# Formal clothing enables more signaling There’s some other reference to how when there was an explicit dress code it was easier for outsiders to know what to do. Now it’s much more implicit - $1000 t-shirts and $10 t-shirts look almost exactly the same and you need special knowledge to tell the difference. ### Related * [[Duality of Command]] from [[Anti-submarine research in the First World War shows the value of trusted hierarchies]] * [Ben Reinhardt on Twitter: “31/ The duality of command - sometimes commanders need to be obeyed no questions asked, and sometimes they need to be challenged. I love the idea of having a literal physical signal for it. Apparently businesspeople used to use their ties for this too. We’ve lost these signals… https://t.co/o9vppLrplB”](https://twitter.com/Ben_Reinhardt/status/1222915019869839363) ### Reference [[Conversation with Nicholas and Keegan]] <!-- #evergreen --> [Web URL for this note](http://notes.benjaminreinhardt.com/Formal+clothing+enables+more+signaling) [Comment on this note](http://via.hypothes.is/http://notes.benjaminreinhardt.com/Formal+clothing+enables+more+signaling)