I work for a large utility company. One would assume that the dress code is business professional (shirts, ties, etc), and one would be correct, with the exception of my department. As part of corporate communications, my group handles audio, video and web design for the entire corporation. As such, we’re given a little leeway with the dress code. When I hired on, I was told it was business casual. To me, that meant blouse and slacks with no open-toed shoes. I soon noticed I was overdressed. Today, I’m wearing a sundress and sandals. And I still am dressed more professionally than 50% of my co-workers. Of course, our office space is littered with couches, a Playstation, guitars, bongos, scooters and various other toys. That should have clued me in to how casual their version of business casual is.
A couple years ago, I worked for a direct marketing company(junk mail, as far as I was concerned). I was supposed to be in the tech. dept., but the tech. director quit about two weeks after I was hired. I ended up in customer service and hated it. The dress code was business casual, but they’d let us wear jeans on Fridays. ;j
A friend of mine decided to live in a tent for the summer after I was hired(she wasn’t broke or was forced to because of monetary reasons) in a sea side community not too far from my office. Now, since her ‘place’ was closer to my work than my apartment I would often go there during the week for ‘a beer or two’ and then my plan was that after the traffic died down, I would drive home.
It just so happens that they were filming a major movie in this town(A Perfect Storm) and there was real party atmosphere for a good part of the summer. Well, more times than not I would have a enough booze so that I wouldn’t care about work and I’d stay over. It wasnt too long before I started showing up for work in shorts and T-shirts, unshaven, with a carton of left-over Chinese food that I would proceed to eat at my desk for breakfast. After awhile, others in my department started complaining not about how I was dressed, but that there was no reason they shouldn’t be allowed to wear what the wanted. Little by little I noticed people starting to wear more casual and casual clothes as time went on. Still, no one else dared to wear shorts and T-shirts.
For some reason, they ‘laid’ me off in October. 
They actually felt bad about it and I even had to console the HR woman. It all worked out in the end and now I’m now in the high tech. business with no dress code.
At the last place I worked (IT for the third largest nonprofit in the US) the code was jeans and polos, slacks if you wanted. I figured as long as my genitals and tattoos were covered and I was wearing shoes, that was good enough.
Now I work for the US Department of State. During training (until March ‘03), I get to wear jeans and T-shirts or polos. If I go the Department downtown, you’re expected to wear a shirt n’ tie at least. When I get to Sri Lanka next year, suits for important meetings, native garb or business casual for all the rest.
Another software worker here - pretty much anything except shorts or sleeveless shirts. Jeans, t-shirts, sneaker & sandals are all okay. My boss seem surprised when I wore a tie to my interview.
Editor: jeans are okay if not ripped or extremely worn. Shorts are a no-no. Sandals are a no-no. T-shirts are okay – I try not to wear any with logos/slogans. My usual: Gramicci pants, some kind of hiking boots, t-shirt or polo shirt.
Since I’m on my shore tour, I wear my khaki uniform every day. Makes things simple. In another six months or so I’ll be back to wearing flight suits every day.
I work for the gubmint; we are supposed to dress “business casual”, but I put my own special spin on it. I wear knit shirts, khakis, and clean new sneakers. I suppose my supervisor will tell me to wear nicer clothes, but I’ll wait for her to do it. I won’t volunteer to wear anything uncomfortable.
I’m a graduate RA/TA, so basically anything goes. There’s no dress code, but the dean “encourages” us to dress nicely/conservatively. I’m a clothes horse, so resisting the urge to show up in torn/stained/dumpy looking clothes isn’t there. I just have to draw the line at anything too revealing, or t-shirts with any slogans or art on them that might offend the conservative sensibility here.
Techincally, company policy is “business”, and “business casual” on Fridays. though this means no jeans. logo t-shirts, etc, they also apparently want us to never wear ANY denim, or sneakers too. I ignore this, and I have been, all summer. I don’t wear blue jeans, but as far as I’m concerned, there is no way I’m going to stand on my feet all day in nice fancy clothes and ress shoes while working with concentrated acids! So I wear cords and simple t-shirts, and sneakers (which do have a big acid burn in them). We in the lab believe that dress codes are things that happen to other people…
I’m still in high school, but my dress code is as follows:
~ midriff must be covered
~ shoulders must be covered
~ nothing too lowcut
~ no visible undergarments
~ shoes must have a strap in the back
~ fingertip length shorts and skirts
~ no obscene messages or pictures
~ no advertisments for drug/alcohol products
of course, we don’t exactly follow it…
Oh, and we figured out that someone could come to school naked from the waist down and still be within the dress code.
