| Business Formal |
19 January 2004
|
Dutch Finance Ministry: White Socks "Indecent"
Among the biggest lies one may count "Clothes make the man." After all, Oscar de la Renta never did Gandhi's tailoring, while John Gotti, the Dapper Don, was an exceedingly well-dressed murderer, but still, a murderer. The business world has tried in recent years to come to grips with the idea of dressing down with minimal success. Dress codes are still in effect, and at the Dutch Finance Ministry, white socks are not just tacky, they are "indecent."
One suspects that the Reuters reporter who brought this news to the world last week may have missed a more appropriate word for the Dutch (misplaatst, ongepast?) than "indecent." The Dutch, charming and wonderful people though they are, have a nasty habit of speaking English better than American or Britons, but the reverse is not true. Still, the ministry circular on the subject says that white socks "transgress the limits of decent dress behavior." The fact that "to wear white socks" is a slang expression in some parts of the English speaking world meaning "to be a virgin" apparently does not save them from indecency.
Dark blue or gray suits are acceptable as they convey "reliability and professionalism." Reuters rounded out the report by noting that there are no set standards but a spokeswoman for the ministry said, "People are expected to dress in accordance with their function." Reasonable enough, but the idea, if taken to its logical conclusion, is perhaps more disruptive than white socks.
For example, pirate costumes for corporate raiders might be a distraction. The same applies to Count Dracula attire for some members of the legal profession (and ex-spouses outside the office). The sale of dunce caps would be a leading source of revenue at Brooks Brothers, while Savile Row could create new and exciting fashions from dead wood.
Fashion is, at best, a non-verbal form of communication, and at worst, a gigantic fraud perpetrated on people with too much money and too little sense. People should spend more time acting in accordance with their function rather than dressing that way. Costumes should be reserved for Halloween, which is dying out.
All the same, one doesn't like the idea of the Minister of Finance wearing white socks to work. Such inattention to fashion might lead one to consider what awful crisis is preoccupying him. The ensuing run on Dutch government bonds would not be pretty.
Home