Opinion

Dress Up, Not Down

By Juliet Hindel

A Japanese friend of mine who works at an American bank in Tokyo recently told me that her Japanese male colleagues were finding it hard to cope with casual dressing at work. She said some of the middle-aged managers were coming to work in their formal suits and ties as they had always done, and only changing into casual shirts and trousers in the office bathrooms.

Casual dressing is sweeping through the business world like a wave. It started with "casual Friday" when employees were allowed to dress down before the weekend.

Then the quintessentially casual style of Silicon Valley e-culture, where a T-shirt and chinos are the norm for both the company president and the youngest recruit, influenced even the stuffiest organizations to abandon the somber suits and ties that had been their uniform.

But I'm not sure that this "casualization" is necessarily a good thing. Of course, in the summer, when it's hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk, people should be allowed to leave their jackets and ties at home. But dressing up in order to have a sense of occasion should still be an important ritual.

My foreign friends who visit me in Japan always remark on how well-turned out everybody is. They are amazed at the neat schoolchildren in their starched sailor suit uniforms, the elegance of the stationmaster who sees the trains off from the platform, even the ladies who clean the trains have crisp, natty,pink outfits.

People in the service industries in Japan who wear uniforms also perform formal bows as part of their duties.That bow would have far less impact if they were wearing a grungy outfit. A smart uniform can instill a sense of pride in your job, however menial.

Uniforms aside,Japan's national dress, the kimono, is a masterpiece of formality. The sartorial elegance of a Japanese woman or man dressed in a timeless piece of traditional tailoring is an impressive sight anywhere in the world.

Casual dressing at work hasn't been introduced without hitches.In London, some firms have found that employees take the word "casual" too literally and come attired for the beach rather than the boardroom.

Companies have announced dress codes that some of the younger staff members see as defeating the object of dressing down. "The managing director wants us all to dress as if we were at his golf club," said one friend of mine in London.

Personally, I like to get dressed up to go out in the evening to the theater or dinner. The preparation required makes the occasion seem more special than if I went wearing the same clothes I'd had on all day. But these days I look out of place because everyone around me is wearing casual clothes.

I'm hoping, however, that I'm ahead of the trend. My fashion prediction is that formality will return with a vengeance and the days of dressing down are numbered.

Shukan ST: Sept. 22, 2000

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