According to both sexes (53%), men are the smartest dressers in their office and a `hopeful' one in six men confess that they deliberately choose clothes for the office which they hope will attract their female colleagues.

In addition, the survey exposes solicitors and barristers as the most unfashionable and `un-cool' office workers in Britain, according to 28% of survey respondents, followed by bankers and accountants (22%) and IT professionals (17%). Journalists needn't feel too smug - they come fourth in the poll with 15% of the votes for unfashionable dressing.

The results show that men are thinking `beyond the pinstripe' with an overwhelming 69% of British men professing to favour more relaxed businesswear.

Andrew Woodward, marketing director at Austin Reed, said: "While the survey looks at some of the fun elements associated with dressing at work, it covers more serious issues too - such as, despite the recent hype, only 15% of men would want to wear jeans and t-shirts at work. For a long time Austin Reed has been ahead of this new workwear revolution. This is why our 'Reed' label - based on easy-to-coordinate collections, smart-casual designs and modern performance fabrics - is so popular. We have even launched an exciting new guide to smart-casual workwear offering straightforward advice on dressing down."

There are marked regional differences in how long men take to get ready for work with 23% of Welshmen taking more than 40 minutes to get dressed in the morning, while men in the North East are the speediest, getting ready in less than ten minutes.

Despite these revelations on the snappy way men are dressing at work, one in three men surveyed still admit to sometimes wearing odd socks.

A summary of the key facts are below and full copies of the survey are available on request.

KEY FACTS

• Nearly two thirds of men (63%) are in favour of relaxing the dress code for men in offices, 45% of women agree.
• Of the men surveyed 37% feel that relaxed, coordinated jackets and trousers are appropriate workwear these days.
• If the dress code in their own office was relaxed, only 15% of men would want to dress down in jeans or cords. More than two thirds (69%) would want to change to more relaxed or comfortable styles such as co-ordinating jackets and trousers.
• Of those who would like a change to the office dress code, colour was the single factor mentioned most often. 84% of women and 70% of men want more "colour co-ordination" and more "colourful styles."
• Only 4% of men said they would feel comfortable wearing a t-shirt and only 9% would dare to appear in a sweatshirt.
• Men working in offices dress more smartly than women - according to both sexes! Men took 53% of the votes while women took 47%.
• Two thirds of women (66%) feel that the clothes men wear to the office has an effect on their colleagues' opinions of their ability, though only 41% of men agree.
• Solicitors and barristers are the most unfashionable office workers in Britain, according to the survey. Their normal office clothes were thought "un-cool" by 28% of people, followed by bankers and accountants (22%) and IT professionals (17%). Journalists need not feel too smug - they came fourth in the poll with 15% of votes for unfashionable dressing.
• One in six men (15%) confess that they deliberately choose clothes for the office which they hope will attract their female colleagues.
• One in ten men take around 40 minutes just to get washed and dressed in the morning (10%) and 6% take even longer than that.
• Welshmen take the longest in the bathroom, according to their partners, while men in the North East are the speediest.
• One in three men admit that they sometimes wear odd socks to work.
• Nearly half the men who work in offices claim that they look after the laundering of their shirts and ties (43%), yet only 10% of women agree. 80% of women whose partners work in offices say they launder their partner's shirts.
• Young men are the most haphazard dressers when it comes to looking smart in the office - 44% admit they sometimes wear odd socks to work.
• Only a quarter (26%) of today's male office workers still feel they should be kitted out in a dark conservative suit.
• A mischievous 3% thought that a change in office workwear should involve doing away with clothes altogether, and working in the buff!
• Girls in the North East and West Midlands should watch out for the office romeos. Nearly a quarter of men in those regions choose certain clothes in the hope it will turn on the female colleagues in the office.