THE DEATH OF “DRESS-DOWN FRIDAY”?

Could the recession spell the end of business casual?  Britain`s workers are smartening up their act as they feel pressure to keep their jobs, says The Aziz Corporation.

Wearing a suit gives the impression of responsibility and the ability to ride through the storm.  And, for many it might be a huge relief that they don`t have to spend so much time choosing what to wear in the morning.

With the threat of redundancy, every day is a job interview for thousands of office workers.  Last year, our survey found that "almost half of employees would dress more smartly if their job was under threat".  It seems that this is being borne out in the current downturn.

"Wearing a jacket, both for men and women, gives the impression that you are responsible, in control and downright good at your job.  The padded structure of the shoulder-line gives you more presence and more authority as you square up to the opposition.  It gives gravitas which the unstructured `business casual` look just can`t compete with” says Debbie Gray, Image Consultant at The Aziz Corporation.

"Many of my clients lost their identity when they lost their tie!" says Gray.  "With it you get individuality and flair, it`s more difficult to stand out from the crowd just in simple trousers and a shirt."

And for many, banishing business casual could be a blessing in disguise.  "It’s such a relief for many office workers that they won`t have to worry so much about what to wear - especially women who find it particularly difficult to make the business casual dress-code work".  Again, Gray has plenty of anecdotes on what some of her clients turned up wearing, thinking they were dressed appropriately for business casual. "I’ve seen the dress-down look be totally inappropriate for the level of responsibility held by the client.  Some clients think that humour in the workplace is OK – even wearing dungarees and a bright, striped shirt in one case.  In reality great for a weekend but wholly inappropriate for this guy’s level of seniority in his finance company.”