Casual Friday is so '90s, dressing down is full time

Contra Costa Times ^ | 8/23/06 | Molly Selvin

[qam1]

On those rare occasions when insurance executive Tara Guizot wears a suit to her Los Angeles office, "people invariably ask me if I'm interviewing for a new job," she said.

The trend toward casual dress has gone so far that Matt Smith, a 27-year-old Los Angeles lawyer, is on a quest to establish "Tie Tuesday." He would like to wear a suit to work but knows he'd be ridiculed. Instead, Smith dons a tie every Tuesday and hopes other men in his office will follow. So far, a couple have.

"It's just something fun," he said.

Forget casual Fridays. In many workplaces, it's casual everyday as corporate dress codes have gone the way of fedoras and white gloves.

Office workers, from executives to receptionists, now wear pretty much what they want, sometimes baring more cleavage, tattoos and body fat than co-workers care to see.

....

Polo shirts, sweater sets and tailored slacks -- what many companies consider "business casual" -- have given way to halter tops, rubber flip-flops, T-shirts and jeans.

The trend has even sparked a mini-backlash among professionals opting for a more buttoned-down look.

"Wearing a tie used to be a sign of conformity. But dressing down is now conformity and dressing up is rebellious," said Robert Stephens, who founded the Geek Squad, Best Buy Co.'s computer repair service. Squad members sport short-sleeve white shirts and black ties.

Credit younger workers, who bring a who-cares-what-I-wear attitude to their cubicles, for the casual-everyday trend

.....

"It really helps us, specifically with Gen X and Y workers," said Miriam Wardak, senior vice president for ICF International, a Virginia-based consulting firm, adding that some younger workers have told her they would not consider a potential employer if they had to wear a suit and tie.

[Rytwyng]

You should dress nice all the time. It just makes you feel good when you've dress yourself well.

The nicest (ie, most comfortable) clothes I own are work boots, jeans, and flannels. I feel absolutely great when I wear them. And I'm a lot more productive.

[William Tell 2]

You wear khaki and golf shirts and want to know what use a tie is? ( BTW if you are going to use words like raiment at least spell them correctly).

What use is khaki and golf shirts in an air conditioned office or car. If you work in a hot humid city the best dress is nothing but a speedo. Are you really saying people should wear speedo's to work?

You argue against style and then proceed to use style to determine what you wear.

[petro45acp]

Yep, misspelled raiment. But style over substance is still silly. That is to say, a tie serves no purpose other than adding color to a drab outfit.

I view clothing as gear/equipment. Your mileage may vary.

Cheers

[CORedneck]

When I worked at MCI (pre Bernie Sanders), we had a business casual dress code and they emphasize "no jeans" including any color. However, seeing 350 pound women in leotards or stretch pants and a shirt that did not cover their @$$ made me sick. But yet, I get chewed for wearing jeans in after hours. Guys wearing polyester pants the color of dog doo along with a stained polyester shirt was acceptable.

Women, on the other hand, could wear damn near whatever they wanted, as long as it wasn't jeans, and there was no backlash at all. The worst offenders were the several extremely overweight women who essentially wore pajamas/jogging suits and sandals to work every day, because it was the only thing they could fit into. Pissed me off to no end.

[CORedneck]

I work at a place where a Ph.D. is a government executive and a Retired Army Colonel. He is a stickler with the dress code but yet you see many people coming in with blue jeans including me. His direct reports are held to his tight leash. The dress code goes as far as to dictate long sleeve shirts even on a 100 degree F Summer day.

[CORedneck]

When I joined the job market back in 1990, I bought a new Mustang GT with money saved over the years. My aunt was a campus placement officer and she told me when I went to job interviews to park the car in such a place where the people who are interviewing you don't see it.

My first job, I cam across this prejudice from the Executive VP of Finance. I was not permitted to drive the rental cars on business trips even with a clean driving record.

I bet EDS in its day were sticklers even on the cars their employees drove.

>I remember my first day at EDS when I took off my suit in the cafeteria to eat. I was quickly advised to put the coat back on.

I have a coworker who, when going through the EDS interview process ordered a scotch neat when he went out to lunch with his two "handlers". When they informed him that "at EDS we don't drink at lunch" he looked back at the waiter ans said "make it a double"

End of interview