I remember reading the book ‘Hamlet’ written by Shakespeare long time back, and I do remember the famous English idiom - 'The apparel oft proclaims the man' that Shakespeare used in it. Don't worry; we are not here to discuss the story of Hamlet or how great Shakespeare is. We are here to discuss the existential value of the aforementioned idiom (at least in the eyes of 2 eminent personalities), and whether, in today’s modern era, we need to adhere to it and walk down the same path imprinted with their footsteps or not.

Just the other day while surfing the internet, I stumbled upon a video re the launch of Facebook's new feature in which Mr. Zuckerberg was addressing the attendees present at the conference, telling them the amount of effort his team has put in to get the feature delivered and expounding how its over a billion monthly active users can be benefited with its usage. As it has always been the case with the Facebook, this new feature seemed to meet everyone's expectations too. In fact, if you take my opinion, making such inconceivable and mind-boggling idea a reality was in itself praiseworthy. And so did his ability to hold everyone's attention. Yet, the real cynosure for me was his attire!

Before this, I have seen his other videos too; out of curiosity or as an admirer, whatever you want to call it. And not to forget to mention that all those videos were not just related to Facebook or launch of its any new feature, but a few were re his off-the-field or leisure activities. And yet in all those clips, I could notice one small yet conspicuous thing. A grey T-shirt, a blue jeans and a sweatshirt perhaps. That's the outfit of a guy having a net worth over 63 billion USD!

This bland outfit of Mr Zuckerberg may not appeal to you, but it certainly does to me. And to tell you the fact, it started provoking me even more after reading an article in which after being asked by an interviewer the founder of Facebook himself explained the main reason behind wearing the same sort of clothes, or same clothes perhaps, every day. He said that he wanted to spend as less time as possible on taking any decisions over frivolous things such as what to wear and what not and more time in serving the society in a best possible way.” That was just the one side of a coin. On its flip side, I could find the other reason behind the appeal such outfit usually makes to me. Wearing an expensive suit at the meetings or anywhere may tell others who is the boss or who is rich, but wearing an outfit like that of Mr Zuckerberg certainly makes the ambience more amicable to the persons whom you are dealing with. It lets the conversation flow from both the sides and most importantly, makes it more candid.

And guess what! This second plausible reason didn't come out of the blue, nor it’s my theory. It's the article written on Mr. Steve Jobs, another business tycoon and co-founder of Apple, made me realize it. In that very article, after being asked, Mr. Jobs himself explained why he used to wear same black full sleeve T-Shirt tucked inside jeans or trousers every day. And to tell you the truth, those very words of Mr. Jobs made the nascent appeal of wearing such bland outfits grow even stronger, the roots of which have been spreading across each corner of my mind.

So, does it really important for one to have a lavish apparel to get the business done? Or is it the case that the idiom which has instigated this whole discussion has become a cliché now? For me, it's not important and yes, it certainly has become a cliché. And I believe you too agree with me. But, if you don't, I urge you to see the videos or read the articles re businesses or off-the-field activities of the personalities having a stature like that of Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs, or of them only. And I am sure you will find that in spite of not wearing any lavish suits, they were and are still getting the same respect and able to make profits in billions.

Maybe, it's time for all of us to change our perception and eradicate the practical meaning of the very idiom. Maybe it's time for all of us to prove the great Shakespeare wrong! Maybe it’s time for all of us to start defining vogue in terms of our attitude and actions.

Always remember – “Appearances can often be deceptive!” But, it's your endeavors and defiance to fulfil your dreams always makes you look handsome.


-- THE END --