By Tori Turner

There has been much comment in my office this week about the antics of Nick Leslau and Mike Brown, photographed in last week’s edition of Property Week to promote the launch of their £200m stock market listed property fund, Max Property.
So have people been debating whether they have called the market right, or even where they got the name from? No. The older guys in my office have been getting extremely agitated about the fact that neither man is wearing a tie.
Millionaire tycoon or office boy, the property industry is hardly noted for its sartorial originality – in fact, the standard uniform of the pin-striped suit and Windsor knot has hardly changed over the years. But after a quick poll of my female property compatriots (well, you could hardly expect men to notice fashion trends!) it seems that Leslau’s no-tie antics may be pointing the way forwards.
At least his (unbuttoned) shirt is white, and not covered in some garish pastel stripe or pattern, which the male fashion offender tends to accent with an equally nauseous tie. And I suspect that his shoes – if we could see them – would not have the ridiculous winkle-picking pointy toe favoured by some young male surveyors. Peering closely at the photo through my half-moon spectacles, nor can I detect any traces of the biggest fashion crime to befall property men in dark suits – dandruff on the shoulders.
I ate my lunch in Berkeley Square on a sunny day recently with a friend, and noticed a worrying new male “dress down” trend, namely mustard cords teamed with a white shirt and bright red jumper or (even worse) tank top. Commonly accessorised with a Black n’ Red book tucked under the arm. Please stop it at once! You look like Rupert the Bear in human form.
Now, it would be unfair of me not to mention a few distasteful female dress-down errors, although I have a feeling that most of these have probably been warmly received by property blokes. Firstly, the trend for skirts with a big slit up the back. Why? As you walk through the office, we can practically see what you had for breakfast. Then there’s ultra short “City shorts” with tights – unless you are a stick insect, you will look fat, and even if you are very skinny, you will just look like a tart. And just because we are in a slump doesn’t mean that trousers should be abandoned in favour of (gulp) leggings. I don’t care if they are a designer label, there are certain parts of the female anatomy that should not be encapsulated in skin-tight lycra for the world to see.
And if there are any crimes against fashion going on in your office, I want to hear about it.