Twenty years ago every salaryman in Japan wore white socks under his suit, of which upward of 95% were medium to dark blue. It was basically, a uniform, just one step away from the typical high school uniform that featured a black military-academy jacket, with lots of buttons up the front and a standing, white, heavily-starched collar. As incongruous as white socks under a dark suit seemed to a foreigner, they embodied that spirit of team camaraderie and unpretentiousness that was the esprit de corps of the fabled salaryman of the fabled Japanese industrial machine. The "total salaryman look" rounded out with a heavily starched white shirt, hopelessly food-stained tie and anachronistic tie clip clinging desperately to both.

All this began to change rapidly in the late '80s as affluence, designer brands and new corporate "identities" helped to usher in an era of self-consciousness. By the height of the "bubble" economy of the early '90s even the lowliest salaryman was ensconced in 200,000yen Armani's, Versace's and Ralph Lauren's. Shiny blue gave way to deep gray, worsted brown and fine Italian wool with "banker stripes". Shirts became blue, pink and broadcloth stripe with white French collars. Ties were of silk and shoes took a long stride from the leather-look vinyl loafers at 5,000 yen a pair, to the "Italian-tasseled" loafer with real leather uppers at 50,000 yen a shot. In came the Saville Row Bespoke Tailors to set up shop in Aoyama and the Ginza. In came the handmade shoemakers and the made-for-British-royalty umbrellas with their 60,000yen price tags. And as for socks: over-the-calf and thoroughly coordinated.

In a word, the salaryman had become the highly successful Japanese businessman. "Heibon Punch" gave way to Esquire and GQ as easily as Nissan "Sunny" gave way to Mercedes and BMW. All the credit cards were "Gold" and all the Scotch 24 years old. "Everyman" bought stock on margin and hundred million yen condos for his mistress on credit. Golf Club memberships started at ten million yen and the stream of got rich quick stories never seemed to end. But something else did end: the age of innocence. That ended big-time.

Today, with the bubble economy just another old story, more than 10 years of declining economic activity has wrought a few changes. To be sure, even the "restructured businessman" is more or less as style conscious as his Rolex embroidered predecessor. But these days the Rolex in question (and perhaps the girlfriend's Gucci as well) is as likely to be a cheap fake, or else purchased at one of the many post-bubble discount-brand shops in which no one would have been caught dead 20 years ago (if such shops had existed which, of course, they did not). Today's suit is no longer worn-out-in-the-seat blue, but neither is it wildly expensive nor brand name. Unless, that is, if you call The Suit Company, (which offers any suit for 19,000 or 29,000 yen, many with 2 pairs of paints) a brand name. Shirts still come in all sizes and colors, but more important are the newly "engineered" fabrics that have specific "functions" such as sweat absorption (essential it the teeth-grinding, post-bubble world), and self-starching properties (considering the current divorce rate). The tie clip is no longer in evidence in Tokyo although it is occasionally found alive and well in Osaka and the hinterlands. And though the tie is as essential a part of the uniform as ever it was, no self-respecting businessman will ever again be caught with a filthy, food-encrusted cravat.

As for tomorrow, if anything at all was learned by the rise and fall of the salaryman and his lifestyle, it was that it's better to be rich than poor. In other words, if and when the economy booms again we will most likely see another round of the same old thing. There will be new twists to be sure and designers, never heard of before, will be de rigueur. Perhaps in the future, companies might informally choose to adopt a "look". A company engaged in real estate might choose to adopt the "Shinjuku Host Club Look" featuring open shirts and lots of silver or gold adornments. Life insurance companies might opt for the " I-Look-So-Uncomfortable-In-A-Suit-Serious-Sportsman-Look". Or perhaps "wear once and throwaway" suits will be perfected and purchased from vending machines for the salaryman who slept in the park the night before an important sales presentation. And of course, all the accessories of today will be in evidence and then some. The Global Positioning watches, video cell-phones, talking and listening PDA's, laptops, pierces, bracelets, chains and maybe even the return of mood-rings. But as for that simple symbol of hard work and modest means, the lowly white sock: not a snowball's chance in hell.