BUSINESS CASUAL DRESSES UP; NPD SAYS CASUAL IS IN THE OFFICE TO STAY, BUT WITH A DRESSIER ATTITUDE.

Daily News Record, April, 2004 by KARR, ARNOLD J.

NEW YORK -- Casualization continues to establish deep roots in the American workplace, but a recent study by The NPD Group provides strong evidence that the relaxed business wardrobe is getting a bit dressier.

However, NPD's research hardly painted a picture of American men primed for a return to suits. Only 7 percent of those responding described their companies' work dress codes as getting dressier, while twice that percentage said they had become more casual in the past year. The remaining 79 percent said the sartorial atmosphere was unchanged.

Only 10 percent of the sample are required to wear tailored business attire to work and only 41 percent of that group are required to wear it every day; 13 percent are allowed "casual Fridays" and the...