Bill Downes, a 25-year veteran menswear buyer at Wilkes Bashford, the San Francisco specialty store, blames the countercultural movement of the 1960s for sounding the original death knell for American elegance. But at least those tie-dyed flower children had a sociopolitical message in their antiestablishment garb. Nowadays laziness underpins most male sloppiness.
Whereas previous generations wouldn't have left the house without a proper hat and tailored jacket, guys today traipse into theaters and fine restaurants in jeans and sport shirts. "That's appalling," says Downes. "Most of the theatergoing public looks as if they should be sitting at home watching television."
While no one expects men to revive the Cary Grant look in toto, dressing appropriately pays dividends personally and professionally.
"Business casual is to men's style today as the black plague was to the Middle Ages," declares designer Joseph Abboud. "It destroyed dressing standards, and I don't think we've recovered from it."
That's why, after a brief dalliance with business casual in the 1990s, many companies -- especially those, such as banks and law firms, that rely on the special confidence of clients -- reinstated traditional corporate dress codes. It's time for everyone else to follow suit.
IGNORE THE WHOLESALE DECLINE OF SARTORIAL STANDARDS. JUST BECAUSE DILBERT IN THE NEXT CUBICLE LOOKS LIKE CRAP DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE TO.
