Business Casual: What EXACTLY Does it Mean?

Cynthia Cheng 

Many companies today have chosen to adopt the so-called “business casual” dress code.  But what does that mean?  And what about a suits-only office?  According to an article published in the Wall Street Journal on January 31, 2008, many young people, especially those under 30, have never experienced an office with a very strict dress code.  Some are so casual that they’re wearing yoga pants to work!  Of course, that’s an exception.  Most young people who work in a business casual environment know that it isn’t right to dress down like that for the office.  And do young people and older people have a different definition of “business casual”?  Maybe it’s the lack of good influence?  Or maybe, it’s just that young people somehow believe that it’s what they do that counts.  Appearance just isn’t important. It could also be a combination of things. Let’s take a look at these possible reasons:

Generation gaps have always existed, but it didn’t really build up until the birth of youth culture in the twentieth century.  Victorian and Edwardian parents were shocked at their make-up wearing, jazz listening, Charleston-dancing, short skirted daughters in the 1920s.  Parents who grew up during the Depression and World War Two chided their long-haired sons in the 1960s, and more recently, later baby boomers have not been too pleased with the sloppy and revealing styles of youth today.  However, there is a difference between today’s young people and the youth of the past.  In the past, most young people knew the difference between “fun clothes” and “serious clothes.”  From the time they were young, they knew that what they wore to go out with friends might not be the same type of outfit that they’d wear to church, to school or to work.  Today, there isn’t a clear distinction.  Perhaps that’s why young people often have a different definition of “business casual” and may show up to the office wearing a tank top (sans cardigan), capris and flip-flops.  To them, anything that isn’t denim or workout wear is “business casual.”

Influence may also be an issue.  Most people in their twenties grew up where both their parents worked.  They were either latch-key kids, had baby-sitters or went to a daycare/after school care program.  Latch-key kids go home to an empty house.  Baby-sitters are often high school aged kids whose education about fashion come out of the pages of magazines like Seventeen (not the best education tool) and daycare staff’s primary job is to take care of children.  They don’t wear office clothes when they work.  Even at school, teachers aren’t necessarily dressed up (although it depends on the school a child goes to), so the influence isn’t there.  Later, in high school, dress influence comes from media, and judging from what celebrities like Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and even older celebs like Brad Pitt and Jennifer Lopez wear, proper office attire just isn’t seen.  Television and movies aren’t much help either.  In the 1990s show Ally McBeal, most of the women wore skirts that are far too short for a law firm of that caliber (or any caliber for that matter…and that law firm is supposed to be more formal than “business casual”). 

Finally, let’s take a look at individualism.  Many young people have been brought up with the “it’s what inside that counts” philosophy, meaning that they don’t believe that appearance matters.  Many falsely believe that it’s perfectly fine to stroll into the boardroom, wearing anything they want, since it’s the project they’re presenting that matters, not their physical appearance.  In an ideal world, this would be the case, but we don’t live in an ideal world, and therefore, there must be some conformity.  One cannot be taken seriously if one is dressed too casually, too sloppy or too revealing.  Since many young people WANT to be taken seriously, it’s time to change the way one dresses.  It’s time to stop believing that formal dress (and business casual isn’t even formal) is for “old fogies.” 

Of course, how one dresses depends on the work situation. This piece is not advocating that an employee of an alternative music company go in looking like he or she is a corporate lawyer on Wall Street. This piece is also not blaming parents for the lack of discipline or giving their children too much freedom while they were growing up.  It isn’t an attack on Hollywood and their lack of “properness” either.  The piece is meant to be a commentary of today’s situation with clothing, and perhaps a place to discuss the best way to change the situation.