The Fall Of The Business Suit - Cheddar Explains

Over the last few decades, the classic suit and tie has become a rare sight in offices across the United States. Today, 50% of reported companies allow for casual wear in the office. So what started this change and are there any downsides?

Sources:

Society for Human Resource Management
Levi Strauss Company
The Atlantic
Randstad
New York Post


Connect with Cheddar!

[dhv]

When I was a kid I was always fascinated with the idea of formal clothing for work. And now I'm studying law just to wear a suit everyday.

[EmperorPrinc]

That feeling when you want to wear a suit to work but you know you'd be judged 😢

[TheLocalLt]

Suits aren’t “phasing out”, everyone used to wear a suit to work in the 50s and 60s because you would wear a suit out in public in general around then. Since about the 80s suits are mainly for executives or people that have an important or high level meeting or interview. I don’t feel like it’s changed too much in the last 30 years. What has changed is that piercings and tattoos are now allowed

[petercarioscia]

Say what you want, business suits went out as wages stagnated. Workers can't even afford to buy 5 days worth of business suits, simply not in the budget anymore.

That's not even the only consideration; wages stagnated, apartments got smaller and cost more....I don't have enough closet space to own a full set of business suits on top of normal casual clothes....and to have a dry cleaning budget on top? I barely have laundry mat money.

[imperialchimpanzee]

Aloha shirts are actually considered business casual in Hawaii (as long as there aren't unusually bright or colorful). Very few people wear suits.

[SirSpaceboots]

What happened was wages never went up and by boss hasn't bought me a suit yet.

[NaiefThegoony]

“Work might become too much fun” that’s saying much.

[jascrandom]

Suits and Uniforms are pointless when the Job is not Client-facing.

[SabDizon]

Living in a tropical country with a climate similar to Hawaii, I would prefer we rather use a "climate-sensitive" business attire. Some casual wear shown in the video may be casual from a US or European standpoint, but would still be scortching hot to wear (barring air-conditioning) if you do business in a tropical country.

[SteinGauslaaStrindhaug]

I'd guess mass production of clothes made to standard measurements rather than being tailored to the user, made suits really uncomfortable compared to more stretchy mass-produced casual wear. Also if you use a mass-produced suit that is loose enough to be comfortable, it really doesn't look much better than any other clothing. It's natural that after a few generations growing up with seeing suits as something either ill fitting or uncomfortable or both, not really worn for any other reason than being traditional, it makes sense that people would just stop making ugly suits mandatory and just let people wear something just as good looking (or even better looking) casual wear.

[l.c.]

The 2020 office dresscode doesn't even incolve wearing pants, that's how far we've come

[aln]

I’d take 5k extra if all I have to do is follow a strict dress code as long as it’s appropriate for the job. I’d wear a suit out of my own free will tbh

[ptrknvk]

Working in IT, I've not ever seen someone in a suit in my office.

[rickmorgan]

When I was 10 my mom used to make us dress up and tuck in our shirt every monday to show us that one day we would have to dress like this for work jokes on you mom lol

[IllinoisTrafficAttorney]

I really miss the old dress codes personally but I'm a lawyer who likes wearing suits in classic formalwear styles. It has sadly led to an environment where expressing myself is actually kind of hard. Most suit manufacturers went out of business and the quality of suits has fallen precipitously. I pretty much exclusively shop at thrift stores and garage sales these days because they are the only places with decent formal wear. To each their own. I just wish what I love didn't have to die in the process =(

[nicolaslemay]

I also remember some Italian company were encourage to adopt more casual dressing to cut down on air conditioning and save energy. This also encourage walking/biking/public transport, as you wont go very far wih a warm suit on you when its 30C. At the end, suits seems like it a very arbitrary social requirements and I'm happy it is phasing out.

[Seanonyoutube]

5:03 sweaters? SWEATERS?? Mark Zuckerberg is like the most iconic HOODIE wearer of all time, and you went with SWEATERS???

[SagaciousEagle]

Try wearing a suit to work in a tropical country, and commute daily on motorcycle, feel the heat in the middle of a traffic congestion.

[BenjaminAbrahamNYC]

I would wear a suit and tie every day if it meant a higher compensation between two comparable jobs, without hesitation. I think the most important thing is to dress in a manner which projects professionalism--whether that's a three piece suit or a sweater.

[marjoriemorris]

I adore suits. I love wearing them, I love dressing up in general, and I love seeing men wearing suits. I love seeing women in suits. I love how I feel when I’m dressed in a suit. When I was a kid my dream job involved wearing a suit and working in a skyscraper. Skyscrapers even kind of look like they’re wearing suits. Very stylish!