"I remember the conductresses wearing these heavily starched, pink A-line skirts with pockets for the coins," Tina Ocampo says. "That was a utility uniform that I really loved!"
Good uniforms, no matter for what profession or company, are like memorable ad jingles: they stay with the public, even outlive the companies they represent. In a way, they’re like corporate logos, an extension of a company, an image of what it stands for.
Banks, for instance, are notorious for having forgettable uniforms, and accountants for being boring dressers. Maybe these are stereotypes but there’s some truth to it. Office girls either love their uniforms or hate them, or sometimes both: they love them for saving them the headache of coming up with an outfit every day, and hate them for making them look like they just came off a factory conveyor belt.
The Black Shop (TBS) last year diversified its fashion business by offering companies previews of upcoming collections from which they can choose their office uniforms. Sometimes human resources heads of smaller companies simply drop by the Greenbelt store and choose from the racks.
"Wearing a uniform doesn’t have to mean dowdy. You can still be fashionable and have an exciting look. We want to change the mindset of companies here. We want to raise the quality of uniforms, improve fabrication and offer modern designs," says Tina. "Remember the old way when costureras would measure each employee and sew their uniforms, can you imagine doing 2,000 pieces in different sizes? The quality is sure to suffer."
With TBS, HR heads go to the store, mix and match tops, skirts and jackets to come up with an office ensemble with the help of the store’s stylists. If a company’s contract is a big one, TBS makes exclusive labels for the pieces (such as what they did for a client, "The Black Shop for Petron").
The store’s first targets were small companies with 30 to 100 employees. When it grew the line, Tina would give a preview of upcoming designs to HR heads, and then would produce them only for their companies if the contracts were for a large number of employees. "They enjoy going to the store in Greenbelt (by appointment) because we close it for them, serve them coffee and sandwiches while our sales people talk about the fabrics, the cuts."
Once they’ve done the selection, the employees fit the size samples, then Tina orders them from the manufacturer and in a month and a half, the uniforms are delivered to the offices.
To date, The Black Shop has done uniforms for Smart, Petron, Ayala Land Sales, Pilipinas Palm Oil, Fujitsu, Unilab, American President Lines, Oxford Suites, Johnson & Johnson, Avon, and Century Properties.
Apart from providing the uniforms, Tina and her store can also give talks on personality development and styling.
Excerpts:
What are the style faux pas most office girls commit?
They go overboard, they tend to over-accessorize and they become too dressy for the venue. We have scarves in the store, which we were intending for them to use at night, outside the office. But apparently most of them wear a scarf to work – but maybe it’s in the nature of their business like an ad agency.
What are the elements you consider when designing uniforms? Do you look at the offices, consider where they are located?
The nature of the business is very important. When we did Petron, they gave us specific colors and fabrics for their uniforms. For the head office, we gave them skirts, and for the plant we did pants.
The three-fourth sleeves we recommend for people who have busy tables and reach for so many things, like accountants. If they had long sleeves, it would get in the way. We designed the three-fourth sleeves in a slightly retro style like the pea coat, with a big button and paired with a light blouse. It goes with the function, the necessity.
Do you find that certain professions tend to be more conservative than others, or is this stereotyping?
There are still a lot of conservative people, especially those in the banks. The small businesses, especially marketers, are very fashionable. For Century Properties, we did capris paired with little jackets for their field people. They asked us what shoes to wear and we recommended ballet shoes! Their outfit is so cute. The owner Joey Antonio told me they wanted a nice look for their front liners, so he sent his son Marco to do the selection. It’s good when they are involved in the process. If the company is image-conscious, they tend to be hipper and cooler.
Is there an industry or company that you’d like to dress up or redo? The SM salesladies perhaps?
I spoke to Hans Sy and asked why the girls wear open sandals with stockings. He said it’s because the company is strong on controlling theft, so the shoes are open, the skirts are short. If I’m going to re-design SM uniforms, I’d probably go mod since one of their uniforms – the blue, straight A-line cut dress – already has that influence. I’d probably do stockings in a shade that doesn’t look like it’s for people with rayuma.
What’s your favorite airline uniform?
I’d love to do an airline! The uniform of PAL’s flight attendants, the beige jacket, is too pale for me. And I think a lot of their women are already in their 50s, with big puson. I’d do something that would be more flattering for them. With Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific, they probably have it in their contracts to stay slim, but perhaps not with PAL. If the figure is a problem, we just have to solve that image-wise, give them a more flattering look.
I love Singapore Airlines because it says a lot about their country. I love their batik and how the women carry it so well. I still love the stewardesses of the ‘60s. If that’s too much for the airlines now, I’d do a lot of cardigans – a traveling cardigan in cotton knit with a belt, soft fabric inside with really nice buttons like pearl, a really slim skirt and pumps.
I’d play on colors to brighten them up. I love clashing colors, not the usual pairing like brown and rust, black and white, red and blue. I’d most probably design something for the hair to standardize the look – and so they’d get rid of those big ribbons – and pearl necklace.
What do you think of Cebu Pacific’s uniform (shorts, sports shirts and rubber shoes)?
I like that they make their flights a fun ride and they’re dressed for it, but maybe I’d do clam diggers. When you look at their shorts, you sometimes think that they’re working in a country club. Maybe we should put an element to make them look like they’re working for an airline. I do like the idea that it’s shorts, like they’re ready to go to a beach resort.
What’s your favorite retail store or restaurant with the coolest look?
There are retail stores where the sales staff wear their merchandise like Yohji Yamamoto (one Yohji jacket can go up to $3,000), Issey Miyake and Prada. All the sales people are in the current collections, it’s part of their package! Gusto ko na ngang mag-apply, eh. Even the Comme des Garçons doorman is in the current collection!
What colors are the most common for corporate wear?
Black, from plain to pinstriped to check, combined with the company colors. Gray is also a popular color, especially heather gray. Brown because it’s flexible.
What colors would you like to see more in offices?
Gray is nice for cardigans and common accessories like pearls. It’s the most flexible color. Too many people are in black already, though black and white is still my favorite combination since I wanna have red shoes and add color with my accessories.
Do the big companies also ask you to make accessories, like bags?
We can, yes. We also do belts. Sometimes they order my faux pearls and the brooches.
What about the men’s line?
The good thing about corporate men is that they can’t go overboard! It’s a long-sleeve shirt, necktie and jacket.
Is it tacky to have the logo of the company on the shirt?
Not really, but I wouldn’t put it on a pinstripe. The important thing is to match the chosen colors with the company colors.
What fabrics would you recommend?
Italian twill, which China is able to clone, is good for our weather. For ladies, crepe fabric.