# Senate says goodbye to dress code **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 20, 2023, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-says-goodbye-to-dress-code/990409 "2023-09-20T06:05:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-says-goodbye-to-dress-code/990409/21 "2023-09-20T21:10:01Z")
Hopefully I’ll get to vote for him in in 5-13 years or so. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-says-goodbye-to-dress-code/990409/22 "2023-09-20T21:48:16Z")
Fetterman has a little screen on his desk (“ a permanent live caption display monitor”) so he can read speeches and things. No one else has one. That’s not a put-down or insult, just a neat little fact. [John Fetterman Uses Assistive Technology in Senate: Exclusive | Time](https://time.com/6251752/john-fetterman-stroke-recovery-assistive-technology/) And that room is smaller than it looks on TV. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-says-goodbye-to-dress-code/990409/23 "2023-09-20T22:26:04Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > _and (seriously) That is why I voted Fetterman!_ Me too. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-says-goodbye-to-dress-code/990409/24 "2023-09-20T23:20:04Z")
That and the pot & Pride flags he used to fly. [Penn. Democrat plans to defy Republican-backed law banning his weed and LGBTQ rights flags](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/penn-democrat-hung-weed-lgbtq-rights-flags-capitol-gop-outlawed-n1256162) ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-says-goodbye-to-dress-code/990409/25 "2023-09-20T23:20:57Z")
and in related pettiness, the Missouri House voted for "The House’s existing dress code defined proper attire for women as “dresses or skirts or slacks worn with a blazer or sweater and appropriate dress shoes or boots,” ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-says-goodbye-to-dress-code/990409/26 "2023-09-20T23:28:42Z")
The Congressional dress code is undoubtedly the main issue of our time. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-says-goodbye-to-dress-code/990409/27 "2023-09-20T23:31:57Z")
I knew this was coming after they got rid of the spittoons. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-says-goodbye-to-dress-code/990409/28 "2023-09-20T23:34:43Z")
Personally, I think they ought to wear jumpsuits festooned with their donor logos, like NASCAR drivers. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-says-goodbye-to-dress-code/990409/29 "2023-09-20T23:46:04Z")
And helmets with team logos. Most of them would be the Oilers. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-says-goodbye-to-dress-code/990409/30 "2023-09-21T00:52:58Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > I knew this was coming after they got rid of the spittoons. It was all downhill since they stopped requiring powdered wigs. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-says-goodbye-to-dress-code/990409/31 "2023-09-21T01:12:27Z")
We should’ve seen it coming when they got rid of the stockings, pumps, and lace cravats. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-says-goodbye-to-dress-code/990409/32 "2023-09-21T01:57:11Z")
Perhaps they should mandate everyone wear a tan suit. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-says-goodbye-to-dress-code/990409/33 "2023-09-21T02:01:27Z")
Did the original dress code say WHERE the tie had to be worn? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-says-goodbye-to-dress-code/990409/34 "2023-09-21T06:12:51Z")
> > > Ursula Perano @UrsulaPerano ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-says-goodbye-to-dress-code/990409/35 "2023-09-21T07:05:06Z")
Excellent. I vehemently oppose the idea of a dress code in any legislature, as this is supposed to be a bastion of democracy, and that should include freedom of expression. If an individual thinks it is appropriate to wear a suit or other formal or business attire to a legislature, then they can do it themselves, but they should not impose their opinion on other members. I am a naturalized Czech citizen. There doesn’t seem to be a dress code there, and there have been instances of deputies in the Czech parliament wearing jeans, even one man in camo pants was sighted there. In the unlikely event that I were ever elected a deputy of the Czech parliament, I would also wear jeans there, though I might wear a jacket to deflect attention from the fact, and would tell off anyone who would call me out on it. (And in the even more unlikely event that I were elected President, I guess I would wear a suit to formal occasions, but not to the office every day, and even with the suit I think I wouldn’t wear a tie). I have also seen people in sweaters in the European parliament. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-says-goodbye-to-dress-code/990409/36 "2023-09-21T08:09:30Z")
I’m grateful that the party that seems to be okay with a little over-the-clothes mutual masturbation in movie theaters is doing something to prevent Senators from wearing jeans in Congress. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-says-goodbye-to-dress-code/990409/37 "2023-09-21T10:50:48Z")
> [@](#): > > Manchin tells me he spoke to Fetterman today about the Senate dress code change “I said ‘John, I think it’s wrong & there’s no way I can comply with that’…Wanted to tell him directly that I totally oppose it & I will do everything I can to try to hold the decorum of the Senate” Upthread I asked how they can enforce an unwritten rule. Now I want to know why Joe Manchin can’t comply when there isn’t a rule. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-says-goodbye-to-dress-code/990409/38 "2023-09-21T20:52:05Z")
As a survivor of Catholic schooling, I can tell you that I’m no fan of dress codes. As a machinist, I can tell you that certain clothes just go with the job. What that might imply for the senate, I don’t know. But let me ask this: Does Fetterman just have a preference for casual attire, or is there some kind of, I don’t know, mental health/theraputic reason for the choice of style? ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-says-goodbye-to-dress-code/990409/39 "2023-09-21T20:58:57Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Does Fetterman just have a preference for casual attire, or is there some kind of, I don’t know, mental health/theraputic reason for the choice of style? I’m guessing that at his size he struggles to find suits to wear. Dude is 6’8” and nearly 300 pounds. (And, for what it’s worth, I favor a return to the original dress code. If it was good enough when John Adams presided over the sessions, it’s ok by me) ---
**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:** [September 21, 2023, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-says-goodbye-to-dress-code/990409/40 "2023-09-21T21:00:03Z")
My impression is that it’s largely personal preference and comfort. I’m on board with someone like Fetterman saying “I’ll start dressing in formal adult clothes when ya’ll on the far right stop acting like clowns and children.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-says-goodbye-to-dress-code/990409.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-says-goodbye-to-dress-code/990409.md?page=3)