YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
Ask an older worker in the office what kind of attire they began their career in, and the picture that emerges is likely to be very different than today’s.
For most women, pantyhose were de rigueur in the workplace, often with a skirt and closed-toe shoes.
Men may recall suits or, on more casual days, sport coats, always with a button-down shirt and tie.
The person offering this view of the not-so-distant past is likely to be clad much differently in the telling, perhaps wearing khakis or even jeans in the office, styled with a pair of sneakers.
At FORVIS LLP, one of the largest public accounting firms in the United States, Managing Partner Gary Schafer recalled his early days in the industry after graduating from Missouri State University in 1996.
“When I first started in the profession, it was suit and tie every day,” he said. “We all wore that, with business suits for the ladies. That was a really clear expectation: a professional services team is going to wear professional attire.”
But the dress policy has changed, Schafer said – as have attitudes about dress in the broader society.
“We have now adapted to a policy where we very much say you dress for your day,” he said, noting the policy evolved gradually in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Suits are still appropriate much of the time, he said – like when associates are giving a client presentation, or when they are delivering a financial statement or audit.
“We ask our professionals to be thoughtful and to dress for what they expect their day to hold,” Schafer said.
It’s also wise to be prepared for the unexpected, he said, noting during a recent online video interview he was not wearing a suit jacket, but he had one in the closet, just in case.
“If a client wants to meet me and have a formal discussion, I’m prepared for that,” he said.
Sara Choate, managing director of human capital solutions at KPM CPAs & Advisors, helps companies develop human resource policies. At KPM, as at FORVIS, the policy is “dress for your day.”
“We went that way years ago, pre-pandemic,” she said. “Essentially, what that means is if you’re not seeing a client or participating in a community event, you can wear jeans.”
But not just any jeans, Choate cautioned.
“We always tell people, it doesn’t mean dress down. You’re still polished – still put together,” she said.
Essentially, Choate said, they swap out their slacks or skirt for a nice pair of denims, paired with an appropriate top.
It’s a look she said is seen in more and more clients, too.
“Some clients are going to be in jeans themselves, and they’re going to be more comfortable if you’re dressed in jeans, too,” she said. “It’s all about what is appropriate for the time and place.”
KPM puts trust in its people to show up looking professional, according to Choate.
“Sometimes, if you give people the flexibility and say, ‘I trust you,’ you find they want to live up to those expectations,” she said.
That doesn’t mean coaching isn’t needed on occasion.
“If they’re just coming out of college, adapting and adjusting to the professional world can be a big change,” she said. “That’s OK – everybody’s been there. It’s a matter of helping people through that.”
Choate said workers appreciate a relaxed approach to office dress as society evolves.
“We are all still in a position of looking to recruit and retain top talent,” she said. “At the end of the day, are some of these things deal-breakers, or are they just things that we need to let go in order to retain great people?”
Even more casual
Times change, and fashion expectations change with them. For proof, check out 1950s photographs of airline passengers.
The women wear tailored dresses with pearls, and perched atop their heads are prim pillbox hats. The men sport ties with suits – and they don’t shed their jackets while in flight.
There’s not a yoga pant or graphic T-shirt in view, and people’s shoes – Oxfords or pumps – remain firmly on their feet.
It makes sense that flying – only three and a half decades after the world’s introduction to passenger airlines – once felt like a special occasion, but most people today dress for comfort.
That’s also how they dress at Fried Design Co., a branding and graphic design agency founded by its creative director, Josh Sullivan.
On the Fried Design website, a series of photos of each staff member – dubbed the crew – flashes by, flipbook style, and each staffer is dressed to express personal style. Sullivan is pictured in a pearl-buttoned shirt and a trucker hat emblazed with the slogan “NO GRITS NO GLORY.” Partner JuliRose Sullivan has a leather jacket lined in shearling, and frame-by-frame lifts a shot glass to the camera.
Graphic designer Tyler Crowe is clad in a slogan T-shirt with a play on words referring to the video game “Call of Duty” that says “Called to Duty: Ultimate Sacrifice,” with a Bible verse below. Text beneath his name introduces him as a Virgo, as well as a “Smart Fella. Fart Smella.”
There’s no dress policy at Fried Design, Sullivan said.
“Generally speaking, by the time somebody’s come here, they’ve decided they want to work with us,” he said.
Fried Design has earned multiple awards for its design work, much of it focusing on clients who sell libations or weed. But not all of it, Sullivan said.
“A certain kind of client comes here. We like to make stuff cool,” he said. “We can do anything, and we like doing everything. Just because it’s a bank doesn’t mean it can’t be cool.”
When asked what it would take for Sullivan to consider a staff member inappropriately dressed, he needed a second to answer.
“If somebody were to do that, that’s a deeper problem,” he said. “It would have to be a really extreme case here, like direct, in-your-face nudity, because we just don’t care” … about how people look, that is.
“We care about the work, each other and the stuff we get to do,” he said.
Something lost?
Jenifer Roberts, associate professor in the Merchandising and Fashion Design Department at Missouri State University, said the days of the power suit, which rose in the 1980s and trickled on up into the 2000s, are gone.
“That’s unfortunate,” she said.
It’s a surprising take, but Roberts stands by it.
“If you look at past studies, when people dress for success, their attitudes are different,” she said. “They have a sense of empowerment when they walk into meetings.”
Women may be the big losers, she said.
“I always tell women to sit at the table, and having certain clothing on adds a certain perception in women’s minds that they have the ability to sit at the table,” she said.
She added the line is becoming blurred between self-expression and expressing the image of the company a worker represents.
“I think you need to express who you’re working for,” she said. “You dress for that job, and you dress for your audience.”
She acknowledged that some creative businesses allow more leeway for workers, but she cautioned that it’s still important to show up dressed appropriately.
“Even if you’re on the creative side, you can be creative between the lines,” she said. “There’s nothing wrong with having pride in your job and dressing neatly,” she said. “You don’t need everyone to see your full expression.”
Schafer said at FORVIS, he wants all employees, women and men, to feel empowered by what they wear.
“I would counsel my employees, dress in a way that makes you feel effective,” he said. “If you want to wear a business suit, wear a business suit – and routinely, our women leaders do, and it makes an impact.”
Schafer offered a piece of advice when dressing for FORVIS.
“We want to dress one notch above what our client expects,” he said. “Very few of our clients choose to meet us in a suit and tie, so if I wear a jacket with no tie, I’m still a notch above. Clients pay us to be professional.”
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