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Dressing Down
Dressed-down dress codes can be confusing, but there are stylish solutions
Jack Bettridge
From the Print Edition:
Kevin Bacon, May/Jun 00
(continued from page 1)
In light of all that, a piece of silk tied around the neck may not seem so onerous. Nevertheless, it is inevitable that fashions change--after all, no one is wearing frock coats to the office as they did 100 years ago. Right now we are in the midst of a trend that verges decidedly toward freedom, and it's hard not to get pulled into it.
"Everyone endorses the idea of liberalism in apparel," says Osborn. "But within that freedom is the duty to distinguish between what is appropriate and what is not appropriate." That is exactly what makes this trend at once so alluring and so full of pitfalls. You're being given freedom, but being asked to exercise it within the confines of the workplace. There are ways to do that. They involve using the same attributes you would bring to more formal attire--style and elegance--and coupling them with insouciance. That involves parsing the oxymoronic concept of "studied casual."
It was Richard Nixon who remarked that "no TV performance takes such careful preparation as an off-the-cuff talk." Casual Friday is the fashion equivalent of an off-the-cuff talk. Then again, Tricky Dick was a guy who, when beseeched by aides to try to emulate the easy style of Jack Kennedy, filmed a meant-to-be-casual campaign commercial strolling down the beach in San Clemente wearing a business suit and shoes. Osborn says that business clothing is being redefined as softer and easier, but the direction is sometimes poorly handled. Indeed, mismatched attire abounds. "You see the sloppiness," he says. "It is forcing us to rethink the sensibility. Do we really want to present that image?" Osborn holds that casual and dressed up will blend and men will have to turn to their clothes consultant like a doctor to determine the appropriateness of either in differing situations.
Neither does Barrato predict the demise of the suit and the tie: "They are both viable expressions of personality. But men have different options now." Both say that casual trends have not had dire impacts on their sales of traditional attire. "I know a lot of women," Barrato says, "and I ask them what they like better. Most say a man in a suit looks more sexy." Such an endorsement should do much for conservative clothing, no matter what the boss allows.
Osborn points out that there is one place where traditional attire will very likely always hold sway: "You very rarely see a man in a coffin without a tie." Meanwhile, back on the 6:05, Andrew peers into his cup and offers some consolation. "Hold on to your suits. Someday in the future there'll be a memo allowing dress-up Thursday if you choose to be so bold."
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