Richard Branson recently sent a photo tweet in shorts and said that wearing shorts in office made much more sense than suits and ties. He is not the first or the only CEO to move away from formal wear. Google kind of pioneered this way of working and very recent ones to make this move towards smart casuals is Infosys and HUL.
It is a big shift in the way corporations are moving towards more inclusive workplaces. The boring and dull workstations and colors at office are suddenly becoming vibrant and cheerful. The formal mannerism is giving way to casual smartness.
All this excitement suddenly jolted my happiness when I read an interview of Roger Federer yesterday. He was commenting on the strict dress code at Wimbledon and said that “they have gone too far”. Roger is not the only player to be unhappy with all white dress rule of Wimbledon. There are others, who have raised their voice, and they should- After all checking the color of women players’ underwear is just too much!
Wimbledon has its history. It is one of the oldest tennis tournaments in the world, and the only major still played on grass. Previously, players bowed to members of the Royal Family seated in the Royal Box upon entering or leaving Centre Court. In 2003, however, the President of the All England Club, His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, decided to discontinue the tradition. Now, players are required to bow only if The Prince of Wales, or Her Majesty The Queen is present
The players can wear any colors they want in any of the other tennis tournaments, but not when they are at All England Club, London. Similarly, employees can wear whatever they want but not when they are at client meetings, or customer facing interactions. Makes sense? Doesn’t it?
Yes it does and a lot of it.
Dear Roger, it’s not a big deal. Our productivity doesn’t depend on the colors we wear. Till now, even in those formal blacks and blues, we were still giving our best. And with the new smart casual approach, we would still continue to be best performers in the workplace. It just helps us not spend minutes figuring out the best ironed shirt or trouser, that’s it. Similarly for you, it doesn’t matter if your best volley comes in a white short or white with blue stripes shorts! We love your game, and not your clothes.
Tennis is not a fashion place for us, and never was. It was entertaining to see the colors that the Williams sister brought on the courts, but once the match started, we didn’t care. So shouldn’t you.
The aura of Wimbledon, the royalty around the event, the strawberry and cream- it’s all so pure and virgin. I miss the royal bow to the Royal Box and I don’t want to miss these smaller flavors that make Wimbledon the Queen of all Grand Slams.
Wimbledon dress rules are a tradition and not at all boring. Don’t take that away from us please.
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