Top ten styles that can change the way you work

INDIA: Confession. IT programmers do not have time to pick just the right pink shade for a cravat. CIOs or managers also, have too many things making them pull their hair out as they fire fight with IT extinguishers every now and then, leaving them just no energy for a coiffeur or a hair gel.

When Ruby is always on Rails who has the patience to pick a pearl for the cuff links? When a big part of your job profile and skills is all about escaping the ruthless scissors to save your Budgets; why would you even worry about what sharp Italian cut is in vogue now.

No one bothers about Milan in a world where San Francisco matters more.

True.

But.

Yes, there's always this pretty ‘but'.

Check out this list of tech-savvy accessories and you might be inclined to think that IT folks in corporate aisles do not need to chase any style-updates. Specially when it is very much the other way around, i.e. the world following and picking technology for style.

1. It's ok to have a sweet tooth, as long as you have donned a Bluetooth

Talking with your hands juggling keys on one hand and phone on the other hand is so passé. Attach a nice hot piece of this magnetic wave marvel, and attract all the second glances you get from people bumping into your own shoulders. The bonus is you can mumble and swear at them, all you want, and then nonchalantly point at the device. Hey, you can even spin lofty yarns of big business deals (talking to yourself), cook lots of stories, look busy and let people wonder if they should interrupt this high-flier at all.

2. Don't judge a book by its cover. That's for phones

 

Sorry, smartphones. Pity on you if you thought that stylish phone covers and colorful flaps are only for females or iPhones. Puhleez, get your expensive phone a not so expensive but still-a-killer-look robe. It works two ways. It immediately etches your individuality amongst hordes of other Berry or Apple owners. Now can you do that with cars? Even if you spend a fortune to buy a BMW there's at least one more guy in your city that has it, and cars can not be pronounced by their covers. But phones can. With that, your chic phone wrap-around jacket can also hide the old model you are still lugging. So none of those tongue-in-cheek youngsters call you an ‘Uncle' anymore.

3. Till your clone is born

We still can't afford a body-double. But an answering machine has no complications - be its money, ethical dilemma, or scientific advancements.

So one of you is already clicking the page thinking- how in the world an answering machine matters, right? Wrong. Everyone around you is directly, indirectly bullying you into proving your distinctness lest you fall in an invisible crowd. From your hair-cutter, your valet, your boss, your office-help, your tailor to even your traffic cop (sorry, scratch the ‘your' there). As you stay busy in a meeting or a run-up-to-the-next-pillar-or-post, there should be a smart voice with a sleek answer to act as your proxy on the phone.

Here, everything matters, from the way it gently pours out your name or articulates your where-abouts with poise. Try that, coz the caller-song on your phone might have just gone out of date.

4. Pen is mightier than the sword. Pen drive is haute-ier than the scarf.

A thumb replica, a beer bottle, an angry bird, an Elvis minutiae; just say the word and you could easily find a pen drive with the shape and icon of your choice. Even if you are still caught standing on the equator that divides the IT atlas between Mac-worshippers and non-Mac atheists; a bit of design and style twiddled with panache between your fingers won't hurt. It can not kill the whirring monotony of your office hours but what a whiff of fresh air it would be to have someone say "Hey Bud, that's a nice pen drive!" instead of "Hey Mr. Boring-too, can I download that source code you managed to doodle twenty-minutes faster than I did?"

5. Smell the coffee and more

When your boss walks in to your cabin with an I-mean-business look, how would you like to rather answer his instructions with an "Oh, but let me just finish my coffee here." (Add ‘please' of course.)

Don't worry, he will not give you the Jane-from Twilight look.

As long as you have one of those chic coffee-plate-cum-battery-chargers on your desk. They silently refuel your battery as you refill your adrenaline with caffeine. They look good too.

Even if they don't, they will guarantee that your boss looks at your desk keenly enough. As long as you have ensured that your desk is not all glossy and clean, keep sipping your Mocha pal.

6. What do women keep in their hand bags?

The elusive question stays mysterious. Hop on to the next one if you thought an answer is about to be unveiled. But, we can still talk about what men wield. In yester-eras they used to carry swords, or sickels, or papers or car keys. Today, they swing laptops. But stop that jolly-be-happy strut if you are a bloke still waiting for a free goodie from a dev conference to zip the machine. Or if you are still dropping these transformers into a bulky knapsack and limping with hunched shoulders. Have a nice, smart, dapper laptop bag to show your assets off instead. No one gives you that respectful look if you look like someone who just returned from Mt. Everest. Not even the people who frisk you for a flight. So have a swish bag and swagger with something better.

7. Ah, so you are a blogger? So what?

So much, actually. Why only blogs? It can be about your Gmail status bar or email template or social flocking page. Choose a template that reflects your persona. Actually forget your real favourites and splash some stylish colours and lines all over it. Be down-to-earth but not when it comes to having a drab brown background. It's pretty much like Graffiti these days with all the props that many sites provide. Go fashionable here. Brandish those tech-silhouettes. After all, the virtual world matters much more than the real world. Instagram, Photoshop, ahem ahem.

8. Glasses are for nerds

Finally, you can acknowledge this allegation with a proud jerk of the chin. Now that Google is at it with Project Glass, interactive goggles can change the way you look and more importantly, the way people look at you. The next age of wearable electronics follows what headphones, Bluetooth headsets, health or sleep monitoring devices have set forth. Look before you see!

9. Jog. Better than cat-walk

It is if you have a nice tech-accessory wrapped on your elbow as you sweat in the gym, or across the beach, or wherever. Wearable computers are the next fad of ala-mode yuppies where everything from monocles, wristwatches, ear-phone holders to whistles make a statement. More of these new wrinkles are on the way. Let's keep the jewellery for the ladies in TV soaps. Show off some real stunts with a beep.

10. Forget it

Ignore all the cosmetic, artificial, shallow babble above. You will look great as long as you forget to not leave your home without wearing the biggest and the strongest accessory since ever : your SMILE. Something that even the best robots still can not manage.