Just the one’s that post here! 
Well, I mean, if they’re old enough to make you feel like Vilii…
And they’re going to punish you for that stray apostrophe, mister!
I have met a PA (physician’s Assistant) who dressed like a ho.
The bleached blonde with black roots didn’t help. But then there was the belly shirt, complete with belly button ring, and the rolled down to the hips scrubs. No lab coat.
Every nurse there was in a state of shock (and I’ve seen nurses wear whites with black thongs or worse–patterned thongs underneath).
I can’t believe that any MD would let her get away with that mode of dress. I sure wouldn’t want her taking care of me.
It’s a hard, cruel world out there-and we are all judged on our appearance. Somethings like physical features etc shouldn’t be held against us, but personal judgement should be. IOW, you chose to wear that cleavage to work–you will be judged for it. Same with men, too–that fly isn’t zipped? That will be held against you. That’s just the way it is.
I thought about starting a thread like this a couple of months ago. I’m only 30, but I swear some of my younger coworkers are making me feel very old. Shouldn’t I be too young to be completely scandalized by the clothes they chose to appear in? Since I’d already had the training they were getting, I had plenty of time for catty observations. Many girls looked like they’d put back on whatever they’d wore to the bar the night before.
Flip-flops don’t make me bat an eye any more, but here were what some of the little darlings showed up in the first day:
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skin-tight Rolling Stones babydoll T-Shirt paired with an ankle length skirt (huh?)
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lots o’ skin-tight club appropriate tops (besides unprofessional, this is very unflattering to…uh, certain body-types)
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jeans so low cut that their thongs and the cracks of their asses showed
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five inch heels…with jeans and a t-shirt (huh?!)
But I’ll tell you one thing, when we had the new crop of summer employees show up in May, the ones whose outfits were beyond the pale were also the people who couldn’t manage to pass the test to qualify for the project. hmmm…
“Business casual” shouldn’t be a totally alien concept to a college grad. You can google the term and see pictures if you’re not sure! Actual business attire is hard if you’re young, but you can find appropriate stuff that’s business casual from the Gap to Good Will.
I’ve said it before, but I think it bears repeating: the main reason, IMO, some people complain about dress codes is that we spend most of our waking hours at work. It’s not just dressing for a particular occasion.
I actually like the idea of dressing up, but being 5’8" any kind of slacks on me look like little-boy pants, cut way too full around the seat with a huge long zipper, and hiking up past my socks when I sit down though nearly touching the floor when I stand. They look like they were shortened for me from an older brother’s cast-offs. I think I’ll ultimately have to break down and get a couple of suits tailor made.
Could somebody explain to me exactly what it is about a particular outfit that makes it “appropriate” or “inappropriate” for a particular business? Are people really so immature that other people’s clothing distracts them to the point where they can’t work effectively?
Obviously, some jobs require protective clothing as a matter of safety. But when people are working in an office, sitting in cubicles and working on computers and phones, what does it matter whether they’re wearing suits or shorts and tee-shirts? And don’t just say that one outfit is “professional” and one isn’t; that’s a circular argument.
Actually, this shit makes my stomach turn. What kind of asshole decides he’s got a right to tell other adults what they may or may not wear? (That shouldn’t be part of the employer-employee relationship. My company and I have a mutual arrangement; they give me some money, and I consent to give up hours and hours of my precious time and effort for their benefit. They can fire me as an employee; I can fire them as an employer. None of that means they should have any say in what I pick out of my closet in the morning.)
BTW I neglected my own True Confessions contribution to this one:
Amy the Intern. (Name changed to protect the guilty, namely me). Worked at my office last Fall.
When she first arrived to the office, she affected the “fantasy business” look. Y’know, the Xtreme miniskirt, lacy-bustier-under-jacket, hair color not found in nature, wild-colored lethal stiletto heels… and she definitely had the physique to pull off the look. Legs all the way from here to there and points in between and… oh, my… someone open a window. Lord A’mighty how I had to remind m’self that I could be her father… (OK, so I’m no Bill Clinton… hey, I don’t want HIS troubles… 
)
Well, so happens some of the elder ladies of the office pulled her aside and advised her and she quickly re-adapted. Never lost the deadly-weapon stiletto heels, though. Or the different-every-paycheck hair coloring. (Bless you, child… ) But the best part of it was that very quickly from her personality and performance it became clear that this was a razor-sharp, no-nonsense, in-charge young lady that you had better sit up and take notice of on her merits. So her tuning it down was greatly to her advantage.
