Is estate agency ‘business attire’ now a dog’s breakfast?

A leading politician has claimed that the concept of formal business attire is rapidly on the wane in Britain and that the only workers seen wearing ties are estate agents and funeral directors.

The comments by Labour peer Lord Davies of Brixton in Parliament a few days ago were made as his fellow Lords voted to change the chamber’s clothing rules to make ties optional; part of a drive to alter the stuffy image of the chamber.

Some estate agents may look on in envy as the peers tackle this knotty problem – most property companies and in particular the posher ones require their negotiators to wear at the very least a two-piece suit while others ask male employees to wear a tie as well.

It can be argued in addition that this is an overly gendered approach – the rules on ties and suits only apply to men, and women have a much wider range of formal clothing to call on when getting ready for work.

Also, I would take issue with Lord Davies’ claims. Although it’s increasingly rare to see people dressed in formal attire on public transport these days, there are plenty of professions where smart dresses, suits and ties are very much still the norm – for example, legal, investment banking, upmarket retail, hotels and to a certain extent even journalism.

The key issue here is respect – an estate agency negotiator completing a valuation appraisal with a view to an instruction wants to reassure the potential vendor that they take the job seriously and that they are trust worthy, and a smart suit or dress is one way of communicating that.

I remember an industry bash last year when, dressed in my (hopefully) smartest suit, I clinked glasses with the great and the good. But late to the party came a fellow journalist in shabby slacks, a T-shirt and baggy jumper and, although no one said anything, eyebrows were raised behind his back.

Fair play to his chutzpah I guess you can say, but it showed that suits still count.

Read more about business attire and estate agents.