I didn’t know that my business casual, but not-too-casual, look already had a name in some circles. Variously, it’s known as the Obama look or the tieless look.
It’s basically a partially matched sports jacket and slacks with lighter coloured shirts, minus the tie and the collar button undone. For extremely formal occasions (like weddings or specific receptions) the tie still kicks in. However, in my case, it’s been a tieless 2007 so far.
This morning’s paper actually drew my attention to the fact that what I was doing is slowly becoming a popular everyday dress-code amongst politicians, business leaders and some social types. Cool.
But I didn’t like the fact that it was called the Obama look … just because he’s a popular news-item right now, doesn’t mean he popularized the look. Other popular people who sport this look are Steve Ballmer (Microsoft), Daniel Craig (the new Bond), President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Iran) and Bush (america).
This isn’t a new fad … I remember it from movies all the way back in the 60’s and 80’s. But still, the fact that the few of us who have the power to keep our choices in clothing (sorry those working in a big company and need to dress a certain way … cos you got the memo! types).
Last year, when my work mostly involved sitting in the office hunkering over the computer, the choice was a pair of dark jeans, round-necked t-shirt under a tucked/untucked (depending on time of day) button-down shirt with boots.
So, whats your usual office/work look?
(Read in the Wall Street Journal’s weekend edition, page 1 of Pursuits or at another site Just knot that into it on newsobserver.com)