11 February 2011 Last updated at 11:10 GMT
By Tom de Castella Journalist
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 the standard
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 the
workforce that has changed things but the shift away from suits to smart
casual, jeans and even in some quarters trainers, T-shirts and flip flops. For
both sexes.
A recent poll of 2,000 British workers by online bank First Direct found that
only one in 10 employees wears a suit every day, more than a third of staff opt
for jeans and only 18% regularly wear a tie.
Earlier this year, UBS created brief uproar when it unveiled a 43-page dress
code for staff. It soon backed down in the face of much mockery over its demand
for women to wear skin coloured underwear and men to have monthly haircuts.
The Apprentice 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 her column: "Clad
in my sloppy flannel pyjamas and fleece dressing gown, I'm looking again at the
UBS booklet and thinking how crisp those lovely shirts look and marvelling at
the wisdom of the advice."
Rather than Big Brother as critics had claimed, it "smacks of big sister and a
kindly, helpful one at that", she wrote.
However, Claire McCartney of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and
Development, 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 feel
comfortable in what they are wearing," she says.
"Obviously there will always be limits to what is appropriate. But there is a
wider 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.
Continue reading the main story
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 suit and
tie when seeing clients. I like it to be relaxed. A couple of hedge funders
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 you might
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 too short,
bad shoes and awful hair styles. Women wear "sexy" outfits with fishnet tights
and low cut tops.
Barry, IT manager: Black suit trousers and smart shirt. Things have loosened
up. About 15 years ago a manager of mine came in wearing flip flops - it
severely damaged her credibility. I doubt that would happen these days.
Francesca, corporate lawyer: 'Business casual' is the order of the day - skirts
/trousers with tops, or a dress. No suits/ties necessary unless you have a
client meeting. But some take it really seriously and wear a suit all the time.
Samantha, teacher: I wear smart grey/black trousers with a V-necked top or
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 with it.
Names have been changed.
"Even in the City, people are wearing suits but no ties. They aren't coming in
with jeans but smart casual."
Many professions have been "dress down" for decades but the trend in financial
services began on Wall Street with dress down Friday about 15 years ago, he
believes." The objective was to let staff get on with paperwork on a Friday and
wind down to the weekend. It led people to question 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 have to
go and meet clients, he says. But doesn't this rush towards chinos, shirts and
jumpers signal a lowering of the tone and a loss of focus?
"I disagree," says Prof Cooper. "There's no definitive research on the effect
of dress on productivity. But I'd be surprised if we didn't find that smart
casual saw productivity rise. The more informal an office - as long as it's not
slovenly - the better the communication. It's about making the office less
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 Mars went
into an office the first question they'd ask is 'what's that thing round your
neck?"
Suits were once the unimaginative uniform of middle-aged men, but today some
argue it's the casual look that smacks of blandness. The artists Gilbert &
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 a uniform,"
before George adding: "It's the fear of standing out. The fear of being
different."
And Fiona Allison, head of design at tailors Jermyn Street Design, says the
suit has something we jettison at our peril. "What's good about the suit is you
get the uniformity of everyone looking smart. And if you look professional you
act professional. I think it's a shame more people are going to work in what
they wear at the weekend."
Pete Doherty It is possible to look un-businesslike in a suit
Some of her clients have asked for suits that tone down the formality but are
still smart. So for a mobile phone operator she designed a smart suit to go
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 a time when
men and women dressed smart and sassy.
Women's work wear has definitely got smarter while men's suits - when they
choose to wear them - are getting sharper, she says. "We find our clients
asking for women to be in a dress rather than shirt and skirt. It's more
feminine because it shows off their figure. And men are getting more fussy
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 are mixing up the
idea of casual with sloppy, he warns.
"The downside is that everyone dresses scruffy now as if they're about to pop
out to Superdrug. People are taking 'relaxed' too far to include wearing baggie
jeans and track suit bottoms."
Clothes change attitude
Gladeana McMahon Former 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 creative environment,
where you can be who you are, let your creativity go and not be constrained."
The good thing about having a dress code is that it allows a clear separation
between work and home, she argues.
"People use clothes to reflect their mood. So when you get home from work, you
come in, get out of your work things and put on your slob gear and relax. It's
that demarcation between work and play."
Some professions like waiters, policemen and lawyers still understand the value
of looking the part, he says.
"They're not stuck in the past, they know it's reassuring to people to look
smart. If you needed a lawyer, went down to chambers to find one wearing
shorts, a T-shirt with a logo and battered trainers, are you going to choose
him?"
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 traditional tailoring of
Savile Row and Jermyn Street, he says. Men hoping to climb the career ladder
would be wise to go back to classic English tailoring, he says.
"If you put on a tailored suit and pressed shirt you are putting on a suit of
armour. You will walk a bit straighter and taller and people will take you more
seriously."