Jayson Robledo, an executive recruiter for stockbrokers, used to wear a suit and tie to his Chicago office. But, as most of his clients started dressing down in recent years, he also rejiggered his wardrobe.
With help from Albert Karroll, owner of Richard Bennett Custom Tailors, Robledo purchased custom shirts that look good with or without a tie, plus sport coats, blazers and dress slacks. Said Karroll, Robledo’s mentor, “I’ve tried to coach my customers into tailored sportswear.”
Robledo often leaves ties at his office for the “just-in-case times” since some investment houses still suit up.
“You still see a gamut of style, with people in suits or `business casual,’ but in my profession, at least, it really doesn’t matter as much. What does matter is how much you produce in commissions rather than whether you wear a tie,” he said.
A similar scenario has emerged at the public accounting firm BDO Seidman LLP in Chicago, said Karen Bonn, director of employee benefits. The firm switched to business casual two years ago, though partners sometimes wear suits for client meetings. Bonn herself purchased new clothing, primarily at retailer Mark Shale.
Both professionals are far from alone in gearing their wardrobes toward “business casual,” also known as “corporate casual” and “business appropriate,” and a variation on the following: For women, blouses, skirts, sweaters; and sometimes slacks, suits or dresses; shoes and hose. For men, collared shirts, casual slacks, maybe a sport coat, and socks and shoes.
But the change is really the second wave. Initially, casual clothing was popular on summer Fridays.
Chere Estrin, chief executive of the Estrin Organization, an executive search firm for lawyers, investment bankers and clerical staff, attributes that look to dot-comers in Silicon Valley and to some retailers recognizing a golden opportunity to sell more casual clothing.
Consultant Mary Lou Andre, whose business Organization by Design Inc. is based in Needham, Mass., adds another impetus. Downsizing companies saw a way to allow those still employed to enjoy a cost-effective benefit.
Gradually, casual summer Fridays, which spread at some businesses to casual every day, have given way to a dressier but still not stiff style year-round, said consultant Ann Marie Sabath, author of “Beyond Business Casual: What to Wear to Work If You Want to Get Ahead” (Career Press, $14.99).
Such changes don’t mean business folk find it easier to get dressed in the morning for work. Quite the contrary. There’s greater confusion about what’s acceptable to wear within a company and externally with clients.
Elaine Erickson, executive vice president of Kenzer Corp., an executive search firm in New York with an office in Chicago, cited a typical example.
“We had a candidate for a store and loved this fella, but we told him our dress attire was casual, and he kept insisting on wearing a tie. It didn’t sit well with us,” she said.
The current dilemma has emerged for several reasons. The plethora of dot-com firms took casualness to an extreme of sloppiness, since many who work there think that what you wear is irrelevant. As young entrepreneurs in jeans and sneakers reaped huge financial rewards, The more traditional companies were only too quick to copy their dress style, thinking it might rub off.
Not all non-dot-com firms agree. Some “pushed the envelope too far and looked like they were going out to work in their yards,” said Mallary Tytel, president and chief executive of Education and Training Programs Inc. in East Hartford, Conn.
(What’s also considered inappropriate are shorts, sweatshirts, T-shirts, halter tops, Spandex, beach sandals, anything torn and anything too sexy.)
At some places, sloppy attire led to lax work attitudes, Andre added. “Some who showed up very casually dressed on Fridays started coming in later and later.”
Michael W. Kemper, president and chief executive of the MWW Group in East Rutherford, N.J., a public relations firm, sees the problem more for employees fresh from college who’ve never worn suits.
“Most professionals who’ve worked for 20 years know how to dress,” he said.
At the other end of the spectrum are businesses where management decided to retain a strict traditional dress code or where workers still prefer to do so, even if they don’t have to.
Two cases in point: The old-line New York law firm Cravath, Swaine and Moore requires traditional dress, except on summer Fridays, and that was only permitted starting last summer.
Laura Hagan, a partner in the Chicago office of the legal search firm, Major Hagan & Africa, prefers still to don her St. John knit suits even though her office is now casual. “I sometimes seem overdressed but I am comfortable, and they take me through an entire day,” she said.
In between are businesses like Arthur Andersen LLP which allows each local office to decide how to mirror local standards, said Anne Lang, director of human resources for the U.S.
But how will the conundrum resolve as more businesses take a stance and as some dot-coms crash and those employees go back to more traditionally attired firms?
Many businesses see business casual as a happy medium and a good recruiting and retention tool with the still tight labor market. “Companies are definitely using it as a morale booster. Business casual is a tease; it makes employees think they’re doing something against management, though after a while the excitement wears off,” said Estrin.
Allen Salikof, president and chief executive of Management Recruiter’s International, a Cleveland-based recruitment firm, agrees. Salikof said his company has found from exit interviews that not having casual business dress can be a reason to take a job elsewhere.
At the same time, to avoid too casual a style, many are implementing dress codes and calling on a legion of experts only too eager to help–and make money from the confusion.
The experts come from a variety of disciplines: from in-house fashion “police” who write do’s and don’ts in detailed memos and design Web sites to present visual solutions, from independent Internet sites such as iVillage.com and dressingwell.com, from outside image consultants, from speakers and retailers who host seminars and fashion shows, from authors who explain the how-tos and from support groups.
Vince Rua, president and chief executive of Christopher’s Men’s Stores Inc. in upstate New York, helped start the “Let’s Get Back to Business” or “Dress Up Thursdays” national movement to promote nicer, neater attire. “The concept is to ask corporate America to think about raising the level of decorum at least one day a week. We want people to eliminate wrinkled pants and torn jeans.”
Speaker Dawn E. Waldrop, who authored “Best Impressions: How to Gain Professionalism Promotion and Profit” (self-published, $16.95), thinks bringing in experts for Q-and-A sessions is more useful than fashion shows that display nice outfits.
Manufacturers and retailers have also risen to the occasion.
Tamotsu Inc., a New York bridge clothing line started its Hana division to offer cotton stretch washable and less expensive clothing than its original suits, pants and separates. “We’re talking about $200 retail instead of $400 for a jacket, for example,” said Ellen Mullman, sales manager.
Banana Republic started its @yourservice service that brings its stores’ inventory temporarily to companies, geared specifically for that company’s dress code.
Scott Baskin, co-president of Chicago-based Mark Shale stores, says his eight stores now stock more casual inventory.
One attitude has come to predominate: More businesses encourage flexible “situational-sensitive dress codes,” according to Sherry Maysonave, an image consultant in Austin, Texas, and author of “Casual Power: How to Power Up Your Nonverbal Communication and Dress Down for Success” (Bright books, $29.95).
Baskin agrees. “Think about who you’re meeting.” Kathy Windsor, senior community producer for iVillage.com, adds the adage of looking to your boss.
All the while, one misconception is being corrected. Buying new casual business clothing isn’t cheap, particularly for those needing two wardrobes.
“It’s not necessarily cheaper to put together a nice casual outfit than a suit. The advantage, however, is that the casual items usually are versatile and can go forward for several seasons,” said Baskin, who on a recent workday was wearing a suit and tie. “It’s more dressy for me but I felt like it.Yesterday, I wore dark gray slacks and sport coat.”
