As we all know, the world of tech has become one of the leading career fields of today, and one that embraces a non-traditional work culture (including casual office dress codes). Over the past decade, techie fashion has effortlessly gone from geek to chic — while still paying solid homage to geek, of course. The hoodie, t-shirt and jeans look embraced by everyone from work-from-home coders to icons such as Mark Zuckerberg, has been consistently elevated by start-up professionals, designers and fashion forward-thinkers in the field.
4 eyes are better than 2!
Glasses are an obvious necessity for many, but also help protect your peepers from fatigue due to all day screen-staring sessions. Once looked down upon as nerdy, classic heavy-framed styles have become popular and have actually evolved quite a bit. Over the past few years, we’ve seen iconic square edges expand to rounder, more dynamic looks such as two-tone, mixed material and colored designs. Word on the street? Glasses are cooler than ever.
Warby Parker hits the mark with consistently stylish and current collections for both men and women. The best part? You can have a selection of 5 frames shipped to you for free for 5 days, allowing you to test-drive your favorite looks.
Say NO to pleated khakis!
The tech industry typically rejects the concept of traditional corporate culture, with everything from creatively designed work environments to beer on-tap in the office. This more laid back feel definitely crosses over to attire, but keeps the idea of good design and quality at the forefront. Fit, detailing and quality construction in a garment is often the only difference between looking sharp and looking sloppy. Give a nod to old school coder-casual, while remaining stylistically on-point!
For instance, high-end and heritage denim has been a trend for a number of years, with small-batch manufacturers going back to classic by-hand techniques and using natural, top-quality materials. Coveted are exclusive lines such as Japanese denim purveyors Momotaro Jeans, who stock at a curated selection of specialty stores around the world — including the U.S.
The Comfy T-shirt
The comfy t-shirt is our stock and trade. Often it's free with company name or super secret project name. Some are travel souvenirs or express our personality or interests and some are just soft and well worn old friends.
All in all, tech culture has evolved exponentially. What was once seen as overly technical and “nerdy” has not only brought us world-changing technological advancement, but has set major trends in areas of design, enterprise and lifestyle.
Photo Credits:
Nerd Shirt & young nerd: istockphoto
Mark Zuckerburg: (CC) Brian Solis, www.briansolis.com and bub.blicio.us
Glasses: Warby Parker
Jeans: http://momotarojeans.net/