Corporate Cornrows

“Pushing the cultural style boundaries of Corporate America”

Back in 2014, I took a trip to the Brooklyn Museum to see the new Jean Paul Gaultier exhibit.  The exhibit took visitors through the many concepts that were conceived by the designer during the 90s and early 00s.  His cone bra design, which has been immortalized within the fashion community, was the most polarizing piece in the exhibit. There was a video playing next to one of the designs which featured a model speaking to Jean about the bra’s wearability. She felt as if she would be stared at as if she was a maniac if she got on a train with his cone bra.  He basically told her, wear them with confidence and a sense of belonging, therefore, no one can tell you anything.  His advice stuck with me ever since.

I am a millennial working in corporate America and I sport a full beard, a hairstyle that consists of shaved sides, and cornrows that form a humble, but tough-guy, man-bun (probably not tough but please, keep reading).  This has never affected my promotions in the past. I have always viewed myself as an outsider when it comes to the office attire status quo. I enjoy the occasional bowtie, bright-colored socks, and non-standard color suits (forest green, and sapphire blue). I believe I haven’t been tapped by HR since my colleagues and higher-ups see it as me being me. I wear my clothing and my hair with confidence and a sense of belonging.

Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm I am an employee. However, outside that time frame, I’m just a guy who loves fashion, grooming and expressing myself through my appearance. Millennials are beginning to enter the workplace of our fathers and mothers.  Our physical appearances are changing and a culture, reminiscent of a time before the social/digital world, is slowly fading within corporate America. I believe you need to keep in mind who you are outside of your jobs in order to not lose touch with what makes you, YOU.