It was the permissive and care-free attitude engendered by the dotcom boom, which led to the concept of dress-down. But when things got tough after the market crashed, the suits didnâÂÂt take long to return and open-necked shirts disappeared soon after. The current uncertain conditions - with share prices oscillating wildly, billions being written down and venerable investment banks going to the wall - are likely to spark a further renaissance in City style. The market may be transpiring against you, but the last thing that you want to do is advertise that fact by the way you dress.
Equally, those getting bad news donât want to get it from a scruff. If youâre telling a client that their portfolio is down 20% in the last quarter, or that the triple-A rated tranche of a collateralised debt obligation you talked them into buying has just gone belly up because you didnât really have a clue what was in it, you can at least do so with a tie on.
