| When
Gerald Levin, CEO of Time Warner, showed up at the press conference announcing
the blockbuster merger of his company, the worlds largest media and entertainment
giant, with America Online, the top internet provider headed by Steve
Case, what he wore made almost as much news as the stunning revelation
that the two powerful business execs were forming the largest media corporation
ever. What was the buzz all about?
 While Case chose
to wear a dapper suit and tie for the momentous occasion, Levin shocked
the business world by turning up dressed casually in khakis, blue blazer,
and a button down shirt. He didn't even bother to wear a tie!
This, to many, was shocking. After all, Levin, is a well-respected member
of the media's old guard, where Brooks Brothers suits are de rigeur office
attire. Case, on the other hand, is the young upstart who made his fortunate
capitalizing on the crazy online world where wearing jeans and T-shirt
to work is as common as preparing for an IPO. Shouldn't their roles have
been reversed, with Levin in a suit and Case looking more like a laid-back
college professor?
Dressing In The New Economy
Not in the new economy where more and more companies are dismissing their
once-strict dress codes. Now that businessmen don't have to wear suits
to work anymore, they are discovering that there are many options to choose
from when deciding on how they want to look while sitting at their desks.
In many quarters of the business world this is causing much confusion
and quite a bit of stress.
When the casual trend first hit about five years ago, we went undercover
at some law firms to see how men were dressing for work, says Jim Moore,
creative director of GQ. Moore wanted to find out how men were adjusting
to their new fashion freedom. What he and his team of secret agent editors
witnessed didn't please them at all. "The men were dressing like slobs,"
he says. "They were wearing sweatshirts and stuff like that. You couldn't
tell the assistants from the bosses. It was clear that the men didn't
know what to wear."
When most men think of casual they think of Timberland boots, jeans and
flannel shirts, Moore says. Certainly, that look won't cut it at the office.
The Casual Friday Look
A causal Friday look is a little like the country club look. It has to
include a jacket or blazer, says Moore. You can take the jacket off and
have a polo shirt on and a pair of khakis. You wear that with a pair of
lace ups. According to Moore, there should be no holes in the clothes.
No sneakers either. We have a saying around the office, Moore says. Friday
is not Saturday.
What's a guy supposed to wear? Everything has to be a little more crisp
than what you'd wear on the weekend. Wearing a suit for a man is like
wearing a dress for a woman, Moore says. It's easy. Now all of a sudden
guys have to think about shirts, jackets, shoes. With so many options
available to them now, It's harder for men to get dressed in the morning.
 That's exactly
the dilemma that faced the vice presidents, partners and lawyers of the
prominent Manhattan law firm Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, when they
were told that they no longer had to adhere to the firm's centuries-old
semi-formal dress code (the firm was founded 208 years ago making it the
oldest law office in the country). In order to teach its staff how to
dress in the new economy, Cadwalader recently held a fashion show featuring
the spring looks from Polo Ralph Lauren. The idea behind it was to have
a casual fashion show /seminar. And we decided that if we could do something
that was educational as well as informative it would be a little more
fun, says Tom Mariam, the firm's spokesman. What was interesting was that
we decided to use our own people as models. This included high ranking
partners at the firm. Everyone had a good time and learned a few things
about style, all at the same time.
While the Cadwalader boys don't have to wear suits to work anymore we
still have some guidelines, Mariam says. For instance, the firm's members
are still required to keep a dress shirt at work in the event of an announced
meeting or appointment. The shirts must have collars. Nonetheless, there's
still room for interpretation.
While both the Cadwalader lawyers and their clients are happily adjusting
to the firm's new dress (down) code, not all business executives are quite
as pleased with the death of the office suit. I'm totally against it,
says Ralph Merola, a futures analyst at Merrill Lynch. In his opinion,
business casual, or whatever you might prefer to call it is just plain
unprofessional. It promotes bad work habits. It's just unacceptable. At
Merrill Lynch, as is the case at most companies, the business casual rule
is not a mandatory one. So why doesn't Merola just show up at work in
a spiffy suit and tie. "If I did that," he says, "I'd look like a freak."
Some Helpful Hints
 If you don't want to look like
a fish out of water while standing at the water cooler, here are a few
helpful hints, brought to you by the guys at smartcasual.com (a new web
site offering how-to advice for the confused business exec) that will
insure you stylishly solve all your business casual problems.
Be comfortably in control: The casual dress code was meant
to reduce the stifling atmosphere of suits and encourage individuality.
The right clothes should be sophisticated and commanding, yet still reflect
your own tastes and sensibilities. This is the tricky part we want you
to master, and the solution is a diversified, well thought out wardrobe.
Dress according to the circumstances: If you don't know where
to start, model yourself after a more senior male's attire. They're even
more stressed than you about what to wear, and are consciously trying
to set the standards. It's just a start, the ultimate goal is to look
the best.
Recycling doesn't work: Business suits and dress shirts cannot
be recycled to fit a casual dress code. Suit jackets won't cut it on their
own, and dress shirts look ridiculous unbuttoned and without a tie. Invest
in a new wardrobe and donate your business suits to careergear.com. Let
someone else make these mistakes. We promise, you'll notice.
Alternate your outfits throughout the week: Plan ahead each
day's outfits. Know who you will be meeting with and dress appropriately
in the morning. Keep an inventory of the best combinations.
Use colors to your advantage: The same rules of color apply
to business casual. Dark colors portray power, such as navy, black, and
dark gray. A sharp contrast between dark and light colors conveys authority.
Blue tones inspire trust. Use these colors to project your professionalism
amongst your colleagues and peers.
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No label can make up for ill-fitted clothes: Pant cuffs should
rest on your shoes without bunching. A shirt cuff should cover your entire
wrist and stick out no farther than 1/2 inch from your sport coat. A sport
coat should always cover your butt, with shoulder pads no wider than a
1/4 inch past your shoulder.
Be consistent: Good fashion is a full-time habit, and will
earn you the trust and admiration of your seniors. They need to know you
are capable of managing responsibility and client relations. The wisdom
of good style reflects on your capabilities. You are not paid to be popular.
Save the alternative clothes for the weekend.
Ricky Lee is a New York based writer noted for his in-depth beauty
and fashion features in leading publications including InStyle, Vanity
Fair, Allure, Interview, Vogue, Rolling Stone and Elle Décor.
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