I work two retail jobs.
At Staples: Black shoes. Black socks. Black dress pants, not Docker’s style (“they fade,” the manager says); black skirts below the knee is ok too. Bright red store-issue shirt with a nametag.
At the grocery store (deli and seafood departments, alternating days): any pants or bottoms besides blue jeans. Green jeans, red jeans, black jeans, khakis, big floofy skirts, parachute pants are all ok as long as there’s no blue denim in sight. Store-issued navy blue polo shirt, no nametag. Store-issued khaki baseball cap with navy blue bill. In seafood dept, white lab-coat style thing. In deli, a white disposable apron is optional.
My dress code is my own. I wont wear anything with words or a company’s logo on it. I don’t advertise.
I just started a new job this week. It’s fairly casual (a step up from my last very slobby place, though), but I’m following the “dress for the job you want, not the job you have” rule, so I’m going for business casual except for jeans on Friday.
Ha! I thought I was the only one to do this. I figure if a company/school/organization/team wants to turn me into a billboard they’re going to have to pay me first. I’m not giving anybody free advertising!
At a meeting with a faculty committee: dark suit
At a meeting with individual faculty: slacks and shirt and tie or polo shirt depending on the weather (it gets hot here)
Working a bookstore: Dockers and a polo
In my office: boxers and a t-shirt (my office is at home)
I swear my company is one of the mutant freaks of its industry. I work at an ad agency in Tokyo, and anything promotion- or sales-related usually requires employees to wear business suits even at home.
At this place, OTOH, I dressed formally for the interview and was the only one in the building wearing a tie. The president greeted me wearing a T-shirt with an open flannel shirt over it, jeans and sneakers. Even the head of sales dresses in tank tops or casual sundresses when she goes to client meetings. I was told the basic dress code was “we like to keep sandals and shorts limited to Fridays, but it’s not a big deal. We do ask, though, that shorts be about knee length, and not the banana-hammock style. Some of like to eat lunch at our desks, and that kind thing just puts us off our food.”
I typically wear a button shirt and chino pants, and have started taking my shoes of to work. And I don’t worry too much over whether I’ve shaved or not.
Librarian (female) at a hospital. We have a 6 page dress code. Granted 3 of those pages apply to clinical staff, but that leaves 3 pages that apply to administration. No bare legs–stockings at all times. No open toed or backless shoes. No sleeveless. The dress code lists 3 paragraphs of appropriate material for clothing–no denim, spandex, glitter. Pants cannot have a double seam up the outside or back pockets. Shoe heel height must not exceed 2.5 inches. Make-up must be tasteful, no long fingernails or charms, etc. on your nails. And no body piercings except for ear lobes and they would prefer only one hole in each lobe.
Doesn’t bother me at all except the stockings rule. I hate stockings in summer.
I work in Saudi Arabia and so I am required to wear Native Costume to work.
For me that is a shirt tie and conservative pants with black trainers.
For my Saudi firends it is a gutrah and thobe.
I wanna dres like them, looks more comfortable.
I wear scrubs to work, midnight shift aide at a nursing home.On payday fridays we can wear jeans and a t shirt.
We can wear costumes on halloween, but i colored my hair blue for the holiday.
We were encouraged to wear Christmas-y clothes as Chrismas but i did not want to wear a thick sweater with the heat turned up so high.
Fraud analyst at a credit card issuer here.
Since we never deal with customers face to face, only over the phone, our dress code is “dress down” unless our site is expecting visitors, then we go “business casual”.
I usually wear jeans/khakis/cargo pants and a nice short sleeved shirt. The only clothes forbidden are sweatpants, jogging suits, “nightclub” clothes (belly shirts/spaghetti strapped tank tops) and any clothing with an offensive message/logo.