When the dot-com bubble burst, many investment bankers were forced to retire their khakis and open-collar shirts. With the next crisis being in full swing, will we soon have to look for our suits and ties again?

When times get rough, people focus on the important things in life. In that respect, banks are little different from common people.

When the Internet bubble of the late 90s and early 2000s spectacularly blew up, a number of investment banks gave up on their casual dress policies. In times where literally everybody (for a short while) was able to start their own Web Company and bring it to an IPO in next to no time, banks found themselves competing for talent. And the choice of wearing 'business formal' in a bank or becoming a multi-millionaire in your pyjamas forced banks to allow for more relaxed attire. (Additionally of course, since banks dealt with the lucrative IPOs, they didn't want to put off their dressed-down clientele by appearing too conservative.)

As a management consultant friend of mine put it years ago: "You are getting a better reception dealing with start-ups when you dress down a little bit. An open collar is a must, but some pizza stains on your shirt will get you even more credibility."

When times roughened up in 2001, quite a few banks went back to formal attire. With the boom turning to bust, the funny days were over and it was time to come across respectable again. When Deutsche Bank, for instance, re-introduced formal dress in 2002, many employees found themselves facing a trip to Aquascutum to stock up on suits. Years of not wearing their business attire and too many client dinners had left them with a wardrobe that was outdated and/or a bit tight around the waist.

Over the past few years with bankers defecting to hedge funds in large numbers, little pressure was applied to the remaining 'full-time casual' employees to tart up. However, with the party being increasingly over on the 'buy side', the 'sell side' is potentially in for another round of getting serious on textile slackers.

Maybe it is just that bad news is better sold in style. For example, if you have to tell your staff that bonuses, or in fact future employment, are unlikely to happen, formal attire will increase the serious tone, and your style won't suggest that everybody is still best mates.

On the bright side, however, there are other benefits of dressing up. A friend of mine usually wears a suit without being forced to, and it works wonders. People either think that he has been promoted and is now very important, or they believe he is going for interviews, which, in this day and age, also comes close to a small miracle.

Whilst the lack of bonuses does not help out with that trip down Savile Row, there is one thing to be kept in mind if you decide (or if it's decided for you) to dress up again: casual wear is more difficult than formal wear. In the latter case, all you have to do is to don a suit and a tie and you're done.

For men who are insecure in the dressing department, this leaves a lot less room for error than trying to interpret your company's vague casual dress code and hoping to still look good.

Here Is The Writer : Billy No Box

Billy No Box has worked in the city for six years, and currently works in Derivatives for a North American bank. He enjoys playing golf, reading books by Umberto Eco, singing "Copacabana" in the shower and at karaoke bars, and occasionally updating his blog about London and everything else.

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