Light Chats
Dress Code
An architect couple reserved a table at their elite-university alumni banquet and invited us, their creative friends, to join the celebration. The hostess prepared everything with great care- except one crucial point: the dress code.
The moment when we stepped into the hotel ballroom, we froze. It must have looked like a flock of ugly ducklings that had accidentally wandered into Swan Lake. Our talents had never depended on elaborate outfits, yet that night, we felt exposed, humiliated, and deeply out of place.
After a few drinks, the ballroom loosened up. Then came the highlight of the evening — the ‘entertainment’. Several performers in yoga wear burst in and invited guests to join them. Soon the elites -in their tight three-piece suits and long evening gowns — were stretching awkwardly. Arms flailing, hips swinging, and legs buckling. Dignity quickly evaporated.
The dress code, I realized, was a silent agreement — a visual password proving membership in a certain tribe. It is a facade that most people have to put on in order to be accepted in other words a social convention.
When it comes to our city, the facade issue has unwritten rules about materials and silhouettes that must be followed to enter some high-class club. That results in so many buildings looking strangely similar. At night, buildings put on their accessories — lighting — each claiming to resemble some well-regarded landmark. I once advised a client that a building facade didn’t necessarily need a dramatic “light show”. The reply was simple: we cannot lose face.
The dress-code experience helped me to understand the pressure of trying to fit in and be accepted. It was easy for me to go against the flow in the ballroom by being sarcastic and making fun of the pretentious posturing. But for developers I have no real advice, other than put those leotards on and start prancing!
Dress Code｜穿著規範
一對建築師夫妻，在他們的國外名校聯盟校友會中包了一桌，邀請我們這群創意界朋友前來歡聚。女主人細心籌備，舉凡英文姓名及座位安排，都讓我們備感榮幸，然而, 她卻漏了個重要關鍵：Dress Code服裝要求。
當踏我們進飯店宴會廳的瞬間，立刻被電到, 像一群誤闖天鵝湖的雜色醜小鴨,被衣冠楚楚、高傲的黑天鵝所包圍, 只能瑟縮在一角,急call主人前來援救。
穿著正式的建築師夫妻一出現，小鴨群已經抖著喊著要逃, 女主人不斷道歉、懇求留下；男主人則來回奔走，遞酒來安撫這群須要收驚的小可憐。
此刻, 回家換裝已不可能。更糟的是，這群創意小鴨：導演、音樂人、藝術家與燈光設計師，雖出席過許多電影、音樂、設計的隆重場合，站上舞台、接受掌聲，但衣櫥內根本翻不出有「符合此次規範」的服裝。
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那一晚，創意小鴨們感到赤裸羞愧、格格不入。
在華麗卻原始的競艷、比帥濃烈氛圍裡，本人發現了個有趣的現象：
當人們刻意穿上某種「符合要求的裝扮」，會自然昂首挺胸以斜眼從高處掃描全場, 確定自己可以被同儕看到及賞識。我們這些穿著不合格的族群, 根本是透明,沒人在意。
服裝規範是某種視覺、階級的密碼，以便相互較勁。
理解這點後，醜小鴨們開始酸溜溜, 對站在門口, 一隻努力孔雀開屏的男士評頭論足：「聽他那套燕尾服說已經連續穿好幾年，搞不好是當年結婚拍照用的…。」
隨後,兩三位身材曼妙低胸爆乳的美天鵝,從鴨寮旁優雅游過, 引起低低竊語:
「阿呀, 她們怎麼可以讀到高學位，身材又如此妖嬌？」「嗯…，她們不是校友，是女伴啦…。」創意醜小鴨們同步鬆了一口氣。
幾杯酒下肚後，全場的天鵝、孔雀及小鴨們也醺眩起來，大聲談笑。主持人公佈高潮的餘興節目即將登場，我們還以為他們會跳起交際舞、華爾滋。結果幾位瑜伽褲裝扮的表演者蹦了出來，邀請賓客上場同歡。震耳欲聾的有氧運動樂聲中，身穿三件式緊身西裝及長尾禮服的名校畢業生,莫不卯足了勁，困難的伸展肢體，惹得大家哄堂大笑…像極了任何一場的企業尾牙。
這時，我灌滿酒精的小腦袋瓜內浮現一個疑問：
明明我們城市只有建築法規，卻沒外觀的服裝要求。但為何這麼多建築看起來一模一樣，彷彿有種於材料、造型上的不成文規定, 非得如此才能擠身於高大上的神秘組織。
當夜晚降臨，建築群們更穿戴起閃亮配件-燈光, 標榜著媲美某國際地標。結果，所有眼界自然縮小，只聚焦於與自己的同類，相互競爭, 卻忘了大家的本質大同小異。
曾經勸一位業主,不一定要有建築外觀的「光雕」, 卻得到「輸人不輸陣」的回答，這讓本人深感不解。今晚的事件,讓我深刻體會同儕壓力(peer pressure)的強大, 不是自我心戰喊話、鞏固自信就可挨過的！
然而, 這個超級尷尬的經驗，卻讓醜小鴨們腦洞大開，再也不被華麗氣息逼人的外表所嚇著，反而沒了束縛，玩得更盡興。
最後同仇敵敵愾、非名校畢業的醜小鴨們, 也大辣辣的群聚在名人牆前合照，並宣布下一次的 Dress Code：穿上最華麗服裝，配雙藍白拖, 到夜市去聚餐。
