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Funeral Fashion

By Peter Lloyd

A woman in Fort Worth, Texas, makes funeral fashions. Dresses and suits made in case you come to your final resting place with nothing to wear.

Mind you, these clothes are nothing to write home about. But you won't be doing that anyway. These are conservative, laid-back, suits and dresses.

When I discovered that deathwear, as it's called, comes "one size fits all," it made me think of the typical corporate dress code. Except for the fact that some men's funeral tie in the back, don't have any pockets, and the pants come with fake zippers, you might have trouble telling the difference between someone dressed for success and someone dressed to rest in peace.

As you might expect, casket fashions can sell for considerably less. At this writing, dresses from $40 to $60 in as many as 40 understated styles. Men's suits for as little as $65 to $95, many with shirts and ties attached.

Are we having the same brainstorm? If your company is cost conscious and you've incorporated a conservative dress code, you could save a lot of money. Why not call the lady in Fort Worth, or talk to your local funeral director?

But before you do, consider this. When people are having fun, they're much more creative. And when creative companies do everything else right, they don't just survive, they thrive. So why make it more difficult to be creative by dressing like you're headed for a funeral?

How you dress for the office is your business. You can have fun while you still have the chance, or you follow a corporate dress code. It's your funeral.

Peter Lloyd is co-creator with Stephen Grossman of Animal Crackers, the breakthrough problem-solving tool designed to crack your toughest problems.
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