What not to wear in the office

Bespoke corporatewear supplier NKD Clothing has published a list of workwear faux pas that may leave some of you quaking in your all-too-casual Ugg boots….

• First up, cleavage and short skirts are a big no-no. Though they may attract a lot of attention, it is almost always for the wrong reasons. Likewise, keep your towering stilettos, lacy camisoles and fishnet tights for the weekend.
• At the other end of the scale, jeans, Ugg boots and that woolly jumper your grandma knitted you for Christmas may well be a little too casual for the workplace. The same applies to flip-flops and trainers, or anything that would not look out of place in a gym.
• Finally, clothes should always be clean and ironed and complemented with tasteful jewellery and neat hair. Over-the-top makeup should be avoided at all costs, as well as anything too outrageous or trendy.

But how seriously should we take these rules? A quick look around the office and I’ve already seen at least 8 violations of the NKD guidelines, but does that make us any less professional? I’d like to think not. In companies where there is little face-to-face contact with clients, comfort may well take precedence over formality. With such diversity in the expectations of individual workplaces, I would suggest that perhaps the only rules we should be following are those listed in the company dress code.

Londoners set to design their own tartan

A competition was launched yesterday, St. Andrew’s day, to give Londoners the chance to design the city’s first official tartan.

The Scottish Tartans Authority (STA), who opened the competition at Kings Place yesterday evening, would like the designs to reflect the colours of the capital, from the red of its famous buses, to the green of Hyde Park. Would-be designers will be able to submit their ideas via an app on the STA’s website.

Brian Wilton, of the Scottish Tartans Authority, said: “It is fantastic that tartan is getting recognised beyond Scotland’s borders. Every tartan is unique and we look forward to seeing what inspires the residents of London and the way they will approach Scotland’s most traditional textile.”

Two famous Scotts - actor Robbie Coltrane and poet Jackie Kay - will be on the judging panel.The winning tartan will be revealed on Burns night.

Label victims

According to a study carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers, a pair of £8 jeans has been found to be better made and longer wearing than a £123 pair.

Sceptical? Well, ten pairs of ladies' jeans and ten polo shirts underwent rigorous testing in fifteen different trials aimed at judging the garments’ colour-fastness, seam strength, shrinkage after washing and resistance to abrasion.

In general, the cheaper items fared better than their more expensive rivals, with the £8 pair of jeans coming out on top and the £123 pair lagging behind in fourth place. Full marks also went to a £12 polo shirt, while the £85 shirt came in fifth place.

Andy Garbutt, retail expert at PWC, said: 'We didn't test for fit, fashionability or brand. We purely looked at the quality of the clothes, how well made they were. And it is clear that there is no longer a link between quality and price. It may not have been the cheapest clothes that won, but it was often the second cheapest.'

While a £115 saving might seem appealing in the run-up to a credit crunch Christmas, unfortunately PWC has refused to reveal the names of the retailers tested for fear of 'damaging relationships' with clients.

Return to the past

A fascinating article on the BBC Website today concerns a fashion designer in India who is calling on Indians to return to clothing made from traditional home spun khadi, rather than indulging in western style clothing.

His reasons, listed in the article, are that, aside from the beauty of the fabric, whose history in India goes back well over 5,000 years, he says he finds it odd that Indian designers tend to steer clear of local hand-woven fabrics and that khadi is refined, sophisticated, eco-friendly and comfortable, and has too long been regarded as the poor man's fabric.

The cyclical nature of fashion means many fashions from the past are being reappreciated so it will be interesting to see what further ideas, from abroad and here in the UK, become part of both the high-street and corporate industry.

Urgh Factor

As you may have seen on Have I Got News For You this weekend, policewomen have been complaining that their trousers make them look like, gulp, Simon Cowell. Ouch.

The story from The Times says, "The British Association of Women in Policing is lobbying the Government and the Association of Chief Police Officers for better-fitting uniforms. Liz Owsley, of the BAWP, said: “Women police officers have constantly brought up the fact they do not have a proper uniform. If you are going out there, protecting the public and being in confrontational circumstances, you need to feel professional and confident. If you are going out there looking like a sack of spuds, you are not feeling confident and you are not going to do your job properly."

Which is all very true. In fact we covered a similar story a while back in which we looked at how Nottinghamshire Police were in constant communication with their female officers to ensure they were happy with the quality of the garments they were issued with.

Hoodwinked

Not one to go seeking controversy, but we were also slightly disappointed to see a PR company use the misfortune of Danielle Lloyd as a cheap way to get some promotion for their hoody range that she was seen wearing on leaving the hospital.

