[Opinion] Men in Suits

Men are in their underwear with ties around the neck. They are employees of U.S. energy giant Enron who appeared on the cover of the latest edition of “Playgirl.” In the picture, they just looked like being in a noose with those ties. U.S. brokerage house Bear Sterns, in contrast, recently circulated in-house e-mail that instructs employees to wear suits in workplace, bringing an end to the relaxed dress code that has been in place for the last two years. While those involved in the scandalous Enron were deprived of their clothes, the financial firm, trying to win consumer confidence, is moving towards a formal dress code.

▷Just as the media delivers a message of the society, clothes talks much about people wearing them. In fact, they represent not only individual characters, but also trends in the society and changes in times. For modern-day men, suits are their uniforms and combat jackets. On the first day of his work, a young man put on a tie around his neck tightly. The neck represents his body and soul, and the tie is a device that commits his whole to something worthwhile. The act of wearing a tie symbolizes his first step towards the society. It also reflects his mindset that he will restrain himself and work hard to be recognized.

▷During the go-go days of the dot-com era in the late 1990s, office workers were rushing to change themselves for casual shirts and kaki-color jeans. When the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared to the 10,000 point, corporate executives and bankers even went to work in golf wear. The casual age, however, did not last long. Hard times are requiring people to wear formal suits again. With relaxed clothes, you might displease your bosses or lose confidence of your clients. As the U.S. economy began to nosedive after the dot-com crash and hardline conservatism came to prevail in the society in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, Wall Street again became filled with white-color workers in their suits.

▷We have yet to see the return of a formal dress code, however. Men are still wearing casual clothes even after the dot-com burst. Does that mean we are doing okay, that our economy is in fairly good shape? Some have pointed out that relaxed dress code often leads to a loose working environment. According to Samsung Fashion Research Institute, however, this country will likely stick to the casual dress code for some time as it pushes for the five workday system putting emphasis on creativity and individuality. If suits carry such a dire message as it is in the U.S., we have every reason to stay with the relaxed dress code.

Kim Soon-duk, Editorial Writer yuri@donga.com