Lea Pisani > Blog > blog > At the American Investment Bank Goldman Sachs, Ties Have Been Untied

At the American Investment Bank Goldman Sachs, Ties Have Been Untied

May 19, 2019 blog
Addio Cravatta writes an interesting article in the newspaper la Repubblica. David Solomon, the CEO of the bank, boldly announced that his 36,000 employees can now dress less formally. The reason for this change is also a generational shift, as 70% of the employees were born after 1981. Many of them breathed a sigh of relief at this decision. Finally, they would be legally allowed to dress more casually. What the reality will be, however, remains to be seen this summer. Solomon is counting on the employees’ sense of appropriateness and hopes they will know how to adapt to different business occasions. He emphasises that casual dress is not appropriate for every business occasion, nor for all employees. Some are concerned that the view of the office might reveal financial professionals dressed in beachwear, men in summer flip-flops, and wide three-quarter-length trousers with saggy pockets – Italians call these pantaloni pinocchietto, meaning Pinocchio pants. It would be excellent if Slovenians adopted this term, perhaps that would finally rid us of these truly unesthetic trousers.

In the last ten years, business attire has changed significantly. Around the world, people in various business environments are dressing less formally. Most commonly, this is referred to as relaxed elegant attire or smart casual. The problem, however, is that people don’t know what belongs to this category and what doesn’t. Where are the boundaries? The fact is, that with more relaxed dressing, there has been an increase in the number of people who appear dishevelled and neglect personal hygiene. I’ve been dealing with relaxed dressing in the financial world for several years now. I write codes, give lectures, and provide guidance. It’s not easy to set boundaries, but it is possible through excellent communication between employees and management, and, of course, by arguing the limitations.

Why no more than 7mm-long nails? Because they make noise when typing on a keyboard, and it is distracting for colleagues and clients. Why no more rings on the right hand? Because you can’t shake hands properly. Why no T-shirts with slogans? Because you force people to read them, and what they say makes it seem like you also think it. What is the future of business attire? Will the tie become a dinosaur? Journalist Irene Maria Scalise from la Repubblica has illustrated this clearly with a graph showing the sharp decline in tie sales in Italy. But fashion changes, and Italians have a significant influence on it. If they decide that more ties need to be sold, they will probably succeed with effective marketing strategies.

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