What Do This Season’s Menswear Trends Say About The New Workplace?

Often times on the subway (and usually during rush hour) many New Yorkers will make assessments about their fellow strap-hangers occupations from what they’re wearing on their way to work. While this may be base and superficial, in this new world of green collar, creative class, and working remotely- the usual tell-tale signs of employment like a crisp suit and briefcase no longer explain much about it’s wearer’s job situation. A smartly dressed young man with a laptop in his shoulder bag could just as easily be going to work as a programmer at Google than to his school’s library to study. For those who work in fashion or the art world, your uniform might be more likely to be a tasteful black dress than a designer pantsuit. So what does this mean for those who are hoping to dress for success in 2010, which looks to be only slightly less economically unstable than the previous year? Using the conventional advice “dress for the job you want, not the job you have” how does one even begin to pick out an outfit when maneuvering the post-recession workplace?

According to a recent trend piece in The New York Times many young men have begun to return to the dapper put-together looks of bygone eras- best exemplified by the popularity of TV show Mad Men (in which it’s anti-heroes sport perfect hair, tailored suits, and shoes polished so brightly you could land an airplane off of them). The Mad Men phenomenon has even directly extended to retail, as Banana Republic unveiled it’s themed line this fall. According to the article, other companies have also benefited from being associated with the show. Brooks Brothers- which has lost a significant amount of clientele over the decades to lower priced lines like Ralph Lauren, has managed to steal back some of their customers through product placement on the show.

In addition, there is actual tangible proof of this trend among a younger generation. According to  recent calculations highlighted in the piece, NPD figures for the year (ending on Nov. 1) have indicated that sales of tailored clothing among men ages 35 to 54 were down 17 percent, but for men ages 25 to 34 sales were up almost 4 percent.

The author of the article then tries to hypothesize what it is about this trend which has captured the imagination of the new workforce, while many of the “boomer” 60′s generation shunned dressing well as a sign of conformity and occupational slavery.

“The older generation, say 45-plus, look upon success as being able to dress down,’ said Marshal Cohen, the chief analyst at NPD Group, which tracks retail sales. “They think being able to wear jeans is the epitome of achievement.But the younger generation is looking at getting dressed up and making their mark… It’s a real generation gap here.

It’s these young guys rebelling against their boomer dads,” said Russell Smith, 45, the author of “Men’s Style: The Thinking Man’s Guide to Dress” and an advice columnist for The Globe and Mail in Toronto. “But it’s very amusing and paradoxical that the new anti-parental paradigm involves a pinstripe suit and a pocket square.”

While it’s easy to come up with societal reasons for this trend, like linking it to the push for organic foods and environmentally friendly sourcing (which all put a premium on quality, transparency, and heritage over price) perhaps there is an easier answer. In an uncertain time, nothing makes a man (or woman) more willing and able to face the world with confidence than knowing they look good. While in more prosperous years, individuals might be ascertaining their autonomy through flouting fashion conventions, currently many might be dreaming more of a rewarding job at an ad agency, like the fictional Sterling Cooper, than subverting the dominant paradigm like previous generations.

While this trend might emphasize dressing “smartly” it’s a far cry from the “Greed is Good” corporate yuppie ethic of the 80′s and it’s power suits- and is in-fact quite the inverse. Quality and sustainability is not just good for the environment and the economy, but might be one more thing not on your resume which will help you weather these times.

Youthful Rebellion- Dressing For Success, Again