International standard business attire
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International standard business attire is the most common dress code in the western world today. It consists of, for men, a suit — an ensemble composed of a pair of trousers with a matching jacket. The suit must be dark-coloured (with or without a pin stripe pattern), grey, dark blue or brown (although brown for business dress is often considered "old-fashioned" and associated with the early- to mid-twentieth century). The suit is worn with a long-sleeved shirt and a necktie. It is today considered a conservative form of dress, appropriate for nearly all formal settings that do not require white tie or black tie. For instance, it is commonly worn at weddings, funerals, and religious events, as well as in business settings.
International standard business attire for women is patterned after the male standard — a jacket with matching skirt or trousers plus a blouse. It is not quite so commonly worn by women as by men, as women have other forms of attire acceptable in formal settings.
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[edit] Origins
The suit was originally a nineteenth-century American innovation in dress: seeking a casual alternative to the long, heavy frock coats then considered appropriate business dress, men began to wear lighter coats cut just below the waist when not engaged in business. This "sack suit" (now called a "lounge suit" in Great Britain or a "business suit" in North America) became informal daywear for all men who were not engaged in physical labor. The waistcoat or vest was worn regularly with the suit until World War II, but is rarely seen today. Until at least the early 1960s it was common to wear a hat matching the suit color.
[edit] Usage in the workplace
Many men do not wear suits to work. They wear uniforms, or they wear inexpensive, sturdy clothing that can be easily laundered. Wearing a suit to work daily is often an indication of managerial or professional status. However, when applying for work or attending business meetings, many men who do not otherwise wear suits will don them as a mark of respect and formality. Many how-to books for men recommend wearing a conservatively styled suit to an employment interview even when the man does not expect to ever wear a suit on the job.
In the 1990s, Internet businesses flourished and so did the relaxed dress standards flaunted by unconventional dot-com businesspeople. A new form of attire has arisen, business casual, which consists of good pants (not jeans) and a polo shirt or short-sleeved shirt. This is today acceptable and common attire at technically-oriented business meetings and in semiprofessional settings, and is continuing to gain ground from traditional business attire.
The standard for women is also in flux. In the 1970s, women aspiring to managerial or professional status were advised to "dress for success" by wearing clothing that imitated the male business suit: jacket and matching skirt, worn with a plain blouse and discreet accessories. Some women wore pantsuits, substituting pants for the skirt, but in doing so, they risked the displeasure of many who felt that women should not wear pants.
Now even conservative Western workplaces are more accepting of pants on female employees. However, they may still expect female employees to exhibit the drab, no-nonsense look of men's suits. Women in "creative" professions, such as advertising or fashion, can usually dress with more color and flair. In fact, their eye for the current fashion could be a subtle proclamation of their competence as leaders who set the fashion for others.
Male business attire is also nuanced. Choice of clothing and accessories proclaims social and financial status. An inexpensive ready-to-wear suit will lack the cachet of a bespoke suit fashioned by a famous tailor. Custom shirts, hand-made shoes, cuff links and expensive watches (eg. by Rolex) may indicate wealth, and in certain professions may effectively amount to a "dress code" (eg. in investment banking). However, when such attire is not in line with the wearer's job or financial status, or is otherwise worn at inappropriate times, it may be considered pretentious or as indicating bad taste.
Western business wear is standard in many workplaces around the globe, even in countries where the usual daily wear may be a distinctive national costume. Western business wear is most often seen on those who often interact with Western businesspeople. It is a declaration that "I am one of you".
Some non-Western businesspeople will wear national costume nonetheless. A Saudi Arabian sheik may wear the traditional robes and headdress to an international conference. Doing so can proclaim national pride, or just extremely high status. Sometimes an element of the national costume such as a hat is combined with a Western business suit.
[edit] Criticism of gender-biased clothing standards
Many US companies, including NeoData (1990) and Arizona State University (2005) require their employees to wear professional clothing for certain occasions. Usually there are separate standards for men and women, specifying ties for men, and--in the case of NeoData--skirts and high-heeled shoes for women. This does not have to be the case: the standard could be exactly the same for men and women, with enough variation allowed for men and women to choose their own gender-based nuances in their clothing. The ASU case is particularly interesting as of 2005, when they added a policy that says there can be no discrimination based upon "gender choice", and yet kept the separate lists for men and women working in the Office of the President for meetings with professors and dignitaries. This had the result of forcing employees to make a choice, whether they were male or female (often mandated by the supervisor), and then stick to the dress code completely for that gender.
