Dress For Success
By Gene Aronowitz
When I was the Deputy Commissioner of Social Services in Westchester County, New York, the position of Commissioner of Community Mental Health became available. I knew I had the qualifications, but I was told that I didn’t look the part. It was true. I had wanted to project a laid-back, relatively informal image, wearing Hush Puppies shoes and rarely wearing a tie. One day, I saw a Doonesbury cartoon. One of the characters was a United Nations representative from some obscure country who went to buy some new clothes. He said he wanted some ethnic garb, something like the apparel worn by people in his country. The tailor said he would be better off with a conservative three-piece suit. The guy said, “Arafat wears ethnic garb.” The tailor snapped, “Don’t be a shmuck. If Arafat had a three-piece suit, he’d have a country by now.” I bought the very popular book "Dress for Success," devoured it in a day, followed its advice, and bought three correct colors, very conservative three-piece suits with all the proper accouterments. It wasn't long before I got myself a country.
A version of this memoir is included in the book Brief Memoirs.