I hear ya. Target makes me crazy that way. That’s my other favorite thing aobut NY & Co: I’m short, but not scrawny. Baby got back, y’know? Not only do they sell petite slacks, they sell petite slacks in a range of sizes from “no-ass skinny minnie” to “a lotta junk in the trunk.”
If you’re not interacting with clients or the public, I can see where you’re coming from. But, like it or not, how you dress sends a message about you. Most businesses want that message to be “I am a serious professional who understands the social norms of the United States.” And someone wearing a grubby t-shirt or a lace bustier does not send that message.
Is it fair? Maybe not, but businesses exist to provide a service and make a profit, not to change society’s mores.
I had a job interview recently, and had to get nicely dressed for the occasion. I wanted to make a good impression. I found a nice pair of slacks to wear, but the only nice blouse of mine I had was one that I hadn’t worn in a while. I had no idea why I hadn’t worn it, except for perhaps that it required me to wear one of those strapless bras I hate. (The fabric was somewhat thin, and bra straps show up embarrassingly clearly through it. It has a nice undershirt to cover up everything else, though.) Putting it on, I found it was a bit tight across the shoulders. Well, that was a bit annoying, but I’d deal with it. I slung the buttons over my chest–hmm, seemed a bit tight, but that was probably my shoulders, right?
I checked myself in the mirror to see how I looked. And then I remembered why I’d stopped wearing that shirt–it, inadventantly, makes me look like a total officetute. The strapless was pushing my boobs up, and this did not help the fact that this particular blouse was designed for someone much less chesty. The buttons across my chest were being almost torn apart, straining against the size of my bust. Not only that, but the bursting buttons were also giving peakaboo glances at my cleavage. Add to that a collar I hadn’t turned down all the way yet and some slightly knocked-askew glasses, and I looked like a slutty librarian. (A bit ironic, since I was going to apply at a library.)
If it wasn’t my only clean blouse at the time, I would’ve changed. I don’t think my interviewer noticed my bust issues, since I turned down the collar and fixed up the glasses, but I was pretty self-conscious about it.
Cite?
Bad office outfits include:
Too short
Too tight
Too cleavacious
Too bare (spaghetti straps are out, micro-mini is out, midriff-baring is out)
Too trendy
Too reminiscent of a street-walker (leave the vinyl at home, thankyouverymuch)
Anything that would turn away business is frowned upon. That would include school-marmy attire in a place that wants to present a hip and/or sexy image. For example, you wouldn’t want a woman in a dowdy housedress selling records or bongs.
I once applied for a job at the offices of a clothing company. Their ad said that they wanted someone whose wardrobe reflected a hip, city-chic attitude that was in line with their product. A standard business suit and conservative pumps would not cut it there.
It varies from workplace to workplace.
My own employer states that their legal consultants tell them they have the longest, strictest, most detailed dress code they’ve ever seen. The big triumph for the ladies this past year was that it had finally been amended to allow them to wear open-toed shoes.
The company’s motto on this subject is, “You are treated as you are dressed.”
A century and a half of modern office politics suggests yes.
You don’t just show up and work. By the simple act of doing so, you provide the atmosphere in which others do the same.
Your appearance is the first impression you give a professional acquaintance. Even if you are just working at your desk, you may have potential clients visiting the office to meet with others, or you may be called upon to consult with a co-worker or supervisor.
Someone looking at how you dress for work is going to take non-verbal cues from that about how much you care about making an impression about your professionalism. What sort of dress conveys the right image is going to vary from person to person, so companies who care about this sort of thing will come up with a dress code that will convey the image management wishes to convey.
