A survey by the website for guys in Toronto
(xyyz.ca), found that while casual wear is becoming the norm in business, not
everybody is happy about it. In fact, many men feel business casual has “gone
too far” and wish for a return to more formal business attire.
The survey of 208 subscribers found:
– 49% of subscribers said they agree that business attire has become
too casual (with negligible variation in this sentiment by age).
– A quarter of respondents said they’d like to dress more formally at
the office, but won’t because they would feel out of place.
– Almost half said they feel proper business attire consists of a suit
and tie, or at least a jacket and trousers. Only 12% felt that jeans
were acceptable at the office.
– Only one third of respondents work in an office with an explicit
office attire policy.
– Just 12% of respondents said they work in offices where the
predominant style of dress is traditional business attire. In fact,
26% said they work in offices where “anything goes” when it comes to
office attire.
“The move to casual wear for business has confused the modern male”, says
Russell Smith, XYYZ Executive Editor and author of Men’s Style, The Thinking
Man’s Guide to Dress. “Formal business attire serves as a uniform, so it’s
easy for a guy to know what to wear. Business casual is ill-defined, and hard
to pull off with style and decorum.”
Smith continued, “I believe we’re seeing a backlash against the
blandification of the workplace, and I’m pleased to see it. It’s evidence that
the blight of casual Fridays seems to be finally fading. Perhaps that’s
because men are realizing that dressing better does make you feel more
confident.”
