Chris Matyszczyk over at CNet News has a thought-provoking post about branded clothing as worn by people in start-up industries, which covers a lot of territory in a very pithy fashion.

Two things really stood out for me:

1 – his point that if you wear your brand so obviously on your clothing, it deprives others of a natural way to get into business conversation with you: if your company is emblazoned on your front, the chance to explain, explore, persuade and downright charm others into seeing your company the way you do is gone, they know your company name and probably form a judgement about it, and you, without ever needing to speak to you. That’s a wasted opportunity because maybe, just maybe, you have a solution for them that isn’t evident until you get conversation.

2 – brands come and go, and some brands today are utterly contemptible – would anybody wear a ‘Ratner’s’ T-shirt these days, or wander around a business convention with ‘I bank with Barings’ on their sweatshirt and expect to get any kind of response other than disbelief and scorn? So sometimes it’s important to think about what you’re saying and how it may be remembered.