Nonetheless, it is requisite by certain designations and work cultures that their representatives resonate the norms set up by the company's culture. Customers, the boss and associates come to align a certain standard with dressing. At Tata Technologies, employees believe refined dressing is an icon of how the company is perceived, and accentuates its image. "For us, every employee is a brand ambassador of the company, and the way he or she dresses reflects also on the company's image. While we do encourage a spirit of fun at the workplace, we have reserved Monday to Thursday for formal dressing only. Customer visits also take place frequently, due to which we need to look suitably presentable. For a weekly touch of individuality, on Fridays, we switch over to smart casuals," says Milind Kaulgud, head HR, INCAT, Asia-Pacific, located in Hinjewadi. So he has poised the code to that equilibrium between personal distinctiveness and coherent solidarity of groups.

It all wipes along well till the time you step in the sphere of the college going youth-the most avid for self-expression, fairly insubordinate and toughest to impose upon. "I understand if we have formal presentations and seminars to attend. Otherwise, I would want to be dressed in something I am comfortable in. If I have to study in the library after classes then it really gets annoying and I feel like going home and changing again. So I think there shouldn't be any dress code. What is the point of dressing up if it hampers your productivity and workability?," questions Shayoni Mehta who is studying journalism from Indira School of Communication.

Take, for instance the MBA students, who invariably are expected to dress in a formal suit, be it the sweltering heat or the pouring rain. Never mind the monotony, but for Saurabh Virmani, a PGDBM student of ISB&M, it preconditions you to a rarefied work culture. "We get used to it, and in the near future, we have to face an official setting. It is better to be trained for it," he concurs to the formal wear of his college.

And while one may ask what about liberality: the freedom to express yourself, the administration always comes up with the sound fundamentals of uniformity and equality, the co-ordinates of democracy to counter any discontent born of compromise.