# Dress Code **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 28, 2015, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dress-code/721079 "2015-05-28T22:59:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dress-code/721079/21 "2015-05-29T17:48:21Z")
> [@Marion\_Wormer](#): > > It also said that women had to have a doctor’s excuse not to wear high heels. I turned to the chair and exhibited the lively foul language that I am noted for, “F\* corporate, and f\* the horse they rode in on. If they want me to get a doctor’s excuse for not wearing high heels because I have bad feet, they can give me a day off, pay the bill, and go to hell.” Ah. You work for the Cannes Film Festival I see. 😉 Never worked in a place with a code outside of don’t be stupid. Plenty of people wear jeans, some people wear shorts. We’ve managed not to sink into oblivion. And notice that they’ve finally got rid of the dress code in Dilbert only about two decades after the rest of the tech industry. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dress-code/721079/22 "2015-05-29T18:13:03Z")
Our company just declared “caual summer” for our office. This basically means anything down to jeans, polo shirt and sneakers (all pieces must be clean/not ripped). The written announcement was hand delivered to all ~1,000 desks, complete with a trifold brochure with 32 full color pictures showing examples of appropriate attire. Yes, the brochure and pictures are necessary, and as a manager I will still have to send people home for inappropriate dress. Sigh. ---
**Author:** ![jonesj2205](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecc23a/32.png) [@jonesj2205](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jonesj2205)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dress-code/721079/23 "2015-05-29T18:35:45Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I never saw the need for a dress code, then an employee began dressing in dirty rags, angering her coworkers. So, my employees wrote up a dress code and I approved it. Years later, and employee reported _me_ to the office manager for not following the dress code. > > I thought it was a joke, but it turned out the woman had a “rules obsession” problem. I told her it was my business, and I could wear whatever. She strenuously disagreed, arguing that “rules are for everyone!!”. So, I rewrote the dress code to state, "Everyone except **kayaker** must . . ". > > That freaked her out and she quit. Just wanted to acknowledge how absolutely wonderful this story is. Love it. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dress-code/721079/24 "2015-05-29T18:40:17Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > I would have paid good money to see that guy in a ball gown. Bonus: he was about 5’5", rotund, and sported a goatee and a hell of an amazing combover. And the ball gown was a strapless number, with sequins on the top, and a long, full skirt made of layers of tulle-like material. Cobalt blue. It was _epic_. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dress-code/721079/25 "2015-05-29T18:45:49Z")
I used to work with a woman who was the reason for idiot dress codes. When I started working there the dress code was simple. Business dress Monday to Thursday, jeans or khakis allowed on Fridays. Then SHE started. You know those suits they sell at Victoria’s Secret and you wonder what kind of office you could wear those to? It wasn’t ours. Within days there was a “skirts must be longer than your fingertips with arms held straight down your sides” amendment. Shortly after that there was a cleavage amendment (ie, please don’t wear shirts or dresses where the neckline allows us to see your belly button). After the denim suit incident (It’s a business suit not jeans, I said NO denim except on Fridays) we started taking bets on the next revision. She was cordially invited to find alternate employment shortly after that. Unfortunately she was still dating/living with my husbands friend so I had a few more years of putting up with her antics in (thankfully) non office related situations before I finally snapped and refused to keep babysitting her every time they went out together. He was so offended that he stopped talking to my husband, which I had predicted and was the reason I lasted so long. He was a really nice guy, he just had terrible taste in women. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dress-code/721079/26 "2015-05-29T18:46:49Z")
I worked for several years at a call center that was one small step above telemarketing. This was the kind of place where the local stoners would work to fund their recreational activities. We had an old guy there for a while that used to keep mouthwash in his locker (because liquor was specifically banned) and get drunk off it on his break. This was not the cream of society, is what I’m telling you. It was a big cube farm of phones. That’s it. Literally no one outside of the company so much as set foot in the place. All interaction with the public was via phone. And yet, for a looong time, they demanded business casual wear. NO jeans. NO shorts. Even in the summer, when it was sweltering and the A/C was broken. It was ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dress-code/721079/27 "2015-05-29T18:48:34Z")
Once my Senior Chief Petty Officer nailed me for wearing navy blue socks with my uniform. I told him, in all honesty, “I swear to God, Senior Chief, they were black when I put them on at 0545 this morning!” ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dress-code/721079/28 "2015-05-29T19:07:54Z")