What's acceptable?

With the onset of summer the wardrobes of office staff across the land will soon be changing. Out go the overcoats and scarves, and in come the...well, what? Aside from losing items of clothing to cool down, what can office staff to do to stay cool?

It depends on each organisation, but most professional, office based workers still wear a suit, shirt and tie, or just a smart shirt with trousers and shoes. There seems little scope for change. But what about flip-flops? Should they be allowed on hot days? Or caps, or sun hats. Shorts even? How laid back does an office have to be to make shorts permissible? Or is it much safer to stick to those black trousers and smart shirt?

Perhaps now it doesn't even matter. Casual dress is such a part of so many places that many places probably won't even notice the gradually exposure of flesh over the coming months. What do you think? We'd love to hear your thoughts, opinions, stories and so on this topic as it's something we're putting together for our next print issue.

New chefswear?

Okay, so this is probably perfect ammunition for those who say catwalk fashion is always impractical, but, come on, what an outfit! Tasty even.

You've got the eggs, fried, a croissant or baguette on the head (can't quite tell) and all laid out on a classic red-chequered table cloth.

Perhaps greasy spoon cafes and up market bistros could incorporate something like this into their outfits. All this breakfast talk has made us hungry...we're off for a bacon sarnie.

We were just handed this link, well emailed it, etc, by one of our many Twitter followers - we think it's rather good - more playful fashion designs.

Behind every great man...

So despite what we all thought, that Obama was a snappy dresser and so forth, it turns out, from his wife of all people that, 'he knows nothing about fashion'.

This is a wonderful extract from the story, from Michelle Obama: "He's always asking: 'Is that new? I haven't seen that before,'" she said, revealing that she replies: "Why don't you mind your own business? Solve world hunger. Get out of my closet."

The idea of Obama mooching in a closet, idly running his hands down some clothes, wondering if something is new, before being admonished to 'solve world hunger', is a bizarre one, but it's nice to know the Obama's have their cute domestic moments too.

What not to wear

What would you wear to the unveiling of a statue? Especially if that statue was the Queen's dear old mum? The press had a bit of a field day criticising the various outfits that were worn - especially Culture Secretary Andy Burnham's wife Frankie - you can kind of see where they are coming from too if you click here. The BBC's Magazine Monitor has given a rounded view on the coverage here, also mentioning the type of jacket the minister himself is wearing - which, for the record, is not a donkey jacket.

Stop the press

It is Friday, and we don't wish to raise too many hackles, but this BBC article, how not to design a work uniform, does make it hard to stay calm. It's all very one-sided and fails to bother to take into account the hardworking, creative and ingenious people in this 450 million pound industry. We though, do know about all this work, and this is exactly why we set up the Company Clothing Industry Awards, to celebrate the clever, interesting and sheer brilliant work that goes on, from fabrics to footwear to fashion design. If you haven't got your ticket yet for the awards on March 12 - get a move on!

As a final note in the next issue, with you shortly, we have an exclusive interview with the suppliers to National Express who gave us the full, updated and correct version of both the story including both the history behind the new contract and uniform as well as addressing some of the issues that came out in the national press. It's far more accurate than most of the mainstream media outlets managed. *Places trumpet back on floor, steps down from soapbox*

Enjoy the weekend!

George and students get together

Supermarkets - is there anything they can't do? The next generation of fashion designers have been helped in their learning process by working alongside George at ASDA to help design a range of menswear collections for Autumn / Winter 09.

The brief required the students to focus on the George customer, and to take into account what people look for when buying clothes. Following the backlash from consumers on throwaway fashion contributing to Britain's waste problems, students were required to follow the George attributes of quality, style and value as the main focus of their collection.

Sue Walton, Senior Lecturer in Fashion Design at Nottingham Trent University, said: 'George at ASDA is focused on delivering affordable fashion to real people. This project will help students to realise the importance of designing for people during these tough economic conditions, when they are looking for uncompromising quality and style but at a price they can afford.'

Andy Burns, Menswear Design Manager for George, said: 'The £19 men's Perfect Fit Suit, which was launched earlier this year, is a firm favourite with our customers and so we're looking for something practical but stylish that will have the same appeal to the ASDA shopper.Through this link-up with Nottingham Trent University, we can provide the students with the opportunity to work for one of the largest volume fashion retailers in the UK. We can also strengthen our links with up coming talent to potentially find the next big thing in tailoring and keep our global design team filled with the very best from the fashion world.'