# Those who work from home, what is your dress code? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 22, 2009, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-work-from-home-what-is-your-dress-code/507305 "2009-08-22T12:57:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-work-from-home-what-is-your-dress-code/507305/21 "2009-08-23T01:50:10Z")
> [@SCSimmons](#): > > So am I the only one who sometimes works in the nude? > > OK, not normally … but still. 'Fess up!! 😉 I’ve talked to clients on the phone in the nude, but I wasn’t specifically “working” . . . it’s just that the phone rang and I was getting out of the tub, or had just stripped to get dressed, and was expecting the call. I will never get a webcam. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-work-from-home-what-is-your-dress-code/507305/22 "2009-08-23T02:00:44Z")
I don’t yet work from home but I am doing my medical transcription training at home. The training I am doing is the same as what I’ll be doing when I start working. I generally wear pajamas. Of course, I always wear pajamas, unless I’m going to physical therapy. I wear pajama bottoms or a pair of boxers I got from my first college bookstore. For shirts I’ll generally wear a tank top or a t-shirt. If I get chilly, I’ll put on slippers and my shawl. I do not wear any undergarments when I’m at home. I’m sure this wont change when I start working since HIPPA wont exactly let me do my job in a public place. I find that I get my school work done faster when I am comfortable and jeans or slacks just aren’t comfortable. I also generally sit at the kitchen table with my feet up on a chair. Comfort all the way. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-work-from-home-what-is-your-dress-code/507305/23 "2009-08-23T02:12:41Z")
I have to get dressed. I don’t have to dress fancy. I have these velour sort of jogging suits that are one-half step above sweats, that I wear a lot. They’re practical for most of the year. Leggings and a long tunic (or a long sweatshirt) are not untypical. When it’s hot, shorts. If I’m going to be leaving the house I adopt the formal attire of jeans. Sometimes if I’m meeting with my boss I even wear non-jean slacks. Not usually, though. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-work-from-home-what-is-your-dress-code/507305/24 "2009-08-23T02:46:46Z")
> [@SCSimmons](#): > > So am I the only one who sometimes works in the nude? > > OK, not normally … but still. 'Fess up!! 😉 I was working in the buff one day when a friend stopped over unannounced. I chose to not answer the door so she walks to my office window and peeks in…:eek:… she never did it again. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-work-from-home-what-is-your-dress-code/507305/25 "2009-08-23T03:14:35Z")
I probably would work in the nude but I generally work at night and my whole family is here. The last thing I need is for one of my nephews to wake up and see me. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-work-from-home-what-is-your-dress-code/507305/26 "2009-08-23T04:20:19Z")
I’ll work topless sometime just for fun, but the funny thing is I’ll most likely do it when my work partners are not around - even though neither of them work with me in my house, we just talk over IM. Something just doesn’t feel “right” about talking to them while I’m topless 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-work-from-home-what-is-your-dress-code/507305/27 "2009-08-23T12:43:26Z")
On the days I work from home, I wear shorts or sweats and a T-shirt. On the days I have to go out and talk to people, I have to dress business casual. I prefer to work from home. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-work-from-home-what-is-your-dress-code/507305/28 "2009-08-23T13:47:54Z")
I’m working right now (waiting for a report to compile) and I’m wearing my pyjamas, a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. I never get dressed unless I’m leaving the house, and when I get back, I tend to put on “houseclothes” which is either pyjamas or clothes that have been downgraded due to age/wear/stains to a “not suitable for public” but too useful to throw out category. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-work-from-home-what-is-your-dress-code/507305/29 "2009-08-23T14:33:08Z")
Whatever I’m comfortable in. Shorts. shorts and TShirt. Winter maybe sweats and a heavier shirt. ---
**Author:** ![Magicicada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c67d28/32.png) [@Magicicada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magicicada)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-work-from-home-what-is-your-dress-code/507305/30 "2009-08-24T02:03:13Z")
I have an outside job that I actually get paid to do, but when I’m at home working on what I hope to someday get paid doing, I dress up a bit, because it increases the likelihood that I’ll actually stay at my desk and not wander off to do housework. Four inch heels are generally pretty effective in this regard. And yeah, people dropping by (i.e., my mother, Jehovah’s Witnesses, etc.) have sometimes been treated to the sight of the heels being paired with, say, cut-offs, because I didn’t want to take the time to do the whole work-at-home outfit. ---
**Author:** ![Brainiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8797f3/32.png) [@Brainiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2009, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-work-from-home-what-is-your-dress-code/507305/31 "2009-08-25T20:30:57Z")
I’m happy to work at home in tees and jeans, no socks, and the mocs off my feet. But it has to be in the “office”. Not in the rest of the house, where I will use the computer, but not for work. When the guy from the company comes by I’ll put on socks, newish black jeans, and an ironed shirt. Which I change out of when he’s gone. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2009, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-work-from-home-what-is-your-dress-code/507305/32 "2009-08-25T22:06:43Z")
In the summer I work in baggy shorts and a T-shirt; in the winter, sweatpants, T-shirt and a hoodie or big baggy sweater. I definitely get more done at home, since I’ve got my nice environment, my feline coworkers, and my 22-inch monitor, as opposed to my silent, bare cubicle (I have to go in 2 days a week–I can pick the days) and tomblike office floor (most of the other workers telecommute too, and they usually pick different days to come in than I do). ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2009, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-work-from-home-what-is-your-dress-code/507305/33 "2009-08-25T22:13:45Z")
Shorts, sandals and a T-shirt. Basically the same as my “office clothes”. I love programming 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Pearson\_Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pearson_flyer/32/7241_2.png) [@Pearson\_Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pearson_Flyer)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2009, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-work-from-home-what-is-your-dress-code/507305/34 "2009-08-25T23:19:07Z")
Pajama bottoms and a t-shirt. I’ll throw jeans on if I need to hit up Starbucks or grab some groceries, but as soon as I’m back in the door, off go the jeans and on go the pj’s. Friends and family know if they stop over, I’m working, and I’m in my pj’s. They can deal with it. I’ve worked from home for almost 10 years, and only have ot travel to client sites occasionally. When I first started out, coming from a cubicle farm, I found I needed an “office” where the door stayed closed from 8-5, except for lunch and occasional breaks. After a year or two of that, I was able to transition to the couch with a laptop and the TV on, and keep the productivity up. The worst thing about that is that I’m usually checking e-mail late at night, because it’s “right there” and will save me time in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![Hedda\_Rosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hedda_rosa/32/1204_2.png) [@Hedda\_Rosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hedda_Rosa)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2009, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-work-from-home-what-is-your-dress-code/507305/35 "2009-08-25T23:29:41Z")
I’ve worked from home for years and I wear just my regular around-the-house clothing: in summer capris and a tank top, or sometimes a sundress; in the winter jeans and a fleece/hoodie/sweater. I’m usually in and out picking up kids or going to soccer games as well, so I do get fully dressed every morning. For a while I wore yoga pants every day but now I feel too sloppy in them to wear them anyplace but the gym. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-work-from-home-what-is-your-dress-code/507305.md?page=1)