE;WAY OF LIFE;DRESS FOR SUCCESS \SS (WS) \HD Doctor seeks prescription for stubble \BY John T. Molloy \CR LOS ANGELES TIMES SYNDICATE Dear Mr. Molloy: I have 5 o'clock shadow about 2 in the afternoon. It was never a problem, as I'm a surgeon and usually saw patients in the morning and operated in the afternoon. Last month I was appointed department head and now I have to deal with people throughout the day. My wife, who was my nurse, tells me I should shave after lunch. She says my beard makes me look very gruff and antagonistic. Have you done any research on having a heavy beard? I wonder, is she right? - Doctor Dear Doctor: Fifteen years ago, the president of a company hired my firm to research the effect of his having a 5 o'clock shadow. Like you, he looked as if he needed a shave by early afternoon. He dealt regularly with the public, so we took pictures of him with and without his 5 o'clock shadow and asked a cross section of the public to give us their first impression. Without the 5 o'clock shadow he was described as successful, alert, disciplined and friendly. With the 5 o'clock shadow he was described as rough, antagonistic, untrustworthy and scary. When he received the results, he started shaving after lunch. Your wife is right, I think you should do the same. Dear Mr. Molloy: My wife is a fashion plate. As a result she and I have been having the same argument for the last 30 years. She wants me to dress like a model in Gentlemen's Quarterly and I don't like the idea. When she isn't trying to get me to wear something fashionable, she is trying to make me neater, even though it is a lost cause. The other day my wife went to a fashion show and the designer said that jeans should just be washed and worn. They are casual wear and putting a crease in them is similar to wearing dress shoes with shorts. My wife believes this so-called expert, but I just can't take him seriously. I know a lot of fellows who have creases in their jeans, and many of them are very sophisticated. I think the fashion expert is out of touch. Please give me your opinion! - R.K., Little Rock, Ark. Dear R.K.: The fashion experts usually talk as if their personal opinion was carved in stone and handed to them on a mountain by the Almighty. Years ago, I did research for owners of a jeans manufacturer. They wanted to know, among other things, how executives should wear jeans. To find out, we took pictures of executives in jeans that were baggy, creased, tight, loose, tailored, off the rack and rolled up. We then showed these pictures to other executives and a cross section of the public and asked them to describe the people in the pictures. The men who wore creased jeans were generally thought of as neater, more clever and more successful than those with jeans that were just washed. That is probably why one-third of the executives we questioned said they send their jeans to dry cleaners. While you need not press your jeans, pressing them does not send a negative message. To maintain that having a crease in your jeans is the equivalent to wearing dress shoes with shorts is just plain silly. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM