Thou shalt have no other gods before the ANSI C standard 1465

I was summarizing a uniform we came up with in a particular shop. We did a lot of work with subcontractors. When a technical visit was required in either direction we "got dressed". The full description (top-down of course) goes something like this (from memory):

1. No headgear. No hats, berets, scarves, hood, or anything else. 2. Haircut a.) crewcut "high and tight" b.) shoulder length tied in a pony tail (rubber band); no bangs 3. Glbuttes (optional) a.) horn rims b.) any style with broken frame 4.) Shave a.) clean: sideburns above the upper notch in the ear At least one nick, max of three b.) moustache: tips must reach earlobes (we had one!) b.) beard: must show at least 10% grey 5.) Necktie a.) length -- too short or too long b.) material -- polyester or silk c.) color -- may not match any other item worn d.) knot -- plastic stickon preferred, loose knot OK 6.) Shirt: white, sleeves rolled at least twice 7.) Pocket: stuffed. Ink stain encouraged, but not over 1-2". a.) lots of paper and one dried up Bic or jumbo felt-tip pen b.) lots of mechanical pens and pencils but nothing to write on 8.) Tie retainer (optional) a.) slide rule is best b.) masonic symbol c.) college pin d.) thumb tack with part of the plastic coating worn off 9.) Belt a.) dark brown (cow) leather, brbutt buckle b.) snakeskin leather, silver buckle 10.) Pants a.) black chinos b.) bottom cuffs encouraged c.) no pleats 11.) Socks -- white, cotton, athletic (no exceptions) 12.) Shoes (key component) a.) leather (no sneakers) b.) color black b.) toes round or square, no points c.) heavy soles encouraged (no moccasins) d.) 4-6 hole laces (no loafers) e.) at least one lace must be brown (1 brown 1 blue is optimal) f.) Alternative: japanese sandals (requires split-toe socks) The alternative is only allowed with the pony tail 13.) Miscellaneous (the number is on purpose) a.) cuff links optional; may not match b.) hankerchief optional, must be 20% lace c.) briefcase optional may not be opened in front of the customer 14.) If a meal is part of the agenda, every person is supposed to bring a brown bag containing a PB&J sandwich, a fruit (apple), and some cookies (oreo). Drink anything you want (water, ice optional).

When a new person joined the group they would know nothing of this until after their first visitation. During the first visitation each member of our delegation would find an opportunity to note "He's new". Talk about peer pressure!

For a while we only had one female. She thought we were nuts (her granddad's 40 scale hung in a scabard on her hip and if she pointed the slide rule at you you knew there was an "intense" discussion on the way).

After a second woman joined the group the rules were amended to let them do whatever they wanted. They decided the details didn't matter. So they wore different outfits every time, but they always matched to a T.

tj3