Grumpy Bunny, I just shared your ballgown story with the other HR person in my office - a long-time veteran of the job just like me. We are still wiping the laughter tears from our eyes! Thank you. You made our day! I’ve had to have ‘the talk’ with various employees over the years for violating dress codes. Being that I was in a dangerous manufacturing environment, those talks were mostly over safety equipment issues (ie, no your hard hat doesn’t work correctly if worn backwards like a ball cap), but I’ve had some other lulus, too. There was one guy who had a fondness for “let me see your \*\*\*s” tee shirts that had to be dissuaded from wearing them. I swear the guy must have had a dozen of them in various colors. Must have been such a pleasure to be his wife and accompany him in public. aaaak. But the worst of the ‘talks’ were the ones I had to have with folks who had cleanliness issues (worn the exact same jeans for 2 weeks straight without a wash, never showered or washed their hair). A, I had to have them shut up with me in a closed office; and B, I wasn’t and didn’t want to be their mother. The worst one ever, though, was the mother and daughter team with head lice. We practically had a mutiny on the floor, no one would work anywhere near either of these toxic tootsies. We had to cordon off that part of the production line and have it fumigated. My office too. I had to suspend them from work until the problem was corrected and was the lucky one who had to inspect them when they returned before I let them back out on the floor. And y’all wonder why HR folks are grouchy? lol ---
**Author:** ![MoonMoon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonmoon/32/2959_2.png) [@MoonMoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoonMoon)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dress-code/721079/29 "2015-05-29T20:08:32Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > Our company just declared “caual summer” for our office. This basically means anything down to jeans, polo shirt and sneakers (all pieces must be clean/not ripped). The written announcement was hand delivered to all ~1,000 desks, complete with a trifold brochure with 32 full color pictures showing examples of appropriate attire. > > Yes, the brochure and pictures are necessary, and as a manager I will still have to send people home for inappropriate dress. Sigh. We just started summer dress too, and I’ve already noticed that a young woman wore leggings as pants several times (and this is a pretty conservative environment). I swear, if she ruins if for all of us I’ll have a conniption. ---
**Author:** ![trapezoidal\_jellyfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6f9a4e/32.png) [@trapezoidal\_jellyfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trapezoidal_jellyfish)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dress-code/721079/30 "2015-05-29T21:02:13Z")
In contrast to most of the stories here, I worked in a place where the dress code was probably a bit too lax. It was a tourist attraction with a lot of families with children of all ages. A couple of our younger staffers had a tendency to wear extremely short skirts, and their jobs required them to bend over quite a bit. If an adult standing 20 feet away could see their underwear, I can’t even imagine the eyeful that some of those little kids must have gotten! ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2015, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dress-code/721079/31 "2015-05-30T17:16:13Z")
I started in my government employment as a junior clerk, wearing a jacket and tie. These days, as a midlevel finance officer, I wear jeans and a casual shirt every day. No contact with the public in any of my jobs, and I haven’t even heard mention of dress codes for over a decade. I expect that for our offices dealing with the public and at executive levels there would be something, however. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2015, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dress-code/721079/32 "2015-05-30T19:07:25Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I had to look up what culottes were. So did I, but I’m not sure from the wiki article exactly what clothing the code is referring to. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=18399124](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=18399124) ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2015, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dress-code/721079/33 "2015-05-30T19:36:44Z")
> [@jonesj2205](#): > > Just wanted to acknowledge how absolutely wonderful this story is. Love it. I hate it. If it was stupid rule that was broken, it shouldn’t have been a rule. But bosses do that all the time. Rules are for little people. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Angry\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b38774/32.png) [@The\_Angry\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Angry_Badger)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dress-code/721079/34 "2015-05-31T02:19:01Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > And notice that they’ve finally got rid of the dress code in Dilbert only about two decades after the rest of the tech industry. Ugh yes, I remember those days - back in the day (very late nineties) I used to work in IT, fairly low level. Basically, I used to fix computers at client sites. As this was with a lot of corporate offices in the middle of London, required dress was a (dark) suit and tie. That was all very well, but a lot of my job involved crawling around under desks and in dusty server rooms\*. Most days, I’d end up going home covered in dust (in my dry clean only suit), covered in wrinkles and looking a dishevelled mess. \*when I say ‘server rooms’, I’m not talking about the shiny, air-conditioned, purpose built rooms you might be thinking of. These were generally small offices and the ‘server room’ was - literally - just the room where the server was kept. Usually some basement storage room that hadn’t seen a cleaner in two decades. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dress-code/721079/35 "2015-05-31T03:04:42Z")
