Casual look works for most office staff

Eddie von Dadelszen says the corporate style remains formal. Photo / Greg Bowker

We might be an industrious bunch once we're at the office, but it appears New Zealand workers could put in a little more effort when it comes to dressing for work.

A Seek survey released yesterday found 84 per cent of 579 respondents believe the clothes people wear at the workplace are becoming - for better or for worse - increasingly informal.

Seek general manager Annemaire Duff said that, despite the survey results, New Zealand employers were a diverse group, and recommended potential employees research dress standards before turning up to a job interview;

"Part of the fit between you and a job is the overall culture, which is reflected in the way people present themselves at work. Before your interview, check out the company website for photos, and ask whether there is a company dress standard policy."

Sophia Ross, marketing and design manager of women's fashion retailer STAXS, also said Kiwis had adopted an increasingly casual approach to workplace attire.

"It has become quite sloppy."

Mrs Ross saw this approach as a "sign of the times", which reflected the relaxed mood of the last decade.

However, she believed the casual attitude to clothing was beginning to change, as reflected in the current mixing of feminine and structured styles.

"We're in the in-between stage of moving from casual to a more structured style of clothing.

"The more tailored look is coming."

The change in style echoed the "turn around" in circumstances brought about by the recession, she said.

"People are taking their careers more seriously and this is reflected in the way they dress."

Eddie von Dadelszen, creative director for Working Style, also believed that, in general, New Zealanders preferred a more casual option to workplace clothing.

"They [the customers] no longer necessarily always go to a suit as their first option."

Mr von Dadelszen said stores were taking this preference for a "semi-formal" style into account.

"We have changed our ranges and buying strategy according to this."

Mr von Dadelszen said that the level of formality depended on the workplace, with the corporate style still formal.

Clothing style also depended on age, with many younger people choosing a more classic, tailored style of "corporate dressing", which they saw as helping them "look appropriate for their chosen occupation", he said.

At the same time, while the majority of New Zealanders took the more casual option to workplace clothing, Mr von Dadelszen believed that when they dressed up they did so to a greater extent.