Would a stricter dress code bring political order?

For those who don’t mind a bit of fashion eye candy, the members of New Zealand's Parliament have increasingly been serving up tasty treats.

We’ve had decades of sharp dressing from New Zealand First’s Winston Peters, our current foreign minister, with his pinstriped suits, tie, and pocket square.

The hat game of Te Pāti Māori's Rawiri Waititi has to be one of the best in the land. Not to be outdone is Waititi's party co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, whose Victorian-era styles (think high lace collars, long ruffled skirts and tail coats) are a form of protest dressing.

The Act Party’s Brooke van Velden constantly catches the eye in her pink fits.

​And then there is Chlöe Swarbrick, the Green Party co-lead, who isn’t opposed to wearing a casual collared shirt in what appears to be a natural and biodegradable fabric such as linen (very sustainable).

​However, this parliamentary fashion show might be nearing its last lap on the catwalk or at least entering a subdued phase. This week, speaker of the house Gerry Brownlee signalled a crackdown on Parliament's dress code is coming, like a private school headmaster scolding students whose socks aren’t pulled high enough.

​Those who support tighter rules and more enforcement say the relaxed restrictions - the former speaker Trevor Mallard nixed a neck tie rule for men - has encouraged unruly behaviour. For example, on Tuesday an “unsanctioned” haka broke out following the maiden speech of new Te Pāti Māori MP Oriini Kaipara. Her bare feet and long speech also sent Parliament's knickers into a knot.

​However, Green MP Ricardo Menéndez March cautioned the speaker against attempting to be parliament’s “fashion police” arguing a tighter dress code would diminish the representation of MPs from various cultural backgrounds.

​While bickering over Parliament's dress code is not new, Dr Bobby Luke Campbell, a Māori designer and senior lecturer at Auckland University of Technology, has seen New Zealand’s politicians in the last few years increasingly use clothing to reinforce a political message or a protest.

​“...whether it's a scarf, a pin, the colour of their outfit, the style of their hair, there's always something political about it.”

​“You can see they are starting to be more considerate about what they are wearing,” he says.

​Speaking of pins, even MPs from the conservative, suit-wearing ACT Party got a scolding last year for - shockingly - wearing party-branded lapel pins. Logos are not allowed in the House, nor are shorts.

​And sometimes it’s not always about political allegiance. Campbell’s favourite politician to watch fashion-wise is Peters, even though Campbell doesn’t align with the 80-year-old’s politics.

​“It's that consistency. You can tell when someone's wearing a good suit.”

​Doris de Pont, founder of the New Zealand Fashion Museum, says the casualisation of parliamentary dress reflects the increasingly casual dress of everyday people.

​“I think it’s a critical thing to remember Parliament is a house of representatives and our house of representatives has become more representative of who we are, and so it should also reflect that in how we dress and how we turn up because we are representing just all of the diversity that is New Zealand,” de Pont told RNZ’s Afternoons.

However, that doesn't mean there shouldn't be some rules in Parliament.

"I'm a big fan of dressing for your role, for the purpose whatever that might be whether that is going to a party or going to the office for work or going to Parliament.

"You are representing yourself and the role that you are playing, and you should think of that when you get dressed in the morning."

​Checks Downtown is a unisex street style brand and a favourite of Swarbrick, the Green’s party co-leader. The brand’s founder Jordan Gibson has seen his clothes on other Green Party politicians, including Tamatha Paul, the MP for Wellington Central.

​“Some politicians have maybe latched on to what we do, that in my estimation, is looking to present a more approachable, connectable image.

​“Our clothing is rooted in everyday items that you'd see people walking down the street wearing, but with some sort of elevated context, with that it's a little bit larger than life.”

​More conservative politicians who lean towards the traditional suit and tie are attempting to communicate “I'm reliable, or I'm powerful, or I'm financially responsible,” Gibson adds.

​Peters, who is almost always in a suit and tie, told the media on Wednesday that current dress codes have caused an "absolute circus".

​But what evidence is there that a tighter dress code would improve politicians' behaviour?

​Research into school uniforms might offer an indirect clue, says Dr Johanna Reidy, a lecturer of public health at the University of Otago who has researched school uniforms.

“Schools will have uniforms because they remove distractions and they help students settle down to task more... but there is no evidence linking uniforms to better behaviour or pro-social behaviour necessarily.”

​Often, a traditional school uniform that calls for a blazer and tie is meant to communicate professionalism, says Reidy. However, whose profession are we modelling this off?

​“If you're a solicitor or an accountant or a surgeon, does that mean that you're more professional than a cleaner or a bus driver or a drain layer, you know? So whose profession?”

​School uniforms or a strict dress code can cause havoc for cultural expression.

​“If I were talking to the speaker, I would say, ‘What's your aim? Are you trying to raise the standards to reduce distraction? Or are you trying to impose a certain cultural look or identity?

​“Because, you know what, you can be really smart in one way, in your cultural dress, but not be in a suit and tie, but you're being tip-top smart and respectful in your cultural dress.”