>BY ANDY HOLLOWAY

office culture is trending towards the more casual end of the spectrum, which allows people to express themselves more fully than a corporate uniform, but, as Rosen points out, it also makes it more difficult to decide what to wear on a daily basis. “It’s a lot harder for men now. I have men tell me every day that it was a heck of a lot easier when they just had to go into their closet, put on a suit, a shirt and a tie and they didn’t have to think about it.”

Also, keep in kind that fashion is often on a pendulum. Suits and ties may not be in style now, but they likely will be again, if only because they would let someone stand out in a crowd. In some offices these days, a suit, or even a tie, is so unusual that it gets remarked on, perhaps with some suspicion that someone is going for a job interview elsewhere. But dressing a bit differently by, say, wearing a bow tie, says something about you.

“Yeah, it says I am an interesting person,” Rosen says. “It’s a statement. It’s a statement like Tom Wolfe always used to wear a white suit. I know people who do that. And I think it’s a very clever way of expressing yourself.”

But for now, the suit and tie is on the wane, says Tamara Szames, director and fashion industry analyst at researcher The NPD Group Inc. The apparel market in Canada contracted by 13% in the 12 months to September 2020, sinking to $23.3 billion, and 95% of the $3.6-billion drop was traced to the non-athletic apparel market. “Categories that are associated with traditional office attire, such as dress shirts, woven shirts, sport coats, blazers and dresses, were the fastest declining categories,” she says.

Szames says retailers will need to start defining their business based on consumer connection and value, but adds that opportunities have also emerged for fashion retailers since consumers are looking for innovation and newness that meet the demands of their new way of life.

If Rosen’s suspicions are correct, we’re all about to be very expressive. “My expectation is that once a vaccine is available, it’s going to be like a party, like it’s 1999. Fashion will get crazy and colourful and ties will become very explosive,” he says. “People will just let loose. It’s not human nature to be cooped up the way we have been.”

If nothing else, as Rosen says, “A man looks powerful and sexy in a suit.”