For a start, a more casual dress code is seen as providing a greater personal and less rule-orientated atmosphere in the work place, an important underlying method of attracting and keeping talented staff. Casual dress is also aimed at instilling better relations with customers who themselves often dress down. Dressing down is still confusing for some workers. Seminars and fashion shows are staged to help employees grasp what is acceptable. Canadian financial institutions, for example, have banned Spandex clothing, T-shirts, sweatshirts, sleeveless shirts and shorts.
Executives have to keep more formal dress in the office in case of an upcoming power meeting.
The trend has however blossomed in an increasingly digitised and customer-driven economy. That has set back retailers specialising in formal suits and ties, but complete ranges of casual attire have begun to appear. Retailers are taking several different routes to maximise sales. Down Under Gear aims to dress both adults and children in fleece, cotton and polyblend fabric casualwear. Keith Ridge of British Columbia is also on the Internet to sell casuals, but splits its formal wear with informal clothes from well-known brands like Kenneth Cole, Cambridge and CasaModa.