Of course this is not according to the entertainment industry (and a few exclusive names in places like New York) where the high powered players still sport a perfectly tailored suit to the office everyday – think Harvey Spector in the TV series Suits. But the real men in the real world are choosing a much less formal equivalent – suits and no tie, chinos and open collar shirts and forget the three-piece and power-game tie.
On the contrary women are suiting up, so to speak. Not necessarily in a formal three piece, but let’s be honest: women are not choosing flats and easy shirts in the work place, so what’s going on? Did globalization take away our suit? Or have our business role models and new age CEOs paved the way for a new dress code? Has the wave of hipsters and their wannabe counterparts influenced more than just the new age digital crowd on how to dress? Does it mean that just because you don’t work from a coffee shop with your Mac and skinny jeans, you can’t rock a beard in the corporate world?
Suddenly, we hit the 2000s and everything changed – we became a more conscious society. Vegans and vegetarians became cool again, the world became technology obsessed and you had guys like Steve Jobs standing up and presenting in jeans and a turtleneck, yet still being taken seriously. While the corporate guys always have a role to play, it was at this time when the tech geeks became the center of attention. An entire new perspective was seen on business culture: not just dress codes had been demolished but the traditional idea of a work space had too – places like Apple and Google’s offices showed a new platform for the working world. Of course, these guys were not suit-wearing. With the internet boom and a sudden exposure to unlimited content, alternatives were seen – sartorial bloggers and, later, Instagramers, showed a different fashion aesthetic that was previously unexposed. At the same time there was a growth in smaller-owned hedge funds. These guys owned their own businesses and therefore didn’t have to answer to big corporate.
Enron, WorldCom and then the global financial crisis of 2008/2009 resulted in the slowdown of the financial world’s glamour – client-gifting virtually stopped and strict regulations were implemented in the financial sector. Of course one’s dress choices are affected by one’s mood and environment, a less flashy, high flying way of life results in less glamourous dressing. However, there was another shift too: “a major shift in the attention on men’s wear,” Tom Kalenderian, the executive vice president for men’s wear at Barneys New York, told the NY Times, “It’s coming from men directly. It’s almost become a fetish.”
Blame Tom Ford
Like anything on its way to distinction, we didn’t just wake up one morning and lose the suit. Its death was a slow, stylish one. Tom Ford left Gucci in 2006 to start his own label – bringing a new era into fashion. A black suit with a white shirt and no tie became his signature look and many followed suit – excuse the pun. Men started to experiment with suit styles, tie shapes and knots changed, pants got narrower and jackets became more fitted (again to the TV show analogy think of Mike in Suits). This evolution wasn’t a surprise, think of the 1920s style Great Gatsby suits versus Elvis Presley’s mix ‘n match suit in the 50s. Gordon Gekko from the movie Wall Street epitomized the 1980s suit, so it was only natural for a revamp of this men’s staple in the 2000s. Suit styles now aren’t what they used to be. Like everything in the fashion world, there are endless choices – cotton, linen, suits with no tie, stars have hit the red carpet wearing a suit and tee, or sneakers – granted they are never on the best-dressed list but they are there. Jeff Goldblum is king of pulling off the mismatched suit while guys like Tom Hiddleston and Jay Zee make wearing a suit look like the only option. Needless to say, James Bond always wears a suit.
Then in the 2010s, hipster culture took over our men. According to Dan Fletcher, who wrote about Hipsters in 2009 for Time Magazine, “Everything about them is exactly constructed to give off the vibe that they just don't care.” Which is exactly on point. However, the parody of it all is that it takes so much care to look like you don’t. Hipsters became the paramount of cool, corporates and the stereotypes that go along with them became less on-trend, hence two things continued to happen. Firstly, rules continued to loosen up on work wear and secondly, fashion freedom once again became an obvious trend for both men and women.
