Dress appropriately

The dress code at GM and why I wear blue t-shirts. (Plus 7 other things worth reading this morning.)

Hi. I’m Bill Murphy Jr. Welcome to Understandably, my new regularly published email about “the story behind other stories.”

We’re at T-minus-7 before the real, official launch on November 1. If you’re not signed up yet, I hope you will consider subscribing. Thanks for checking it out!

My dad gave me some good advice when I graduated from college and started working: 

Simplify your wardrobe at work. Find a few things you like and wear them every day. Eliminate that choice from your morning, so you can focus on what matters most.

I was only 21, so I promptly ignored everything he said. In fact, I probably did the opposite, as a form of rebellion.

Also, I went to a Catholic high school where we had HORRIBLE uniforms. I didn’t want a de facto uniform in the working world.

It worked as well as you’d expect. There are some photos of me back then that make me cringe now.

Years later the idea of wearing the same boring thing over and over became a badge of honor.

Think of the late Steve Jobs in his …