Wednesday, March 4, 2020

BUSINESS ENGLISH PARIS: Word of the Day is BUSINESS ATTIRE

WHAT CONSTITUTES "BUSINESS ATTIRE" THESE DAYS?
French translation is tenue d'affaires



Good morning darlings, from Business English Paris blog. Today's word of the day is "Business Attire." Google Translate says the French translation is tenue d'affaires. It sounds right but if it isn't you are as usual welcomed to correct me, because I readily admit that my French is off-the-charts horrific.
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So what even is business attire these days? Back in the 90s in New York, career women were wearing sneakers with their suits on the subway and I remember visiting Paris
during this time to see my Aunt and she and her husband, who was a university professor, brought up this topic of how deplorable it was to see women in suits with sneakers. It was unthinkable that a French woman would ever do that. And they made no bones about it.

Fast forward to the aughts and today where I am teaching Business English in Paris and it seems to me that even in Paris the definition of what constitutes "business attire" has morphed or is morphing.  Sneakers have become acceptable business attire in a lot of cool workplaces around the world. Blame it on Silicon Valley and Google who redefined business wear and made wearing sneakers to work look cool. But what possibly could be cooler than a cool, crisp pair of sneakers with your suit, or "business casual" outfit. (Business casual business attire seems to be the new norm in most places nowadays.)

I don't imagine this is true in every single company on the Right Bank of the Seine. Or the Left, for that matter. Many people still wear traditional shoes and some even wear, gasp!, stilettos.  But I do see women wearing sneakers with their suits…..actually, forget the suits. I rarely see women dressed in suits anymore. It is looking to me like suits may be a bit passĂ© as far as business attire goes.

What are your thoughts on this? Is it ever appropriate to wear sneakers to the office? Are sneakers an appropriate choice for "business attire"? Let's talk.

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