CASUAL DRESS: COMPANIES EMBRACE TREND

When Procter & Gamble, long one of the most conservative companies in the nation, introduced Casual Fridays at its corporate offices in Cincinnati, Ohio, it only meant men could wear a coat without a tie.

But P&G now allows all employees in Cincinnati to dress casually throughout the week, and casual now means slacks, nice shirts and no coat or tie.

High-tech industries generally are credited with the dressing down of American business. The dress at Clas Computers in Cape Girardeau is casual weekdays, meaning a nice shirt and khakis, and more casual on Fridays and Saturdays, when employees can wear jeans and a company polo shirt.

The dress became less casual when the company expanded a few years ago, co-owner Roxanne Magnus said, adding: "When we were a small mom-and-pop shop we were pretty casual."

She thinks companies that want their employees to dress a certain way should help them out. Clas Computers gave its employees money to buy khakis.

Casual Fridays give everybody a release, she says, and might even get a little bit more done because they've been allowed to dress comfortably.

A backlash against too-casual clothing has been noted in some quarters. One local bank stiffened its rules on Casual Fridays, now requiring its employees to wear a polo shirt with the company logo.

"(Management) said they couldn't tell us from the customers," an employee said.

In New York City, a marketing and public relations company called the Pollak Agency has gone even further to establish Formal Fridays, when staffers wear tuxedoes and evening gowns to work.

The attitude is different at Red Letter Communications, a Cape Girardeau public relations firm.

"Wearing panty hose really cuts down on your productivity," says account executive Susan Elayer. "You' can't move as fast."

The 12 employees are officially sanctioned to wear jeans only on Fridays, but ultimately they wear whatever is appropriate.

"Sometimes we have projects where we have to get down on the floor, sorting and stacking stuff," Elayer says. "But men wear ties if we have a business meeting."

The company puts more emphasis on abilities instead of image, she said.

"If there's work to be done and we've got to do it, come on in in your overalls and we'll get it done," she said, "but we can clean up if we have to."

Southeast Missouri State University has no official Casual Friday, but staffers often wear the school colors on that day.

Attitudes toward dressing for business seem to be different in cities as close in proximity as Cape Girardeau and Jackson, Mo. In Cape Girardeau, casual dress is allowed for city employees only on payday two Fridays a month. City of Jackson employees can dress casually any day.

Cape Girardeau City Manager Michael Miller doesn't think the city government is ready for everyday casualness but endorses the Casual Friday concept.

"I think it gives some freedom in the workplace employees appreciate and I hope it increases morale," he said.

The same difference in attitude seems to prevail at the cities' chambers of commerce. John Mehner, president of the Cape Girardeau chamber, wears a coat and tie four days a week and dresses more casually on Fridays. He thinks the trend may be backing away from casual dress.

He cites a news report in which some businesses made a correlation between casual dress and "less production, more goofing off in the office."

Mehner doesn't know whether dressing casually makes employees more productive and creative, as proponents of the idea have claimed. He views Casual Friday more as a way for a business to reward its employees for the job they're doing. Yet, he thinks it's possible to go too far.

"I have seen some things worn as business casual I don't think is business casual," Mehner said. "That's why companies are doing their own shirts, to make sure they've given the OK to wear something nice. It helps define what that is."

Ken Parrett, executive director of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce, wore a coat and tie when he first took the job.

"I realized the people I was going to see as chamber director weren't in the same dress I was," he said. "I don't think they wanted to see me in a suit. Pretty much everybody over here is casual."

Parrett notes that Jackson Mayor Paul Sander often can be found in jeans and an "I Love Jackson" T-shirt.

There are still times and places for wearing suits, he says, but comfort at work seems to be the guiding principle right now.

"Everybody is going to perform better based on what they're wearing," he said. "If you look good or feel good, you're going to do better."