Hello, Good Looking !

[mca]

. Make an effort, dress a bit more formal, casual but clean, shave, don't get drunk in public, and with the wrong people

Christ Jurgen if that happened in certain areas of Pattaya the locals would panic thinking all the westerners had disappeared as in a rapture type scenario or been abducted by aliens.

[Raesum]

I know a few people who are extremely wealthy and dress like poor people but these are island folk and everyone knows who they are. When they go off-island they dress appropriately.

For most Thai people, polite dress and demeanor is vital and its only some farang who think it doesn't matter if they wear a singlet and shorts with socks and sandals.

Sure, but for most of those down-dressing Farangs it truly doesn't matter, because they're either tourists or retired and don't really have to care what anyone thinks. They're not trying to do business or sell anything to anyone..

So I would actually agree with those Farangs that it doesn't matter what they wear, as long as their dress is not hugely inappropriate for the occasion.

True. We can wear what we like, within reason, but I agree with the OP and others that you will notice a difference if you dress well. That does not mean a suit and tie, but clean, pressed clothes that show you at least put some thought into what you are wearing will help make everyday actions easier. And not wearing board shorts, beach gear or sports shorts in a city also helps. The little things like getting tables in restaurants, taking back faulty products, negotiations with the BIB, visa applications, bank queries etc will all be easier.

At the Dept of Immigration in Chaeng Wattana there was( and supposedly still is) a sign asking/advising people not to wear shorts, thongs etc ie please wear appropriate dress. I for one wear my house clothes at home, my gardening clothes when pruning the fruit trees etc etc but when I go to Dept Of Imm ,shopping in Bangkok/Bang Sue, attending a ceremony at a temple-the good clothes and the make-up come out.It also makes me stand taller feeling I am representing falang in a positive way.

[IanForbes]

I've never complained about young, slender women wearing thongs.

[ballpoint]

Actually I think we have spectacularly missed the point of the article. It was about better looking people having an advantage and not better dressed. In other words, whats in the clothes and not the actual bling. Can't dress mutton as lamb etc

If that was actually the message then I agree with their theory. There is no doubt in my mind that attractive people get hired in preference to average looking people if the qualifications are similar. If I was an employer and needed a receptionist then I would do the same. But you don't need an attractive person to stack boxes in a warehouse. I think the manager of D-TAC in Chiang Mai works on that principle. All the receptionists are lovely looking Thai girls with nice personalities. If I was a young dude I'd be hanging around there all day.

I hung around there for a while. They told me to get back to the warehouse.

[David006]

...we like it or not "appearance" is everything..look around at the world...billions and billions and billions of dollar industries( apologies to the late Carl Sagan)serving personal appearance and attire.

Made me laugh last year ...went to get our marriage certificate at local amphur..the clerical underling tried to give me a make-over before climbing the hallowed stairs to get "interviewed" by the "big boss" (buttoned up my short sleeve dress type shirt to the collar told me to tuck it in my shorts, combed my hair..hilarious) ....

..in a former life always wore the "power" suit,white shirt and silk conservative tie, tux at a certain "boys club" meetings...in retrospect all rather silly really....

My wife makes me shower and put on underwear to go to market!! Still get to wear my muddy broken slip-on plastic shoes though...

...makes me think of the Brit thing about wearing clean underwear "in case you have an accident"

Still have a suit and a couple of ties, socks and wing tips for western weddings and funerals...remember an Indian chappy in a BKK tailors told me I should wear a suit to travel on a plane!

[geronimo]

I always dress up when going to Immigration or other such places. The Thais are all about image and what's on the surface.

[paulian]

When I pass a bar, some of the ladies call me a handsome man. Why is this,are the lying? I have seen myself in the mirror.

As the original post refers, it's probably because the way you dress and your smile looking at your avatar. When I pass a bar they all run, so maybe I'll buy a tie today, smiling is out of the question.