Do not come to work looking like you’re late for a cocktail party or a night at the club. I had a supervisor once who routinely wore sparkly, spangly, sweaters, blouses and skirts. She also wore a perfume that you could smell ten minutes before she got to your office. Oh yes…one of her favorite looks was a black bra under a white shirt. Ugh.

I set the dress code for my (corporate) law firm, and we “do” business casual, with the emphasis on business. Each person has to be dressed so as to be ready for client contact. I cut more slack for my part-time college students, since they do not have the wherewithal to have extensive work wardrobes. However, banned at all times are: jeans, shorts, skorts, very short mini skirts, untucked shirts, collarless shirts, tank tops, tee shirts with writing or images, sleeveless anything, sneakers, sandals, mules or slides, flip flops, peep-toed shoes, and anything that is rumpled,wrinkled, torn, dirty, or too revealing in anyway. Socks and hose must be worn , except for women in the summer.We are professionals, and should look that way while at work. I totally subscribe to the idea that one should dress for the job one wants. Common sense dictates, for the most part, what would be deemed appropriate (no evening gowns, e.g.) without having to spell it out.

shorts - i don’t care what you call them… they’re still shorts! and, those rubber flipflops & plunging necklines, too. it always makes me wonder… if you wear that out of the house, what do you wear behind closed doors??!!

Phyllis - lot’s of pants suits and longer skirt suits. but mostly pants suits or slacks. I just saw an old clip of knots landing with Nicollette Sheridan in her role as this business woman/vixen and laughed my ever lovin a - - off. She was dressed EXACTLY like I dressed for a couple of years. But there were other tv shows where the business women dressed like that. I saw a couple of them. All in the 80’s. Big shouldered blazers with super short skirts, sexy shirts and heels. I was just real influenced by that. They were all playing powerful female characters and that’s how I saw myself. But i’m not kidding when i said i never got ruled against in court! I did get called into chambers a lot though for meaningful conversations that were supposed to make me feel smart and special. Ha Ha… oh how much we learn as we get older huh. I actually thought the judges were interested in my brains!

Hey! WOW should do a video clip showing how women have been dressed at work in tv shows over the years! that would be fun!

Phyllis - actually it just dawned on me that then I started dressing like Mariska Hargitay (sp?) on Law and Order SVU! wow am I a sucker for advertising or what?

very similar to the question on 15 July. I have the same answer, but adding that perfume in any quantity that allows detection farther than 10-inches is too much and very offensive to me… I worked for 20-years in a company that had absolutely no dress code (except for Sales and Lawyers… and that was locally managed, no a policy) and we never had problems. The current CEO wears t-shirts and levi’s to work. “I do not notice mostly. I am a UC Berkeley graduate with a entrenched 60’s attitude… thank (input your favorite deity) that I am able to eat in most of the really great SF Bay Area restaurants in a t-shirt and shorts or jeans!!! Too bad some of them still have dress codes. That said , I do notice two things: 1) is s/he smoking? If so, I move up wind or far, far away, and 2) is s/he barely dressed? If so, I admire their courage, and if their body is pleasing, I admire that too! BTW: dark hair with electric color highlights (red, pink, blue, orange, yellow, whatever) is extremely pleasing!”

and speaking of dress codes… I have tried and tried to remove that avatar, but no joy. I have trashed the original, but it still comes back when I try to change it. Auggh!

I agree with most of what has been mentioned here. I work in a casual office and can wear comfortable clothes and shoes which I enjoy, for years I worked in a bank and wore suits and heels. I see a lot of the capris pants worn with a dress shoe (in winter with boots) I like these better than the short skirts some women wear. My biggest problem is with cleavage, I don’t want my bank teller or food server to show me her boobs !

I work in education, and the one standing rule seems to be “no jeans”. I have young teachers coming to work in t-shirts and flip-flops in warm weather. I’m not saying we should go back to pencil skirts and heels, but dress professionally. Nothing tight, nothing you have to tug at every time you get up, nothing that will confuse you with a high school/college student. Teachers are still seen as figures of authority, both on school grounds and out “in the public”. Parents DO talk about you. If you want to be taken seriously, adjust the wardrobe. No flip flops (what if you have to run after a child?). No short tops that expose your back or belly. No pants that when you bend down show off your bum. (kids know who wear these pants, and they do giggle about it, trust me). Go a little conservative. You can change after 3:30.

I just talked about how bad I was in my twenties so now I can complain about the twenty somethings currently working. One of my first times back in court after almost a decade out of it was last year. I’m sitting in the court room and one of the attorney’s was wearing low rider pants. the entire courtroom could see her thong! she was also about 20 pounds over weight and her shirt was to short and her belly was popping out of her low rider pants and to short shirt. I spent half my observation time trying to figure out who worked for the court and who the clients were. I saw other attorney’s wiht not just unbrushed hair.. but hair that was still flat in the back from sleeping. some super sloppy lookin folks. my favorite though was an attorney wearing THIGH HIGHS. she would cross her legs and you could see the top of her thigh high. coupled wiht her unbrushed hair, scuffed up chunky black flat shoes and ill fitting jacket.. it was quite the site. I was inappropriate but damn I looked hot! lol