Academic

If business casual was a by-product of the tech bubble, where everyone was making so much money we didn't care what we looked like and anyway the richest people are wearing jeans and sneakers, then the current fiscal realities are turning back the clock to office conservatism.  UBS has released a 40-plus page memo designed to encourage employees in Switzerland to look and smell their best, when standing, sitting or walking around.  Why?  Unsurprisingly, to present a polished, serious demeanor to elicit client trust.  It's almost funny that an institution would have to present a reason for employees to appear professional, when this was a given until ten years or so.

A lot of it is expected:  Wear black, gray, navy.  Skirts should be mid-knee.  Men should leave the earrings and bracelets at home.  But a lot of it is sort of invasive, touching on topics I wouldn't want to discuss with my superiors:  lipstick, perfume, dark roots, onion breath.  But maybe it's better to get it out in the open.  Better to be told not to wear black fingernail polish with designs than to be fired later for unclear reasons.

My short legal career bridged the "Mad Men" world and the Google world.  When I began practicing, women did not wear pants, and men's dress shirts were white.  Jackets and ties for men and jackets for women were unwritten rules.  I once had a male partner ask me to check to see if a paralegal was wearing pantyhose.  (I pretended to forget when asked later.)  I appreciated the broadening of the sartorial world to include French blue shirts for men and pantsuits for women.  Like a lot of female associates, I was stymied by business casual.  Business casual is a(n expensive) landmine for women.  Our firm came up with an equally long casual Friday memo, covering closed-toed shoes, stockings, and jackets.  Later, I heard the battle was over capri pants and flip flops.  Will the UBS look catch on here in the U.S.?  We'll see.  We'll it get to law schools.  I doubt it!