Assuming you don’t have a required uniform, to what extent do you notice what your coworkers wear?
Since I sit in a cubicle all day, I’ll wear the same pants twice before laundering them, altho not in a row. So it may be black pants on Monday, khakis on Tues, black pants on Weds, khakis on Thurs. I wonder how likely it is that anyone would notice. In fact, if I wore khakis 2 days in a row, would that be noticed?
Honestly, the only time I ever paid attention to someone’s clothes at the office was when I noticed that my boss was wearing jeans in the middle of the week - and that just told me that jeans were OK office wear. I might notice shoes on occasion, but only when they’re brightly colored athletic shoes - the kid in the cubicle next to mine wears orange ones on occasion.
Beyond that, I really don’t pay attention. But I don’t much care about clothing anyway - I don’t follow fashion and I really don’t care what’s in style. Unless someone’s outfit is really out of place - like the woman who showed up one day dressed as if she’d been clubbing right before work - it just doesn’t register with me.
Which brings me back to my original question, with the following possible considerations:
[ul]
[li]Noticing one person in particular[/li][li]Noticing cleanliness more than clothing choices[/li][li]Noticing something brand new to their wardrobe[/li][li]Wondering how their mother lets them go out looking like that…[/li][/ul]
We have a business casual code, tending toward the casual end, but management and sales where suits, so I would notice the casual dressers in a suit, or the suits wearing casual.
I do if it’s not appropriate for our workplace, which involves about 4 hours per day on a public service desk. We have some staff members who wear clothes more appropriate for the beach than a library, and it makes me uncomfortable to have to share the desk with them.
I usually wear the same color and style of clothing – chinos and a dark mock turtleneck. Several times over the last 14 years my coworkers have staged a “dress like Arrendajo day.” It’s all in good fun – part of the fun is seeing how long it takes me to realize I’m being spoofed.
Warehouse-like situation. I’m noticed more than I notice others. We have visited an ungodly number of amusement parks and I have shirts from most of them. Way too many shirts. And I tend to rotate them. So ------- I have sometimes gotten the question “Just how many damn t-shirts do you own?” from one coworker or another.
I’d find that annoying, too. Tho not annoying as the coworker who used to comment on what I brought for lunch. I guess she was doing a survey of my supper leftovers?
I only notice when someone is especially dressed up or dressed down. If I see my supervisor wearing a tie, then I know there’s a high likelihood he’s conducting interviews.
Outside of that, not really. I’ll compliment a coworker if she’s wearing a fetching sweater or a piece of jewelry, but I’m probably not going to notice a bad outfit unless we’re talking fluorescent orange muu muu with sandals and socks.
I hope not, I rotate 3 pairs of pants Mon-Thurs and jeans on Friday. I never really noticed other people, and a person usually figures that the way they deal with the world is normal (at least average) so I assume that 3 different pairs over 4 days is OK.
I’ll notice really unfortunate choices or something that doesn’t look clean, but otherwise, I’d be hard pressed to tell you what I wore to work the day before, let alone what someone else wore. I just don’t care that much.
I work remotely. I can only see shirts, and that’s only when we have video meetings. I really, really hope they are all wearing pants. Beyond that, I don’t pay any attention to coworker’s clothing.
We don’t have a uniform, but we do have a dress code, which requires blue and/or white shirts for salesmen and black and/or white shirts for most others. If someone is wearing an unusual shade of blue or an odd pattern, or is dressed a little different from the others (skirt instead of pants, for instance, or the long sweaters the manager wears) I notice, but otherwise not.
So, is it the fluorescent orange, the muu-muu, or that sandals and socks that catch your eye…
I have a coworker who has some kind of foot problem, so as soon as he gets in the office, he takes off his shoes and puts on slippers. I only noticed that because they were bright blue. Had they matched is socks, they probably wouldn’t have stood out.
However, other people do notice.
When I find something I like I will buy multiples. I found a pair of shorts I liked so I bought 3 pairs in black and 3 pairs in navy. Several of my co-workers wanted to know why I wore the same pair of shorts day after day.
Kind of annoying really, I told them that if they had nothing better to do than notice what I am wearing they needed to get a life.
I did notice the guy who wore Jesus boots ever day. Once you got past the boots he was kind of nice looking.
This was the same place where one of my co-workers asked me if I ever pictured what other co-workers looked like when they were having sex. I thought he was weird until several other co-workers asked me the same thing.
I can honestly say that thought never crossed my mind - ICK!
I usually only notice when something is severely out of place, like the woman who was wearing a skirt that barely covered her hoo-ha. She got called into HR for that one but somehow didn’t get sent home.
We’re fairly casual, so one of my male co-workers wearing a tie would probably get noticed. Some of the women wear skirts/dresses, but most of us don’t. I’m more likely to notice new glasses or a new haircut than I am the clothes.
Seems like most people only notice the out of place or change of pace clothing, not really that much what others wear in particular. Doesn’t surprise me for Dopers, I’m going to ask my wife about this, I’m pretty sure she notices what the other women in her office wear in much more detail.