Actually, about ten years ago, when I first got to LA, I went to a temp office in my gray East Coast interview suit. Way too fuddy-duddy for even professional dress in LA. Before I was even done with everything I needed to do there, they had a job for me right then and there, some back-office help at a place about a block and a half away from the temp office.
When I got there, it was clear that they prided themselves on conveying an extremely laid-back but professional atmosphere. The person I reported to was taken quite aback by my suit, and was very relieved to hear that underneath, I was wearing a black T-shirt that I could strip down to while performing my duties, which IIRC consisted of a lot of collating and binding in the supply room.
Only in LA…
I gotta tell you guys… I gave up. I’m only 27 and I’ve been shopping at Chico’s. I, uh, grew out of my extremely hip but professional size 2 and 4 librarian outfits and I just didn’t want to dry clean clothes in specific sizes when I have no idea what I’m going to wake up as next week. So I went to the elastic waisted Chico’s look. And you know what? It depresses me.
Except this skirt which I did in fact get there and really like. Okay, one skirt. And some tops. But the pants, they kill my soul.
My pants are almost all Dockers. There are a pair or two of Eddie Bauers, a few pairs of dress pants bought at somewhere like Macy’s or Nordstrom. But day in and day out its Dockers - the dressier but yet washable ones for the most part. They hold up well, I don’t need to iron them. Dockers does a good job with having a range of styles - I have a pair or two of longer, lower waisted pants to wear with cute kicky boots (not so low wasted that the thong I would never wear doesn’t peek out), a pair or two that sits high but doesn’t make my butt look huge, and a pair or two from my “heavier” period that are pleated in front that don’t really flatter me, but I wear them when I haven’t done laundry.
What I get a Chicos is jackets. Sometimes shirts. Same with Coldwater Creek. Just the jackets.
Christopher Banks or Kohls is the usual stop for something to go under the jacket. Having a fairly nice figure for 40, I like ribbed turtlenecks in winter and in summer the same but with short sleeves.
I must look like a schoolmarm much of the time, because I wildly prefer loose, shapeless clothing to anything vaguely resembling form-fitting. It may not be flattering, but it’s COMFY, dang it. It may make me look like an old lady, but at least it’s not going to keep my sweat pressed up against my skin.
Add “too see through” - Something that needs a pretty and coordinating bra underneath is not office appropriate. You should be able to wear uncoordinated bras in the office and no one should be the wiser. Same with underwear. No one in the office should know what kind of underwear you wear - whether its a thong or a “tummy reducer.”
And culture does play a huge part. When you work for Patagonia its perfectly appropriate to dress like you are going hiking every afternoon - that’s what everyone does. When you work in fashion, you are expected to dress fashionably - and that may be far more trendy and far less conservative than most jobs. When you teach first graders your dress needs to be fairly conservative, but comfortable and washable. And, if you work as a streetwalker, streetwalker dress is appropriate.
But showing up for most office jobs dressed like a streetwalker shows disrespect for the job, your coworkers, and a cluelessness about office politics that doesn’t bode well. Its really the last that sends up red flags. Someone stupid enough to wear a shirt that shows off her belly button ring in a conservative office is not someone you really want in your office.
I’ve totally given up on dress pants. I’m not heavy but I have large, muscular thighs, a booty, and a realtively small waist. The only pants that don’t pull at the crotch and thighs or gap at the waist are enormous on me. And if I do happen to find a pair that fits, I’ll gain two pounds and they look horrible. But skirts are always flattering and much more forgiving. Plus, they make it easier for everyone to admire your fabulous shoes.
I’ve seen my share of sagging, but MY GOD!
I have the opposite problem. Thin thighs, no ass and more of a waist than I’d like to admit. So when they fit in the thighs and butt, the waist can be pretty damn uncomfortable. That’s why I prefer the “Christie” fit at Vickie’s Dirty, Nasty, Slutty, Trampy Little Secret. They sit just under the waist (not LOW low…just a tad under the belly button) and don’t put a strangulation hold on me.
I do wear a lot of skirts, but they set the air conditioning to “snowflake” here too, and skirts aren’t as warm as pants. Particularly in the winter. And they require that I at least shave my calves.