Casual Conformity

Erynn Masi de Casanova observes in her forthcoming Buttoned Up that since the surfeit of books on white collar conformism in the 1950s, “mainstream social science has largely ignored the world of white-collar work and the identities of the people who perform this work.” And in particular they have ignored the satorial choices of those white collar workers.

The findings of her interviews with white-collar men in various American cities are somewhat surprising. Standards of dress have relaxed in the culture generally, including the workplace. Yet she discovered a high degree of conformity among the men’s clothing choices. Business casual is in, but everyone goes business casual.

She suggests several reasons for this. The first has to do with the changing landscape of white-collar work. In the 1950s, the “company man” was a recognizable entity, but today “formal white-collar work has become less stable and predictable.” This “absence of job security makes people who are fortunate enough to be employed avoid risk.” Whatever freedom they have to dress as they please is too risky to use.

She also points to the increasing attention to male fashion in the past decades: “men’s bodies and appearance are increasingly subject to social scrutiny and presented in mainstream popular culture as sex objects (in ways previously associated with women’s bodies). This new visibility heightens pressures on men to maintain a socially acceptable physical appearance, including in work settings.” Increased scrutiny and increased choice “can be paralyzing. The shift to a business casual dress that is sometimes not as well defined as business formal dress (suits and ties) increases the options potentially available to white-collar men,” and that increases the possibility of a damaging sartorial faux pas. Again, best to play it safe. 

Men end up strategically choosing conformity because conformity “ensures their continued access” to the various privileges they enjoy.