Therapedic CEO Gerry Borreggine showed up at an industry event the other day in a jacket and a tie – and was promptly subjected to a round of teasing from his colleagues. “Where’s the funeral?” he was asked.
He’s not making that mistake this market. Nor are most of his male colleagues.
Casual looks are the order of the day in most mattress showrooms. Slacks and comfy pants are just fine. So are sneakers, if they are neat, mind you. There is a lot of walking to be done at this sprawling market.
Yes, jackets are still common, and you can even find a suit here and there, but ties are rare.
And, bedding being a brand-focused category, mattress-branded shirts and pullovers are also popular.
Mattress Men are dressing for comfort at market, a Bedding News Now fashion investigation confirms. That’s a comfortable way to do business, the execs say, and it’s one that’s right at home with the business casual vibe that has grown in popularity in many industries in recent years.
Here’s a look at some of the male fashion statements that BNN found at the High Point Market. (We will give the Ladies of Mattressville their own fashion report later.)
Therapedic’s Gerry Borreggine sported an ultra-casual vibe with a checked shirt, untucked, neat jeans, and On Cloud sneakers. “In the past, this would have been a showroom set-up outfit,” he said. “Today it’s my showroom opening outfit.”
The shoes are especially important.
Borreggine has been caught in the rain, with fancy shoes, at more than one High Point Market in the decades that he’s been coming to the market here. “Those fine leather, Italian shoes curl up in the rain,” he laments.
Mike Juoni, vice president at Molecule, was touting his brand with a Molecule pullover. He completed the look with a dress shirt, khakis, and Nikes.
“Molecule is all about rest and recovery and ultimate comfort,” Juoni said. “This is our brand strategy and how we dress reflects how we approach market. We are here to get the job done and this is how we do that.”
Also making a branding statement was Jordan Beck, president of Heritage Sleep. He was wearing a Heritage Sleep polo, Gucci sneakers, and stretch pants – an outfit that puts an accent on comfort.
“We want to project an image of being welcoming and accommodating to our dealers,” Beck said. “We want them to be comfortable in our showroom.”
He remembers the old dress code at market: Jackets, ties, and dress shoes. But times have changed and Heritage doesn’t want to present a stuffy image to its dealers, Beck said.
The branding trend continued at Diamond Mattress, where Jack Gomez, regional sales director, was wearing a Diamond-branded blue dress shirt. “Wearing this here shows pride in the company I work for,” he said.
Gomez noted that bedding producers need to be mindful that the way they dress makes a statement to their customers and prospects. Too-casual looks lack professionalism, he said.
What is too casual?
“I think a sports jacket and a button-up shirt should be the minimum” dress code requirement, said Toby Konetzny, CEO of South Bay International, who surpassed that minimum with a nifty suit, a button-up shirt, and no tie. He rounded that look out with boots, his regular choice of footwear.
Konetzny believes in dressing for success. “When you dress well,” he said, “you feel better. You feel like, ‘I’m going to do business today.’”
Jim Nation, South Bay’s vice president of national accounts, was sporting slacks, a blue button-up shirt, and a sports jacket, with no tie. He was wearing sneakers, a nod to the comfort he seeks at market.
Nation, a veteran road warrior in the mattress business, remembers the old days when executives traveled in ties. He doesn’t think the business casual looks that are now common in the industry are a bad thing.
“I don’t think it hurts business,” he said. “It may make people more comfortable.”
At Shifman, the socks were the stars.
Bill Hammer, president, had bright polka dots on his socks, and was wearing a Calvin Klein jacket. Mark Quinn, senior vice president of sales and marketing, was wearing socks with four-leaf green clovers – a good luck charm – and a Hugo Boss jacket. Neither was wearing a tie.
Hammer described his look, which included Cole Haan dress shoes, as “professional and comfortable at the same time.”
Quinn, wearing Lacoste shoes and lululemon pants, said he’s learned to appreciate the importance of comfort. “The older I get the more I want to feel good in what I’m wearing in terms of style and comfort,” he said. “No more dress slacks and dress shoes for me.”
Bedgear’s Jonah Nelson, senior director of brand strategy, was rocking a blue-on-blue look, with a blue dress shirt and a blue jacket.
He thinks the key to dressing for success is to be intentional. And that means asking yourself some questions: “Did you put effort into your dress? Did you think about how you would look? Are you making an effort to make an impression and are you taking pride in your appearance?”
At Paramount, Richard Diamonstein, managing director, said his team favors suits to make a good impression with customers. “We want to show respect for our industry and our customers,” he said. “We want to show a level of professionalism.”
He was wearing a suit, dress shirt and tie when he welcomed Furnitureland South’s Kelsey Brown, looking sharp in a dressy gray shirt, to Paramount’s market party.
Mlily USA’s Kyle Robertson, chief operating officer, and Derek Leishman, national sales director, were both wearing jackets, with no ties. Robertson was wearing Allen Edmunds boots, while Leishman was wearing Cole Haans, which he described as “a blend of dress and comfort.”
Robertson described men’s dress looks at market as “more casual” these days, adding, “It’s a reflection of where we are in society.”
“It’s important to look professional,” Leishman noted. “You make a better impression in a sports jacket than you do in an Under Armour polo.”
