BNP Paribas: Dressing down à la mode

Recent visitors to BNP Paribas’ London headquarters have been greeted by placards in the entrance hall that urge staff to "Be smart".

Presumably clients would hope that they wouldn’t need such encouragement to use their brainpower but the notices in fact refer to the rules on casual dress in the bank. The placards are illustrated with depictions of what is considered smart-casual and what is considered no-go. Not surprisingly, a woman in a glittery halterneck and a man in jeans fail to make it through the security gate, while a woman in a sombre black outfit and a man in the regulation open-necked shirt and beige cotton trousers make the grade.

If there is one nation fully qualified to lecture the masses on style it is the French, and it is gratifying to see that BNP is not letting sartorial standards slip in the land of the shell suit.

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