I think the middle panel of this Dilbert strip sums it up nicely 
My office recently when from ‘business casual and jeans on Friday’ to ‘jeans always OK’.
This is good…in theory.
However, many co-workers are now dressing like they either just rolled out of bed, are on their way to the beach, or are getting ready to clean out the garage.
This will not last. We are in a very conservative industry.
There is this tendency, on the Straight Dope, for people to derail every discussion about “Is something socially right?” into a “Is it legal or illegal?” thread.
You could have a thread about “Was it fair for my boss to fire me for wearing pink when other employees are allowed to wear pink all the time?” and then someone will chime in, “If this was an at-will employment state, then he was ***legally ***allowed to fire you!”
I think you’re mistaken about most pants needing ironing.
I own several decent-looking cotton khaki pants with a small amount of stretch lycra in the fabric and they never get ironed and never need it.
Mine came from LLBean but I’m sure they’re available everywhere.
I forget how lucky I am. Not only do I wear jeans and flip flops but I bring my dog to work almost every day. Lucky me.
Very sensible. Sometimes you just have to take care of yourself and giving work to someone else counts.
My industry is whacky (software). Programmers wear whatever they want. In other parts of the company, folks tend to dress more formally. Creative types (designers) get away with anything. Women can wear jeans any day as long as they’re dressed up (nice blouse, nice shoes). There is no such thing as casual Friday.
I agree with this. OP, I very much disagree that you have no choice but to pay hefty dry cleaning bills if you’re not allowed to wear jeans. For tops, I actually love sweaters (cotton works for 3 seasons). I like the look more than shirts/blouses, and they’re easy care for the most part. And if you hang up permanent press pants right out the dryer, they look fine.
I do agree, however, that leggings and yoga pants are not appropriate for the office unless they’re worn with long tunic tops. I once sent a girl home for wearing bike shorts into the office, I guess she thought she’d try it out. Nope.
I also agree about flip flops because of the annoying noise. Flat sandals with the strap across the instep are fine with me.
Geez, over 20 years ago I worked for a company where men had to be in suit and tie at all times and wearing their coat every time they stepped away from their desks. But the women could pretty much wear whatever they wanted.
Companies still do that crap?
I think our current dress code is that you can’t wear shirts with words or graphics on them, but otherwise you just can’t wear anything dirty, torn or inappropriate. We’ve had a couple of new managers over the years complain to higher ups about it (wanting stricter guidelines), but it has always survived reorgs and new upper management.
The thing with yoga pants is that if they are made of a thick black material, from a distance they look like slacks. Especially if you pair them with a nice dress shirt.
How are jeans more comfortable than pants? I see a lot of preference for jeans over dress pants, but they feel the same to me.
I don’t bother ironing my dress pants either, just fold them right out of dryer, and it looks good enough. If people are getting away with yoga pants and flip-flops, you don’t need to dry clean your dress pants.
moojja, that’s a great question, I have often thought the same thing, and agree that jeans are no more comfortable. Could be partly psychological, nothing wrong with that. And when it comes to comfortable, dresses are the winner in some circumstances.
I think it’s the uniformity of them. At least for me. And I am just used to the fit, and the thickness of the fabric. I will wear cargo shorts and stuff, but ‘dress’ pants just don’t feel right. Not at all.
There are also Ponte pants which bridge the gap between yoga pants and dress pants. Thick, stretchy, and very comfy. I wonder if some of what OP is calling leggings are actually Ponte pants.
We’re not allowed to wear jeans ever in my department. Other areas of the hospital can, but we’re business casual or better at all times. I very rarely need to dry clean anything, though. I buy my clothes mostly at Loft and Banana Republic, and most things are machine washable.
Black yoga pants with a long butt covering blouse or top OK. Skin tight latex work out yoga pants tights in holy shit MY EYES wild patterns and short tops-YECH. But i’ve seen it.
I have lots of Chino-style casual pants that work fine for the type of office that allows yoga pants but not jeans. Also a few pairs of “slacks” that are washable and come out with no wrinkles. Everything is machine wash/dry. I don’t even own an iron.
I thrift almost all of my clothes - Two Many - get yourself to either Unique on Western or Village Discount. I set myself up with a season’s worth of clothes for about $30. Especially if you’re an average size, I don’t spend more than about an hour finding tons of stuff I have to then pare down for purchase.
I worked in one place that had casual Fridays. Not only was a woman sent home to change clothes for wearing low-slung yoga pants (complete with “whale tail”), but that was enough to get casual Fridays canceled for everyone. Boo.
Savers is another great place, if you live in a state that has them. I get a lot for my money there.
I once had a temp job doing back office support for UPS. The “business casual” dress code for men required dress shoes, dress pants, a dress shirt (which had to be tucked in); ties were option. There was no customer interaction at all, even over the phone, our workspace was in a basement, and our hours were 8:30-5. That’s 8:30pm to 5am. :smack: To be fair the day shift had the same dress code.
One of the most awesome devices we ever purchased that was fully in the category of “it seems like a gimmick” was the pro-quality Jiffy steamer. I bought it ten or fifteen years ago and it has served us faithfully over the years, making ironing fast and painless.
I do catch my wife using a regular iron on things from time to time, but the vast majority of ironing in our home is actually just hanging the garments up and steaming them, just like the employees do at clothing stores.
No, they don’t.
You are either buying high-maintenance clothes or have set a high standard for yourself. If the latter then you are of course free to choose not to wear unpressed clothes, but I have never had difficulty finding office-appropriate clothes that look fine without ironing.