Move over, Imelda Marcos
Taking the suit off liberates the corporate man – dressing no longer means a perfectly tailored suit, the ideal work shirt and a tie to match. Dress shoes are no longer a given for a day at the office. Joshua Schulman, Bergdorf Goodman’s president told the New York Times: “Today there is as much variety and innovation in men’s shoes as there is in women’s shoes.”
Instead, even though you may find yourself in meeting after meeting, self-expression is high on the agenda. What you wear shows what kind of man you are, your creativity is explored through your clothes and each member of the firm has a different trademark. The liberation from the suit allows men to be themselves in the workplace. Many may argue that wearing a suit doesn’t mean you are oppressed; quite right, it’s about the choice.
Fashion is all about playing a game and the game has become more complicated as everyone realizes that the suit is only one move. Like all things, suits come with a certain connotation – that of power and formality. While there is certainly place for these characteristics in business, when it comes to people skills, these may not always be the first impressions you want to put forward.
There is also the new idea of dressing like your client. All everyone wants to do is seal the deal and get the business so there is really no point in intimidating clients with high-powered, smart-playing suits. Dressing for the context is what it has become all about – you wouldn’t wear your swim shorts into the office, so why would you meet a potential partner wearing a suit when he is obviously more at ease in a golf shirt? One’s attire shows proper respect to those with whom you are meeting.
Power Girls
Of course this is purely a sexist argument because while the suit for men may be dying off, women dressing up and more formally is totally on the rise. Once again it’s connotations of one’s outfit choice that sways this trend. While women in the workplace, unfortunately, still come with a whole lot of baggage, dressing is a sure power that we have. “Putting on formal clothes makes us feel powerful, and that changes the basic way we see the world,” Abraham Rutchick, author of a study and professor of psychology at California State University, Northridge, told The Atlantic. A woman in serious heels and a high powered work dress means business. Women want to be taken seriously and the first step is to dress seriously. People take note of what women wear, probably more than men, but they certainly take note. Look at Hilary Clinton – often dressed in dowdy, non-conversation sparking clothes as the first lady, trying to up her game as Secretary of State by going for a more formal look but now, running for President, she has completely revamped – wearing designer jackets worth $12 000. What Hilary wears is important for her image and her campaign. Dressing is usually about power, sex or money – in Hilary’s case power is what she is dressing for.
But dress codes can lead to serious consequences for the company which tries to implement them. Look at PwC which in May 2016 sent a receptionist home for not wearing high heels. In this case it’s most certainly not about money or power. The said receptionist is now petitioning against the company’s heel policy. The loss of dress codes may be simply an HR strategy.
Perhaps the death of the suit also happened less on purpose and more by chance. Casual Fridays and suiting up for the rest of the week slowly became casual Thursdays and Fridays, until now when it’s more casual Monday-Friday and the suits are an exception.
On a Personal Note
I am completely devastated at the thought of the death of the suit: firstly, there is a certain bit of nostalgia that comes along with seeing a man all dressed up in a suit. I remember mornings before school as my father would get ready for work as an investment banker, I remember sometimes helping pick out his tie. Of course, suits made buying presents for men easier too – a beautiful new tie was always a good bet but now a gift like that would be wasted on the cupboard. Also, a suit comes with a fair amount of sex appeal which is unavoidable – on the surface, suits reflect the type of man who is successful, wealthy, stylish, powerful and charming and who would want the death of all that?
In the argument for suits you have to look at occasions where one is absolutely necessary or expected. President Obama famously told Vanity Fair, “You'll see I wear only gray or blue suits, I'm trying to pare down decisions. I don't want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make." I nearly said that you will always find suits at weddings but that is not even true anymore, I see many grooms and their entourage dressed in chinos with interesting socks and a fun bow tie, the guests can usually be divided into suit wearing and non-suit wearing – the latter often representing an older demographic.
The one occasion I found that most people deem a suit appropriate and expected is at a funeral which doesn’t give much credit to the argument that a suit is not dead.