When I was working for the US Census Bureau, we were required to wear cuffed pants, no jeans, and collared shirts, no T shirts. Which I understood and appreciated. We were dealing with the public, in their homes. > [@](#): > > Non-management: red company polo, either black or khaki pants. > Management: blue company polo, either black or khaki pants. Good thing this isn’t a Star Trek episode. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dress-code/721079/36 "2015-05-31T03:28:14Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > In the late 1990s, my former employer sent an updated dress code email to all employees, which included a list of items that women were not allowed to wear. Included on the list, puzzlingly, was “ball gowns”. > > After we had all signed that we’d read the policy and the paperwork was sent off to HR, a male colleague showed up one day wearing a full-length, full-skirted ball gown to work, and (correctly) argued that the dress code did not say that \*men \*couldn’t wear ball gowns. > > Dress code strict-constructionism, we joked at the time. Our management didn’t get it. :smack: When we were in our 20s, one of my friends worked at an MR/DD group home, which didn’t pay all that well. Her boss was always complaining that the employees didn’t dress “nice” enough, and my friend said, “But we aren’t paid enough to dress the way you want us to!” Being a woman in her 20s, as were quite a few of her co-workers, they all had several bridesmaid’s dresses that they knew they would never wear again. They all considered wearing them to work to teach the boss a lesson, and probably would have had they not had a slight tendency to show a little too much cleavage, considering the clientele they worked with. 😛 In 1993, during the “Shit Happens” era, I worked at a closed-door pharmacy that had no dress code to speak of beyond shirt and shoes. One evening (I worked 2nd shift), a guy showed up wearing a t-shirt that had the F word on it in foot-high letters. :smack: He was told to turn the shirt inside and and not wear it again, and they added “no profanity on clothing” to the dress code list. For those of you who’ve seen a lot of my posts, in case you’re wondering if this is the guy who said he saw GG Allin, you’re right. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dress-code/721079/37 "2015-05-31T03:38:37Z")
> [@Marion\_Wormer](#): > > The committee rejected my proposed rule that men had to wear undershirts because I was tired of “nipple peek” through thin shirts My old boss was extremely hairy. How do I know this? He often wore white shirts with no undershirt. ETA: We worked at a hospital, and one rule was “People must wear undergarments.” We all interpreted it as “women must wear bras”. :smack: Also, at the closed-door pharmacy, there was a woman who worked there (I never found out exactly what she did; she was not a pharmacist and didn’t handle drugs or prescriptions in any capacity) who dressed like she was going to a wedding or a formal party - heavy sequined dresses and makeup that looked like it was applied with a trowel.😕 ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dress-code/721079/38 "2015-05-31T04:02:28Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Non-management: red company polo, either black or khaki pants. > > Management: blue company polo, either black or khaki pants. > > Good thing this isn’t a Star Trek episode. Oh, yeah, we get “redshirt” jokes at work among the geeky staff. ---
**Author:** ![Stealth\_Potato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Stealth\_Potato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Potato)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dress-code/721079/39 "2015-05-31T09:32:06Z")
As a software engineer on the U.S. west coast, the very idea of a dress code makes me scratch my head in befuddlement. I show up to work in skin-tight biking spandex every morning and wear whatever I could cram into my backpack during the day. I mean, that said, I happen to work in an office where I and most of my coworkers dress reasonably fashionably by choice, but what that means varies from week to week. The only formal requirement is that the only time we’re allowed to actually be in our underwear is at our own desks. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dress-code/721079/40 "2015-05-31T15:00:34Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > When I was working for the US Census Bureau, we were required to wear cuffed pants, _\_ When I first read this, I saw “cutoff pants” and it really confused me. Especially knowing how the gummint can be about dress codes. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dress-code/721079.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dress-code/721079.md?page=3)