Back to Button-Down

With the possible exception of Secret Service men, no employees in the nation are as well known for their square appearance as the men of IBM. Most of them wear pretty much what was in style two or three generations of computers ago--dark and unshaped suits, white button-down shirts and quiet, narrow ties. Lately, however, some staffers have begun to acknowledge the revolution in men's fashions by showing up for work in loafers, striped shirts and flared trousers. To Thomas J. Watson Jr., IBM's chairman, the whole trend was clearly unacceptable. And so, in a recent memo reported last week in the Wall Street Journal, he let employees know exactly what he thought about it.

Watson's note, sent to IBM managers, warned that "too many of our people are beginning to exceed the bounds of common sense in their business attire." Because "the midstream of executive appearance is generally far behind the leading edge of fashion," he continued, modish threads might well offend potential IBM customers.

Recognizing that he ran "the risk of appearing arbitrary," said IBM's chairman, he nonetheless had decided to give each manager "the responsibility to establish and enforce conservative dress and appearance standards." Watson did not dictate a specific uniform, but to most employees his message was clear: back to the button-downs. The sartorial retrenchment at IBM, so the story goes, was inspired by a young man in hippie clothes who happened to catch Watson's eye one day in a bank. When Watson asked a bank official why he permitted employees to dress that way, he was quietly informed that the man in question worked for IBM.

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