UNTYING THE KNOT; BOEING PUSHES SARTORIAL ENVELOPE.

Byline: George Tibbits Associated Press 

The message couldn't be clearer. After all, there it is, in color, on Page 3 of the annual report.

The photo shows a grinning Phil Condit, chairman and chief executive officer of the Boeing Co., leaning toward the camera beneath the tail of a Boeing jet. He's wearing a blue cotton, button-down shirt, open at the collar.

No suit. No sports jacket.

And no tie.

In most corporations, the best way to spot a career-enhancing trend is to eyeball the boss, and Boeing is no exception. In recent months, collars have been loosening throughout the aerospace corporation, from the executive suite on down.

Many in the company say Boeing is simply joining an overall move in business toward more casual wear. But Condit's ascendancy last year to the top job, along with the rise of a new generation of key executives, leaves no doubt his belief in a less formal, team-oriented approach has won out.

``I guess I'm wearing no tie because the president of my group doesn't wear a tie,'' says Robert Barnes, vice president and F-22 fighter program manager in the Boeing Defense & Space Group.

On a recent day at Boeing's Developmental Center south of Seattle, Barnes wore what could be an unofficial uniform for mid- and upper-level male Boeing managers: blue dress shirt, gray dress slacks, loafers, no jacket, no tie.

In Boeing's factories, of course, work shirts and pants or T-shirts and jeans are the norm.

And when there are presentations to make, contracts to negotiate or customers to impress, managers dress for success.

Boeing is merging with McDonnell Douglas and last year acquired the space and defense segments of Rockwell International. Both have large operations in the Los Angeles area, and some at Boeing think their company is adopting a bit of California casual.

There's no formal dress code, says Boeing corporate public relations director Paul Binder. But until recently there were strong traditions for those off the factory floor: coats and ties for men, equivalent business dress for women.

That began to change about the time Condit was named to top-level management.

Condit likes to work in a sweater or sports shirt, changing into a suit only if he has to, Binder says. The everyday dress makes it easier to mingle with employees on the shop floor, a cornerstone of Condit's sociable management style.

A tieless Binder has followed suit.

``I have a full dress suit in the office, so if I need to make a statement or go on television, I can put on a coat and tie,'' he says.

Seattle has a casual reputation - it's the town that gave you grunge, remember - but the reality often is a laid-back veneer atop a tightly wound core. Microsoft, for example: caffeine-powered, take-no-prisoners intensity beneath a software-promotion polo shirt.

For many people, it's not easy to choose a business wardrobe that will look good in formal settings, on casual days and, of course, in the rain.

``We really have noticed a trend toward more casual dress in the office in the last two or three years,'' says Helen Forland, Nordstrom's fashion director for Washington state.

In perhaps the most notable case, Safeco, the Seattle-based insurance and financial services company, took a deep breath a year ago and decided its male employees no longer had to wear white shirts, a requirement set by founder H.K. Dent 70 years earlier. Instead, it's conservative business attire Monday through Thursday, with business casual - tie optional, but no jeans or collarless shirts - on Fridays.

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Photo: (Color) Spurning starched shirts, Phil Condit, chairman and CEO of the Boeing Co., practices an open-collar management style.

Associated Press