A question on business attire etiquette

[Scrumhalf]

I have to go on a week-long trip to Japan. I will be visiting some chemical suppliers and essentially be with the same basic group of scientists and business personnel for about 4-5 days visiting laboratories and in meetings.

I have seen my Japanese colleagues wear the same suit 3 days in a row (hopefully with a different shirt and underwear each day but I never asked

). Is there any guideline on how many days in a row a suit can be worn, purely from an etiquette standpoint (i.e. there is no issue with odor, cleanliness, etc.).

I was thinking of taking along my business suit as well as a blazer and a few dressy pants and switching between the business suit and the blazer every other day.

 

[alliswell]

No etiquette, AFAIK. Like shoes, suits much prefer to be rotated. The Japanese are much more formal than Americans are these days, so I'd recommend that you solve your problem by bringing two suits, two pairs of dress shoes and all the shirts and ties you need to look different every day.

 

[Will]

A worsted needs a day off after a wearing. A flannel needs two.

 

[Dragon]

The common Japanese business man considers the suit to be more like a school uniform. Hygiene aside, you could easily get away with wearing the same suit all the time.

 

[penguin vic]

On a 7-day trip (ie. 7 working days) I would take 3 suits as a minimum. My own personal rule - I think it allows a decent rotation without overpacking. It would also depend, of course, on what functions, etc. are planned.

 

[bbaquiran]

How do you know they don't just own multiple, identical suits?

 

[Scrumhalf]

Originally Posted by bbaquiran

How do you know they don't just own multiple, identical suits?

I don't... I suppose they could, like a uniform.