Orignal Article WSJ.COM
Many workplaces have unofficial uniforms–say, collared shirts and slacks for men and professional-looking sweaters and pants for women. But recently, the Swiss bank UBS has taken the corporate dress code to the next level.
UBS recently sent its Swiss retail-banking staff a 43-page code with advice on how dress to impress clients, according to today’s WSJ. The manual also provides detailed tips on hygiene and personal grooming, ranging from appropriate hair dyes and accessories to underwear and socks.
The bank expects staffers to wear suits in grey, black or navy blue, colors that “symbolize competence, formalism and sobriety,” according to the manual. No short skirts for female staff; the ideal length should reach the middle of the knee. Showy accessories and trendy eye-glasses are a no-no, too. Staffers are told to avoid strong fragrances, along with garlic and cigarette breath, the code says.
Meanwhile, for women, “light makeup consisting of foundation, mascara and discreet lipstick … will enhance your personality,” the code says, while advising women not to wear black nail polish and nail art. Male employees are warned against using hair dyes to mask their advancing age, since the “artificial color contrasts excessively with the actual age of your skin.”
Men can’t wear trendy stubble or excessive facial hair, nor should they don accessories like bracelets and earrings. However, staffers should wear watches, which suggest ”reliability and great care for punctuality.” The stylebook even has recommendations for underwear, which should remain undetectable but be of good quality and easily washable, according to the WSJ piece. Men should also wear black knee socks, to prevent showing bare
skin when crossing legs.
A UBS spokesman acknowledged to the WSJ that the detailed code may appear “in line with Swiss precision,” but said that the dress code was a pilot program affecting just a small fraction of the bank’s staff, and was originally set up for temporary staffers who may be new to working in banking.
More details of the UBS dress code, from the WSJ article:
Do’s
For women:
Wear your jacket buttoned.
When sitting, the buttons should be unfastened.
Make sure to touch up hair regrowth regularly if you color your hair.
For men:
Store your suit on a large hanger with rounded shoulders to preserve the shape of the garment.
Schedule barber appointments every four weeks to maintain your haircut shape.
Dont’s
Eating garlic and onions
Smoking or spending time in smoke-filled places
Wearing short-sleeved shirts or cuff links
Wearing socks that are too short, showing your skin while sitting
Allowing underwear to be seen
Touching up perfume during or after lunch break
Using tie knots that don’t match your face shape and/or body shape
Does your office have rules, either official or unofficial, about how to dress? Do any staffers ever violate them? What do you think of the UBS advice? Practical or overkill?
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What are People saying in the real world?
12:12 pm December 15, 2010
CT Anon wrote:
This reminds me of the scene in Boardwalk Empire where the French shop keeper tells Margaret that she has to take a bath at least once per week. Most of it seems common sense, I would love to see something like this handed out to our interns and kids fresh out of college who often don’t know the dress expectations and aren’t clever enough to dress formal until they get the feel of the office. Many mistakenly think club attire is appropriate office attire.
As for bankers – I expect them to dress conservatively, but I have seen quite a few (especially women) who wear clothes that are too trendy. Recently, I visited the NY office of a major commercial bank and met with some folks on the trading floor. One woman (in her 40s) was wearing black stretch pants, a cropped tweed jacket, and 4 inch heels. It looked so bizarre and out of place, but she obviously didn’t care that she was dressed so differently than her co-workers so I don’t think this guide would influence her to change
12:30 pm December 15, 2010
red shoe mama wrote:
Oh, this list is so entertaining! There are plenty of reasonable common sense points of advice, but definitely some bizarre ones as well (tie knots that match face shape?) My company has a policy on appropriate business attire and every year in the late spring/early summer it gets “redeployed.” The trigger is generally young females who decide the slightly warmer weather is a good excuse to start showing up at work in sundresses and flip flops or super short skirts and tank tops.
In general our dress code is business casual and that covers a pretty wide array of styles – our marketers and salespeople tend to be a little more on trend. The lawyers are a little more conservative. I try to be on the slightly dressier side of business casual (the Ann Taylor/Talbots look) because I think people respond better to legal advice when their lawyer shows up looking like a lawyer. And to USB’s point, I would want my banker to look like a banker.
12:33 pm December 15, 2010
Rose wrote:
I think the UBS dress code would benefit someone like my clueless college-age son and other young people who truly don’t understand that a certain image might be important when trying “to impress clients”. It does seem like overkill, but sometimes that is what’s called for in these situations.
12:37 pm December 15, 2010
LStages wrote:
My company has been in ultra-lean staff mode for years, so when I see something like this, I think man, they must have a lot of extra personnel if someone over there has time to put out a 43-page style guide!
We are bus cas and after comments on this board a few years ago, and with DH’s (very snappy dresser) example, I stepped it up quite a bit. I love comfy clothes but really want to look my age and profession, and have found the perfect sartorial solution to those two desires — Eileen Fisher. Her stuff isn’t cheap, but it can all be mixed and matched, so a few things go a long way. I’m slowly converting my wardrobe to EF and am almost there – am on a bus trip right now and other than one pair of jeans, my entire suitcase is EF.
Off topic just a bit – Houston, you suggested getting DH a cashmere sweater for Christmas. I hadn’t thought of that, but just ordered him one that I think he’ll love. His office is bus cas too, and this will be something he can wear to work a lot. Thanks for the great idea!