I gave up on finding nice-looking women’s clothes quite some time ago…I stick with khaki pants, polo shirts, and boots. Good thing that’s the dress code for my department. The ladies who work in the other departments tend to dress anywhere from “office casual” to “beach bum.” One girl (I think she’s a temp) has shown up to work in shirts that were clearly intended to be worn over another top; as she would walk, one breast or the other would be almost completely exposed.
There’s a middle-aged woman in my office who dresses like a 20-something. While her clothes aren’t entirely inappropriate, really, no one wants to see 50-something-year-old boobs. :eek:
A friend recently forwarded me a large well-known company’s internal email to employees on their summer dress code, which suggested that capris are appropriate if worn as part of a suit which we all thought was a bit odd and not a fashion trend we really want to be a part of. The best line though was “your business attire is your visual resume.” While true, it just sounds like something that the “someone’s got a case of the Mondays” woman from Office Space would say.
I dunno about that…
I turn 45 tomorrow. I have friends who are 50. Damn.
Bra-vo! This bears re-posting.
Well, sure, or we could all just grow up and realize that there are certain social and professional norms that should be adhered to, and like, your appearance also represents the company you work for.
What with the flow of complaint in this thread about people not being able to easily find clothing that fit their specific proportions, I’m really wondering why an idea my sister’s best friend implemented never took off.
Years ago she quit her job programming phone switches to write a program called Fittingly Sew*. This program would accept a person’s measurements and create a custom pattern sized specifically for that person. (Of course, when she told me about it, the first thing that went through my head was something like this: an automated cutting and assembly facility. Man, was I disappointed when I found out you still had to cut and assemble the clothes yourself…)
Is there not a service that will do this for not too much money? I’m thinking of something midway between “bespoke” tailors and mass-produced clothing in standard sizes. Is this still confined to the home sewer who would cut and assemble clothing on a hobby basis? (Sewer? Is that the right word?)
[sub]*She later sold the software and the little company she formed to it. I have no idea who owns it now or even whether it’s still maintained.[/sub]
I haven’t tried it yet, but Lands End sells custom fit jeans/chinos/blouses for women through their website. They also have dress shirts, jeans, twill pants and chinos for men. You pick the material type, the rise, pocket style, leg style, etc, etc… and enter all your measurements.
Next time I need new pants, I think I’m going to try it out.
[Sally Field] You like me! You really like me![/Sally Field]
Sunspace, part of her problem might have been the cost of fabric these days. I used to sew some of my own clothes, but I don’t bother any more since the fabric alone costs what a finished blouse or pants costs (at the places I shop, anyway - I think women’s clothes are vastly over-priced, and I refuse to pay full price for anything).
The thing that surprises me is when “comfort” is evoked for dressing inappropriately. When I show up somewhere and I’m not dressed appropriately for whatever reason, I feel supremely uncomfortable. (For example, when I spent all day at an NDP exec meeting – casual; we’re all volunteers on a first-name basis – and then was spontaneously invited to dinner at a fancy restaurant by another attendee. I spent the entire evening sitting there feeling underdressed.)
During the last election, I had to wear a suit for most of it, and although I was more than ready to ditch it by the end of the campaign, I would have been way less comfortable showing up to campaign events in jeansandtshirt than I ever was while appropriately dressed.
Hell, I work at home, and I’ve found that it helps me focus on my work to be fully dressed. I’m not sitting there in a suit, obviously, but something about having my torso and underwear covered makes it way easier to stay in a “I am now at work” frame of mind.
I’m sure that people who are perpetually underdressed would prefer to maintain that setup in a work environment, being more concerned in their own continuity of clothing than its effect on how others view them.
I work from home, and I do hair and makeup everyday to get to the “I am now at work” place in my head. I mean, I still wear jeans, but I have to make a certain degree of effort to move from “couch slug girl” to “employed.” For me, it has to do with appearance, even though the cats are the only ones who see me.
Today is a “special dress day” at work. I can wear jeans if I want along with something red, white, and blue themed. But even though I have clean jeans with no tears, I still wear slacks. Sure, I have short sleeves on, but I still want to feel like I’m at least a little professional.
:rolleyes: Right, because that’s what we’re talking about.
If this co-worker wore a tracksuit that covered her entire body and a ninja mask so only her eyes were viewable, she still would have been reprimanded for violating the dress code because track suits aren’t appropriate for this corporate office either.
She could wear a clown suit that covered her entire body, but that doesn’t suit the company’s corporate image either.
If she wore a full-body potato sack she’d be sent home for failing to meet the requirements of corporate-casual too.
The rules at this office apply equally to men and women too. If I wore a football jersey that exposed my midriff, I’d be told to change or go home. If I wore a see-through shirt or a mesh top, I’d be told to change or go home. Club wear is not appropriate attire within the specs of our company’s dress code.
Your knee-jerk assumption is off-topic. And lame.
I think there are two components to comfort. The first is internal comfort. I have the softest fleece sweatshirt that I love to wear. A pair of worn jeans that have acheived the right touch - not binding anywhere, been washed so often they aren’t stiff. A waistless “dress” or two that really aren’t anything more than bags, but are wonderful for lounging around the house. My jammies. Sometimes these are wonderful comfortable “appropriate for dressing up a little” clothes - khaki pants that fit right with a soft cotton sweater.
The second is “external comfort” - do I fit in? Some people are very uncomfortable if they don’t fit in - some people take it to extremes (some environments do to) - to wearing the “right” brands, the proper accessories - or in looking identical (IBMs “corporate uniform” of the 1970s - blue suit, white shirt, red tie). But some people don’t seem to have an external comfort knob on them at all. They’ll wear the clothes they were digging in the garden with out to dinner and not have any understanding that some people might disapprove. And when its pointed out that some people might disapprove, are defensive. And some people enjoy not fitting in - they show up in a ball gown to a casual party.
Not to mention “inappropriate”. In the office and elsewhere.
Maybe the people who come into this thread to frown and cast aspersions are the ones who are always dressing inappropriately. Hey, maybe they are appropriate-dressing challenged, and we should be feeling sympathy for them!
What? You don’t wanna see me in a mesh top?
Yeah baby, look at my hairy belly!
:: does best Rod Stewart impersonation ::
If ya think I’m sexy
And ya like my body…
:: swivels hips, pulls muscle in back ::
You got it all wrong…I find Fat Bastard does a much more memorable gyration. Ahm dead sexy! Look at mah sexy bo-dy"
This might have something to do with days when I come downstairs to the home office and have trouble getting going, or start out like blazes then feel unmotivated in an hour. Perhaps better to shower, change and get into that mindset. Thanks for this !! I’m going to do that for a week and see how it feels.
Sans makeup.