Office Style: Wardrobe Helps Define Office Style in L.A.

Radio spots currently airing in Los Angeles point out the image of professionalism conveyed by service workers who Rwell? And can employees' wardrobe choices have an wear uniforms. Does that correlation hold true for offices as impact on office style? Yes, say local business executives and clothing experts. Several weighed in on corporate wardrobe in Los Angeles, and where they see it heading.

Certainly the biggest trend in office wear has been the "dress casual" or "business casual" tidal wave of recent years. There are variations such as: "Casual Friday," everyday 'business casual," and "business casual" Monday through Thursday plus "very casual" on Friday. Yet even as more companies adopt such policies, others are reconsidering. Some say that while office workers still don't want to sacrifice comfort, they are less willing to put up with the additional costs and uncertainties of "business casual" and its uncasual, unwritten rules.

To help navigate some of these less-charted waters, Bill Roth, wardrobe consultant/menswear specialist at Nordstrom Westside, will typically sit down with business clients to assist them in choosing wardrobe to meet their own personal and professional standards and objectives. But with clothing options ranging from casual to British or European styling, Roth suggests that there should be "open communication between employer and employees" when it comes to dress policies.

John Shaw, Director of Real Estate Investments for Los Angeles-based Farmers Group Bank, believes the "business casual" trend was accelerated by the ascendance of dot.com nonstyle. For him and others from traditional industries, it was at first a bit visually jarring to take meetings with company heads ("tech heads") attired in jeans and T-shirts. Traditionalists generally responded by splitting the difference, that is, going casual. When Shaw's entire company went "business casual" within the past two years, they found it necessary to create an instructional video laying out style parameters. And Friday was designated "Logo Day" -- uniform, embroidered polo shirts or dressed-up business attire.

As Fox Searchlight Pictures' CFO and VP-Finance and Administration, Jill Gwen works in an industry known for more casual attire, particularly on the production side. What she is seeing now is more casual dress making its way over to the corporate side of the industry as well, even in traditional fields such as finance and accounting.

In some fields, the changes can be quite gradual. Dr. Mary Gianos, an allergist in private practice and at Pleasant Valley Hospital, has noticed more female physicians making gradual changes, such as lower heels and slacks instead of skirts. Her husband, Dr. Wayne Kleinman, an anaesthesiologist at Tarzana-Encino Medical Center, has noted this slow trend as well, though traditional business attire still seems to predominate.

In other offices around Los Angeles, "dress casual" is giving way to a more sartorial look, particularly at higher managerial levels. Some local menswear retailers, for example, are selling more cufflinks than ever before. And Los Angeles attorneys in at least one international law firm have lately been noticing a dressier style in New York and Tokyo as well.

David Sacks of Los Angeles-based discount clothing chain Sacks SFO is seeing this upscaling trend in business wear also. Though he notes that Americans spend less of their disposable income on clothes than they did in the mid-1980's (4.4%, down from 7%), he has recently observed men's increasing interest in slacks ranging from dressier fabrics to dress twills, and more silk blouses for women.

Even some nontraditional industries seem to be experiencing increasing interest in dressy attire. Reiko Mathieu, owner of Squaresville, a vintage clothing and accessories store on Melrose and in Los Feliz, notes an upsurge in demand for more classic, dressy attire, even among customers in their twenties and thirties in the more relaxed music and film industries. Very popular among women now, she says, are classic Gucci, Dior, and Louis Vuitton, and items such as a Diane Von Furstenberg 1970's wrap dress or a 1980's below-the-knee dress with ruffles and a high collar.

Of course, even for those in companies committed to "casual Friday" or "casual Monday-through-Friday," there are ways to dress it up. Roth, for example, might help a menswear client, pull off the look elegantly with lightweight wool or silk-and-linen blend slacks, a fine cotton sport shirt, and a cashmere sweater vest,

On the other hand, Kim Friday, the Los Angeles-based West Coast Fashion Editor of Women's Wear Daily, believes casual office dress is here to stay. The "casual chic" style of the publishing industry, she says, is also reflected in other industries which have loosened their wardrobe guidelines in recent years. When it does come to dressing up, though, one trend she sees is more women's clothing with classic menswear influences: pinstripe, box, and tweed patterns; pantsuits; and accessories such as ties and suspenders. Yet she notes that most of these items have been reinterpreted with feminine touches.

As far as women's clothing trends are concerned, most -- including office wear -- are now coming out of Los Angeles, according to Allison Zamora, formerly with Calvin Klein in New York and currently a fashion publicist in Los Angeles. While the look in New York is "more aggressive, with tight fashion guidelines" she says, L.A.'s is "sexier, with more emphasis on color and individual expression."

Any hot tips for versatile office wear?

For men: a black blazer. This is the new blue -- and an indispensible piece of clothing -- according to Nordstrom's Roth. It can be dressed up or dressed down, and can also be in a lighter fabric for warmer weather.

For women (spring): a light-colored cotton or cotton-blend fuller skirt, paired with a fitted jacket, suggests WWD's Friday. For fall, she recommends another look -- wider-legged, cuffed, pinstripe pants paired with a fitted jacket.

Finally, even though they address (and dress) clientele in different industries, many local wardrobe experts agree on one point -- that in Los Angeles, clothes do make the company.

Bill Hoversten is a freelance writer and publicist based in Beverly Hills.

Do Your Office Space The Right Way

DAN BOYLE

Here are a few of the things we ask our clients to consider at the outset of an office space project:

That is, start with the people and make a thorough evaluation of how they get work done. To what extent do they collaborate or team with one another? What adjacencies are critical to the efficient flow of work and information within the organization? What are the individual and group technological needs. How is information stored, and where? Etc.

Look at their office space from the inside out.

This process is known as "programming" and designers have been doing it forages. Many dealerships now have the ability to assist with this and, using recently developed software, can translate the data obtained into fairly precise, value-engineered furniture solutions. Thus the client is assured of getting a well-organized office layout with individual workstations that are ergonomically correct and designed to work well for the people who occupy them.

Consider the amount of movement, or "chum", traditionally experienced in the office layout.

The churn rate will affect the "lifecycle" cost of owning the furniture they buy. We encourage organizations with high churn rates (15% or more per year) to develop fairly strict furniture standards, so that when moves are made, the furniture components are relatively interchangeable thereby keeping the costs down.

Consider working with one dealer as much as possible.

This may limit the client's furniture selection slightly, as no one dealer can provide every product on the market, but it will cut down on the confusion, which can be costly; and it will allow the individual dealer to achieve furniture volume levels that translate into deeper discounts for the client.

As far as competitive pricing is concerned, this can, and should, be established early on in the project through the use of simple pricing exercises. The client may want to enlist a third-party expert to ensure that apples-to-apples comparisons are made.

Nowadays it is not uncommon for price to be one of two or three equally important factors in the furniture selection process. Such things as furniture adaptability and the breadth of dealer services and experience often figure heavily into the equation.

Consider One-Stop Alternatives.

As a means of simplifying things and further controlling costs, the client should look for a dealership that offers a "one stop" alternative for furniture-related services. In addition to the customary delivery, installation and repair services, a typical "Full Service" dealer should provide most, if not all, of the following: Design, Rental, Cleaning, Painting, Wood Refinishing, Re-upholstery, Storage and Move Management services.

Dan Boyle is with California Business Interiors.