Scruffy British office workers should put a damn shirt on
And one very clear indicator of this cultural shift back to sanity is that the smart shirtmaker TM Lewin is gearing up to open more shops. It recently opened a new store on Bow Lane in the City of London, with the company saying it will open other stores in the capital as well, in cities such as Manchester and Edinburgh. Which is wonderful news because it could be an opportunity for this nation to return to sanity on another issue: dress.
I'm frequently drawn on social media to old footage, often colourised, of Britons walking the streets in the past. And it's heartbreaking not just to see how handsome our buildings and wide avenues were, and with the appropriate numbers of people and traffic, but how well dressed everyone was. No man is without a suit and hat, no woman without a dress, even the children are in jackets and trousers.
Today, we are a nation of slobs, and the word dress doesn't even cover it, as many people's notion of clothing is not to dress at all, slouching out of bed to haul their sorry, often obese, forms onto the streets dressed in trackies and T-shirts.
So let's use the return to the office as a watershed moment and consider that, as work is a professional endeavour, so we should honour it by dressing appropriately.
Buy a suit, get a shirt, hell, you can even shove on a tie. And let's help the next generation get off on a good foot by scrapping mufti Friday. A headteacher I know says they dread Fridays because when the kids wear what they want, their behaviour worsens. She can't wait for Mondays when the kids turn up prim and proper and remember again to say, please, thank you, and to shake their teachers' hands at the end of the day.
Research from Philadelphia's Temple University, published in the Academy of Management Journal in 2023, found that when we feel good about how we look, our productivity improves.
If Britain wants to get serious, it needs to look serious. And while you're at it, shave off the beard and cover up all those hideous tattoos.
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Times
12 minutes ago
- Times
After five years and £40,000 of IVF I'm having a baby on my own at 49
Most people would describe me as determined. I've always been headstrong and I've always found a way to make things happen. I bought my first flat in Notting Hill in London at 25, with no help from anyone else, and would do ten photoshoots on a shoestring budget while I was the beauty and style director at Marie Claire magazine, where I worked until recently. That same determination has shaped every chapter of my life. And now, at 49, it's brought me here: seven months pregnant with my second child after four rounds of IVF, parenting my eight-year-old daughter, and doing it solo, by choice. Did I plan it exactly this way? Not quite. I always hoped to meet someone. I even dated while I was going through IVF, and met kind, interesting men. Some stayed friends; others couldn't handle my journey. I'd love a man by my side — but he would have to be the right one. Some days I long for someone to hug me, tell me it's going to be OK and make me tea. Yes, I'm strong and independent but, like anyone, I crave comfort. • One child in every school class is an IVF baby, data shows But life rarely turns out according to plan, and if there's one thing I've learnt, it's this: don't wait for the perfect moment. You build the life you want with what you have. I consider myself to be a nurturing person. I've always had the instinct to care for something beyond myself, but that only deepened after becoming a mother at 40. I found myself longing to give my daughter a sibling; not just a playmate, but a lifelong companion. I grew up in Gloucestershire with two siblings and 11 cousins, all of whom I saw and played with on a weekly basis. Our house was full of noise, laughter — glorious, joyful chaos — and we all loved it. That sense of community shaped me. I always imagined creating something similar. 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I had always imagined a bigger family — I used to say I wanted four children — and the longing for a second never faded. If anything, it grew stronger after having my daughter. I dated and I was honest. I told people what I wanted. But I never met someone who said, 'Yes, let's do this now.' I'm realistic and do understand that it's a big ask. But I also knew I couldn't keep waiting for some mythical Mr Right to appear. I was tired of putting my life on pause — and I was running out of time. So, at 44, I made the decision to go it alone — not because I had given up on love, but because I wasn't willing to give up on motherhood. IVF, as anyone who has gone through it knows, is rarely smooth sailing, and the statistics are brutal. According to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, success rates using your own eggs drop to 4.3 per cent after the age of 44, and to under 1 per cent beyond 45. • We're in a 'global fertility crisis'. Does this woman have a solution? 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Because even now, with this baby growing steadily inside me, it feels extraordinary to have done something so against the odds — but never against my will. The reactions have been incredible. My friends cried tears of joy when I told them — they have been with me through every setback and every fresh cycle, cheering me on. I couldn't have done this without them. My family has been incredibly supportive too. And my daughter— she is overwhelmed with happiness. She has been reading bedtime stories to the bump since the very start, and I've seen a new kind of confidence in her that I hadn't seen before. I worried that this might change the special bond we have, but it has only brought us closer. Now, my determination presents itself differently. I want to talk about my experience, to contribute to conversations with women who, like me, want families but are in more challenging situations. 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My previous job as a beauty and style director at one of the UK's leading glossy magazines meant that I was connected to an army of unbelievably supportive women, from colleagues to businesswomen. That said, publishing isn't always built to accommodate personal challenges — especially something as complex and consuming as IVF. I didn't tell anyone at work at the time. Not because people weren't kind, but because the structures just haven't caught up. Fertility journeys still aren't protected in the same way maternity is. There's no formal leave, no guaranteed flexibility, and speaking up can still feel risky — especially as a single woman over 40, without a second income to fall back on. We're told to avoid stress because it affects conception, but few workplaces are equipped to support this. Now I'm in my third trimester, some of the hurdles I've had to jump are starting to blur, but the emotional and financial stresses are still very real. When I first shared my plans, my dad and financial adviser went pale. Understandably so. Who expects a freelance single mother of two to shoulder this? But here I am, pulling off small fiscal miracles each month to keep us going. I'm launching a health and beauty YouTube channel before I give birth. If I can make it through IVF, I can build a life and business to support us — and I will. My mum always taught me that financial freedom means working for what you want. She worked in accounts — steady, honest work — and I saw how much pride she took in earning her own way. I hope the women who come after me will have it easier thanks to people like Anna Whitehouse (aka Mother Pukka on social media), whose campaigning helped to bring the Flexible Working Bill forward. It's a crucial step toward accessibility for working mothers. • Am I selfish for choosing to just have one child? Physically, I'm doing really well. I don't think about my age. My body feels unchanged. 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The Sun
2 hours ago
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The Sun
3 hours ago
- The Sun
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