I haven’t worked in an office in forever so I don’t have a clue what people wear or don’t wear to work. So here’s my guess, and it’s a long shot…’flip-flops.’

This takes me back to when I was a young girl, working as a legal secretary. I had landed a job of my soap opera dreams, and was sure I was on my path of a perfect career. The world was my oyster. I remember one of the seasoned secretaries. I was never sure whether I heard her coming down the hall first (click, click, click), or smelled her perfume first. Tiffany had arrived. She always looked as though she had just come in from a nightclub. She was a crackerjack legal secretary - brilliant and funny. She knew everything, and what she didn’t know, she could find out in a New York minute. She got away with her own dress code. As to the rest of us - well, here’s my What Not To Wear To The Office list - from your head to your toes: Hair that is spiked up, teased out, just Big Hair in general. Baseball caps. Doesn’t matter which way you turn it. Bright red lipstick (unless you’re Gwen Stefani); false eyelashes; black kohl rimmed eyes a la Cleopatra; makeup so thick that you could scrape it off with a putty knife. Big, dangly earrings; jangly bracelets, cocktail rings. Long, red nails. Strands of pearls that will get caught in your keyboard (unless you work at Chanel - in which case you probably won’t be typing). Heavy perfume. Cheap smelling perfume. Too much perfume. Visible lingerie. Black lingerie. Visible lace - anywhere. Cleavage. Halter tops. Midriff-length tops. Slip dresses. Shirts and blouses untucked. Gymwear. Jogging suits. Hawaiian shirts. Anything that says I’m getting ready for bed, or a barbecue. Anything too short, too tight, too sexy. Anything wrinkled or not clean. Jeans or shorts. Ripped pants. Ripped anything. Glittery outfits. Anything that screams, “I stayed out all night dancing, had breakfast at IHOP, and here I am!” Hiking boots, sneakers, sandals, and FLI P FLOPS. And let’s not forget - TOES. Even if you get thee to a pedicurist. TOES. Pants too tight, or too baggy. Usually a plumber’s problem, but can spill over to the office - no pun intended.

It used to be much stricter, as I am sure many of you recall. In my first office job I used to wear little skirt suits and heels and felt angry that I didn’t get a pantyhose allowance. I hated pantyhose and always kept a spare pair in my desk because you never knew when they would get caught on something and run. I didn’t really mind the heels; I found many that were comfortable and stylish. But you could not have bare legs even on the hottest summer days. I love that this has changed. I cannot remember the last pair of pantyhose I bought. Last winter I bought black tights. Those I like. Every woman looks good in black tights.

Yeah, this is a subject I’ve grappled with- my husband and I own what might be called a “creative” business, we produce TV commercials and it’s common for production and advertising types to wear casual (read hipster) clothes. Over the years we have seen people wear things in our office that I have found somewhat inappropriate but by and large it’s been OK. A few years back we hired a young woman to be our receptionist/office manager, she showed up for her interview in a business suit, we hired her and soon she noticed that other people wore more relaxed outfits and before I know it this woman starts arriving to work in what I would call her pajamas, sweat pants, tank tops, flip flops, cutoff sweat pant shorts, you name it, her hair usually twisted up and clamped up with one of those hair claw things, it was awful… we had to talk to her about it so she then started wearing her “nice” sweats, thank god she moved on to another job after about a year and a half, but who in their right minds would think it’s OK to go to work in loungewear?

Heavy-duty perfume is not appreciated in a close office environment. I have gotten to the point where I wear no perfume at all at work, because there are some who waft in on a cloud of scent that hurts my eyes and throat. Also, I have nothing against tattoos, but in my workplace people who have them must cover them up, always. The machinations people have to go through to do this makes me glad I never got one. Maybe when I retire!

With jewelry, piercings are a puzzling topic for the office. I personally don’t care for nose rings, and those tongue studs, but I see folks wearing them all the time, so, to each her own. I don’t like too many ear piercings, like the ones that go all the way up the earlobe. Personally, I have one stud earring in my left ear and three in my right, which may sound odd, but I wear small, pretty, crystal studs and get compliments all the time. Ah, rebellion. …

I think clothing should be chosen for the kind of job you have and where you work. If it’s in an office then no short short dresses……….no plunging neck lines… No matter where you work your clothes should not be a distraction to performing a good job. I think really the most important thing is to be neat and clean……….especially clean shiny hair. No chipped nail polish. No open toed shoes unless you have a good pedicure. I live in California………very few women wear closed toed shoes. Also if you wear makeup be modest not look like a street walker.

I have never worked in an office but I would agree with most of the previus comments. I worked in sales in publishing and that industry is a little more forgiving in attire as you’re dealing with, and beside, an ecclectic group of people who (whom?) rather enjoy a bit of eccentricity.

now we have two trolls, welen anne and kelly husin… hopefully they can be stopped.