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If you were to ask anyone at Speed towers for a single sentence that described me I’m 99 per-cent sure that they would respond with ‘style icon’.  Today, as I sit at my desk in a well-worn pair of flip-flops, three-quarter length shorts and a seven-year-old tee-shirt, it’s obvious why my colleagues would reach this conclusion.

I’m so far ahead of the fashion curve that people sometimes confuse forward-thinking dress with poor taste and a lack of self-respect – the fools. However this has got me thinking, is PR an industry where looks count for so much more than in other professions?

Take, for example, the simple suit. A staple in the wardrobes of those that walk the streets of the financial districts across the world, as well as the halls of power at the Whitehouse and the Houses of Parliament. And what’s more, my older colleagues tell me it was, up until recently, obligatory to wear a suit within the PR industry as well.  Yet suits are largely ignored in our profession today. Why is that?

Well my thoughts are that we’re expected to emanate creativity and personality – and we bloody love playing up to that. Not only that, the industries we work with are also becoming more relaxed and casual, and we want to say to them ‘look, we’re just like you too! Only a touch more creative’

I have a hat fetish for example, and proudly wear a variety of headgear to client meetings, launches and day-to-day activities. I think it adds character and shouts, ‘this man is confident, smart and probably superb in the sack’ – others think I just look like a tosser.

I once worked with a learned gentleman who was immaculately dressed every day, donning the latest trend superbly. He was also famed for his blindingly bright-coloured, natural fibre, socks (can you guess who it is yet?).

While this sort of ‘extrovert’ dress sense would be instantly berated at the Bank of England or Downing Street, clients have become largely oblivious and almost expectant of wardrobe sensations from their PR consultants.

Of course there are exceptions to this and still the suit gets a dusting off as and when required, but largely those working in the PR industry will each be striving to show just how creative and on-trend they are from tip-to-toe.

Still it’s not all bad.  We could be web developers. They take this whole debate to an entirely new dimension.