Style
London’s Banking Uniform Is Now Bespoke Chinos — and Brown Shoes
The financiers are back in London’s financial district. But they’re getting a little harder to recognize.
In the once-austere City of London, an era-defining change is underway. Bankers coming back to their desks are leaving their suits at home — and calling time on a decades-old taboo against brown shoes.
The City’s streets may be increasingly busy — sandwich sales in London are running at 88% of pre-Covid levels — but more and more returning workers don’t look quite like they did in March 2020. Instead, now comfortable with the informality of video-calling, they are sporting a smart-casual look and adopting a “dress for your day” attitude.