I went to a meeting recently at a London club and in the lobby there was a notice requiring members and guests to dress “appropriately”. Think I get the picture.
In fact, I haven't worn the “appropriate” suit, shirt and tie ensemble for over a quarter of a century. And clubs like the one I visited don’t seem to have noticed that daytime dress for men has been steadily changing over that period of time. So when I visit a client nowadays, I find that nobody is wearing a tie and that I’m the only one there with a traditional jacket.
It seems extraordinary to me that something that emerged as a fashion norm for men near the start of the twentieth century should have persisted in its rather tyrannical way for over 100 years. But, in truth, in 2011 it’s only a handful of times and places that still require that uniform. Top of mind, aside from olde worlde clubs, is salesmen. Is the reason that these institutions still insist partly because they fear that their blokes are going to turn up in shorts?
When I started working in innovation and creativity, I would encourage male participants in workshops to take off their ties in order to get into a more open and creative frame of mind. Some seemed to feel that they might be stark naked without it and needed a good deal of coaxing. That particular intervention is hardly ever necessary now.
In an article in Marketing magazine, Coca-Cola’s vice-president of global advertising strategy, Jonathan Mildenhall (above), tells us that his wardrobe consists of twenty pairs of Levi’s, twenty-five pairs of Nike Air Max and some suits from Ozwald Boeteng. Don’t think he’ll be let into that London club any time soon.
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