are work suits on the way out

7/30/2019 Are Work Suits on the Way Out

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11 February 2011Last updated at 11:10 GMT

Are work suits on the way out?By Tom de CastellaJournalist

In 2011, most men and women feel that the need for hats, ties, suits and furled umbrellas has waned

slightly

On Fridays many dress down, but is the suit in general decline as thestandard business wear?

Once upon a time British cities at rush hour were a sea of grey suits,bowler hats and umbrellas.

The contrast with today is stark. It's not just the arrival of women in theworkforce that has changed things but the shift away from suits to smartcasual, jeans and even in some quarters trainers, T-shirts and flip flops. Forboth sexes.

A recent poll of 2,000 British workers by online bank First Direct found thatonly one in 10 employees wears a suit every day, more than a third of staffopt for jeans and only 18% regularly wear a tie.

Earlier this year, UBS created brief uproar when it unveiled a 43-pagedress code for staff. It soon backed down in the face of much mockery overits demand for women to wear skin coloured underwear and men to havemonthly haircuts.


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Watch The Apprentice and there are plenty of suits to be seen on men and women

But there were some unlikely defenders.

The Financial Times's work commentator Lucy Kellaway wrote in hercolumn: "Clad in my sloppy flannel pyjamas and fleece dressing gown, I'mlooking again at the UBS booklet and thinking how crisp those lovely shirtslook and marvelling at the wisdom of the advice."

Rather than Big Brother as critics had claimed, it "smacks of big sister anda kindly, helpful one at that", she wrote.

However, Claire McCartney of the Chartered Institute of Personnel andDevelopment, the professional body for human resources practitioners,

says such prescriptive dress codes are becoming increasingly old-fashioned.

"There's definitely a tendency for employers to let their staff feelcomfortable in what they are wearing," she says.

"Obviously there will always be limits to what is appropriate. But there is awider acknowledgement that you don't have to wear a suit to be smart."

Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology at Lancaster

University Management School, agrees that the world has moved on.Formality is out, and about time too.


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The view from the workplace

Humphrey, graphic designer: I wear trainers, jeans and a shirt or jumper,sometimes a T-shirt. Never a shirt and tie - I wouldn't want a job that

demanded them. Jeans and combats used to be banned but now it's fine.

Vernon, City analyst: Most days chinos and smart shirt but I wear a suitand tie when seeing clients. I like it to be relaxed. A couple of hedgefunders like to show they can do what they like and wear ripped jeans.

Louis, GP: I wear smart trousers and shirt. No suit or white coat as youmight seem too authoritarian. No tie - they're unhygienic. Flip-flops, shorts,or visible thongs would be seen as unprofessional.

Astrid, equity sales: A dress or skirt usually, definitely if I'm meeting

clients. Sometimes jeans. In general men have trousers that are far tooshort, bad shoes and awful hair styles. Women wear "sexy" outfits withfishnet tights and low cut tops.

Barry, IT manager: Black suit trousers and smart shirt. Things haveloosened up. About 15 years ago a manager of mine came in wearing flipflops - it severely damaged her credibility. I doubt that would happen thesedays.

Francesca, corporate lawyer: 'Business casual' is the order of the day -

skirts/trousers with tops, or a dress. No suits/ties necessary unless youhave a client meeting. But some take it really seriously and wear a suit allthe time.

Samantha, teacher: I wear smart grey/black trousers with a V-necked topor casual blouse. Jacket is only for parents' evening and not always then.The men all wear ties and suit trousers but lots wear jumpers instead of

jackets. In summer I wear flowery skirts and flip flops if I can get away withit.

Names have been changed.

"Even in the City, people are wearing suits but no ties. They aren't comingin with jeans but smart casual."

Many professions have been "dress down" for decades but the trend infinancial services began on Wall Street with dress down Friday about 15years ago, he believes." The objective was to let staff get on with


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paperwork on a Friday and wind down to the weekend. It led people toquestion why they needed to wear a suit in the first place."

But there'll be a suit hanging there and a tie in a drawer in case they haveto go and meet clients, he says. But doesn't this rush towards chinos, shirtsand jumpers signal a lowering of the tone and a loss of focus?

"I disagree," says Prof Cooper. "There's no definitive research on the effectof dress on productivity. But I'd be surprised if we didn't find that smartcasual saw productivity rise. The more informal an office - as long as it'snot slovenly - the better the communication. It's about making the officeless stressful."

While the suit may survive, Prof Cooper believes the tie has had its day.

"What is the point of a tie? It's the weirdest thing. If someone from Marswent into an office the first question they'd ask is 'what's that thing roundyour neck?"

Suits were once the unimaginative uniform of middle-aged men, but todaysome argue it's the casual look that smacks of blandness. The artistsGilbert & George, synonymous with smart, tailored suits, certainly think so.

In an interview with the Evening Standard in 2009, Gilbert said: "We are

more offended by blue jeans than anything else. They are appalling. It's auniform," before George adding: "It's the fear of standing out. The fear ofbeing different."

And Fiona Allison, head of design at tailors Jermyn Street Design, says thesuit has something we jettison at our peril. "What's good about the suit isyou get the uniformity of everyone looking smart. And if you lookprofessional you act professional. I think it's a shame more people aregoing to work in what they wear at the weekend."


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It is possible to look un-businesslike in a suit

Some of her clients have asked for suits that tone down the formality butare still smart. So for a mobile phone operator she designed a smart suit togo with a polo shirt, while staff at a new boutique hotel wear a suit, trainers,and no tie.

Informality is not a given though. The influence of uber-stylish Mad Men,set in a 1960s New York advertising firm, has prompted a nostalgia for atime when men and women dressed smart and sassy.

Women's work wear has definitely got smarter while men's suits - whenthey choose to wear them - are getting sharper, she says. "We find ourclients asking for women to be in a dress rather than shirt and skirt. It'smore feminine because it shows off their figure. And men are getting morefussy about suits - nowadays it's normally slimcut like in Mad Men."

Dressing down is the easy option but we risk losing something precious,argues Alex Bilmes, editor of Esquire magazine. And too many workers aremixing up the idea of casual with sloppy, he warns.

"The downside is that everyone dresses scruffy now as if they're about topop out to Superdrug. People are taking 'relaxed' too far to include wearingbaggie jeans and track suit bottoms."


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Clothes change attitude

Gladeana McMahonFormer GMTV life coach"We use clothes to say 'I mean business'. In investment banking you're

there to make money for the company. That's very different to a creativeenvironment, where you can be who you are, let your creativity go and notbe constrained."

The good thing about having a dress code is that it allows a clearseparation between work and home, she argues.

"People use clothes to reflect their mood. So when you get home fromwork, you come in, get out of your work things and put on your slob gearand relax. It's that demarcation between work and play."

Some professions like waiters, policemen and lawyers still understand thevalue of looking the part, he says.

"They're not stuck in the past, they know it's reassuring to people to looksmart. If you needed a lawyer, went down to chambers to find one wearingshorts, a T-shirt with a logo and battered trainers, are you going to choosehim?"

It's not all doom and gloom though. After a malaise in the 80s and 90s,formal styles are back in vogue with a "real buzz" around the traditionaltailoring of Savile Row and Jermyn Street, he says. Men hoping to climbthe career ladder would be wise to go back to classic English tailoring, hesays.

"If you put on a tailored suit and pressed shirt you are putting on a suit ofarmour. You will walk a bit straighter and taller and people will take youmore seriously."

are work suits on the way out

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