On Saturday, October 15 2011, the Proper Business Attire Working Group distributed free business suits to Occupy Wall Street demonstrators in Liberty Park in NYC’s financial district. I performed alterations on ill-fitting hems while hairs were trimmed and ties selected. We suited about 120 men and women.
We all look great in suits. To reporters, to workers, to skeptical tourists, we’ll look like people to listen to, or, at the very least, to hear out. Lazy journalists won’t be able to take the easy, dismissive out, and will have to actually listen to what we are saying. The conversation will grow out of the protester echo chamber and into the wider world, where it belongs.
Suits are tactical camouflage in the warrens of Wall Street. And there are other advantages. Need a bathroom? Try wearing a suit. It’s easy. Want to walk past a police barricade? Put on a suit.
Photos by Max Cohn (with many more available).