Even the birthplace of haute couture is dressing down. Clothing is expensive, and it is hip to be “relax,” as the French say. Blazers and slacks have become acceptable for executives in many offices. The most potent trend in mode de la rue (fashionable streetwear) is the puffy, insulated ski jacket, which can make even an elegant woman look like the Michelin man.
Though pockets of formality still hold out, Britain is embracing stylishly casual clothes. “Seven to 10 years ago, an unstructured Armani suit would have been inappropriate in the City,” says Michael VerMeulen, editor of British GQ, referring to London’s Wall Street. “Now it’s a badge of status.” For both men and women, there’s less regimentation. Says a personal shopper for women at one of London’s chicest department stores: “Even my mother wears leggings and a long sweater.”
Most Israelis still dress down, to about the level of the Dead Sea; shorts, jeans and T shirts are even acceptable at funerals. But with kibbutzim going bankrupt and high-tech businessmen becoming cultural icons, some executives are actually beginning to wear suits.
In the Soviet era, the Russians were stuck with clothing that looked like potato sacks – a pan-slobbic nation. Now Yuppies and mobsters favor designers like Versace and Armani. Even the scrimping middle class dresses formally – and all too elaborately at times. When a group of Russians and Americans had a picnic last summer, the Americans showed up in jeans and sweat shirts. The Russians wore dresses and suit jackets with khaki trousers; one woman tottered across the grass in spike heels. Both sides were embarrassed.
Looking one’s best is still a rule of life in Argentina. “Vain and elegant – that’s always been the Argentine,” says Graciela Osorio, who owns a boutique in Buenos Aires. Pedestrians carry themselves like models. They keep their bodies trim and are extremely conscious of how they and others look. “I have always taken very good care of myself,” says Osorio, who is 50 but could pass for 30. “And my daughter, who is 23, is the prototype of a generation even more hedonist than mine.”
In a nation of conformists, fitting in matters. From CEO down to the most minor salaryman, the only acceptable look is “white shirt, bland necktie and dark suit, all worn so you don’t stick out,” says Tokyo management consultant Douglas Shinsato. Corporate Japan’s biggest annual fashion decision is when to allow employees to switch to short-sleeved shirts for the sticky summer weather. Last summer one foreign employee made the switch a day early and was asked to go home and change.
