OK, I'm not going all UBS on you, I don't see the need for strict dress codes at work but I am a bit upset to learn that smart casual is 'in' and classic business suits are on their way out. Some may say this is a good thing, after all, who trusts a city banker or politician these days? I've never been a fan of dress-down Fridays, mainly because I would never go to work wearing the stuff I shuffle round the house in. That's Not My Age loves casual glamour, but as far as I'm concerned smart casual = scruffy. Checked shirts and chinos look fine on a 1960s university campus but don't have a place in a grown-up office environment. And anyway, surely it's better to dress up? Isn't that why everyone loves Mad Men? This may be easy to say if, like myself, you don't have to wear a suit to work every day, but there's no denying that a spot of elegant tailoring looks professional, sexy and smart. Think Savile Row, Yves Saint Laurent's Le Smoking and Lauren Hutton in Tom Ford...
Smart casual or smart suit? Which do you prefer?
Photos
Cary Grant: BFI
Patrick Grant: mensflair.com
Lauren Hutton: Harper's Bazaar
YSL tuxedo: Helmut Newton