How not to look like a banker – and why and when
Banker chic can be described in so many ways: conservative, unimaginative, boring and, next week, downright dangerous. On Tuesday, the mere act of wearing a plain grey suit – be it from Savile Row or Reiss – anywhere within the confines of the London EC1-EC4 postcodes, will apparently be as provocative as donning a flamboyant matador’s costume in a bullring, at least in the eyes of a G20 protester. So think the Metropolitan police, who have advised City workers to dress down on Tuesday and Wednesday to avoid being identified as bankers.
This is likely to present a sartorial challenge to those whose wardrobe skills usually involve deciding which Sketchley’s plastic wrapping to remove. And it is a conundrum that the police seem to be grossly unqualified in giving advice on. So far, City workers have simply been told to avoid suits and dress down in chinos and loafers. That’s it. No word on what to do about the top half, complete silence on accessories, no styling diktats whatsoever.
Not only is the advice incomplete, it is, as anyone who has ever given the glossy pages of Tatler a cursory flick knows, possibly the worst wardrobe advice ever. Chinos and loafers simply reek of money and poshness. Bankers who choose this option might as well wear a T-shirt with a slogan that reads “I spent my bonus on a yacht”. Consider the poster boy for this look: Prince Harry, regularly spotted leaving any given Kensington nightclub wearing beige chinos and brown Sebago loafers – hardly the best disguise with which to fool those anti-capitalist protesters, is it?
Even though I have no personal acquaintance with most of the brands Imogen references, I get the point. RTFA for her suggestions for women bankers, as well.
All of it humorous, though the premise that G20 protestors will all behave like football hooligans is a bit of a stretch. Even dull-normal anarchists who may come from the same gene pool cul-de-sac as, say, the dolts who occasionally embarrass Swansea supporters – generally haven’t the courage to attack much of anything much more likely to retaliate than a shop window.
