Dress Code

[susan silva]

Does your office have a dress code?  If so, what is it, and how strict do they enforce the code?

[Atlanta Z3]

Business casual with jeans on Friday.  No sweats (hoodies anyone?), tshirts with slogans, or ratty looking jeans.
No it is not enforced very well.
My bosses usually have on a suit and tie, so I feel the need to wear a suit to work most days.  Friday for them will be the khakis, dress shirt without a tie.  I will wear jeans occasionally, but lately have tried to not wear jeans to work.

[msmarieh]

My office truly has no dress code - you can wear jeans (which I do, everyday), shorts, flip flops, tshirts... Makes no difference.

It's extremely casual. Most people wear jeans and tshirts and the rest wear khakis and button up shirts.

[claudiamag]

My previous work place was the very fancy headquarter office of a large engineering firm and the dress code was business casual - khakis, polo shirts, etc. with jeans and sports shoes only on Fridays.  This was mostly because a lot of the younger engineers had to be on the field often and needed to dress comfortably.  However, my boss at the time was very conservative and always wore a shirt and tie.  I tended to follow his example and mostly wore skirt or pants suits with high heel shoes (which I LOVE).  Really the most I ever dressed down was switching the suit for a skirt and sweater.  He and I never went out to any of the field sites, so this wasn't a problem.

My current job is at a very large manufacturing plant.  Because of this, we must all observe a very strict dress code for security purposes.  We can only wear pants (what ever type we want), no skirts or dresses.  We must also always wear flat, closed-toe shoes - no high heels or sandals.  Again, this is mostly done for the people who work on the production floor and, even though I never, ever go down there, I still have to adhere to the code.  So, long story endless, my current work attire consists for jeans, sweater or t-shirt and Dr. Maartens 

[peaches2160]

I agree with Atlanta.  Our office has a dress code.  Funny you should sake the reminder email just went out this week.  No slippers, pajama bottoms, sweats, beach shoes.....yes, open toed "flip flops".  I have seen it all in this office.  I try to dress respectable, sometimes jeans on Friday. 

[officeboy2]

Oh there is no strict dress code, here however you must look smart at least and who wants to wear jeans to the office and home, its so boring to look at, however im sick off people who dress too casually at work, certain men think its ok to wear crumpled  t-shirts and blue jeans to work urghh.

What happened to the good ol days back in the 80s !!everyone looked smart Men/Women in three piece suits smart shirts and blouses to the office it looks so much better, our generation were much more clothes conscious then this generation who have a real dumbed down casual even shabby looking mismatch of clothing on,  Just look at the old pictures of people leaving the main line train stations in the morning back in the 80s/90s, and compare it to today, and if Tie Rack is closing down that says something too.

However I happen to dress very smart usually wearing silk/satin style shirts and expensive looking trousers to work bit im a one off an exceptionally flamboyant quirky dresser, though, i do stand out as being a bit to  smart but so what, there are too many people dressed casual these days. The days of super smartly dressed office workers are gone sadly I only wish those days return. Yes Im probably stuck in the 80s he he!!!

[diamondlady]

As long as they leave the shoulder pads in the 80's I'll be fine, I hated the look of a linebacker while trying to dress in a suit n skirt to work, yipes!  That was no fun, and the were EVERYWHERE!..So agree, somewhere in the middle would be good tho.  Very casual is too casual but business casual has different meanings to different people.

[msmarieh]

Hey, I love those 80s shoulder pads!!!

(and the big hair and makeup for that matter - 80s had AWESOME style!)

However, I love being able to wear jeans every day.

[claudiamag]

I like wearing jeans too, although I do miss wearing high heels and skirts.  Also, its my opinion that the casual dress code in my office is being taken a little too far by some.

We're in the middle a strong cold front, so at the moment we are all bundled up in boots, sweaters and warm jackets.  That's fine but a draw the line at sweatpants and ratty t-shirts.

[countrigal]

Our dress code, for all who do not have direct daily contact with our customers, is jeans and t-shirts or dressier.  Dressy flip-flops (the kind with a heel) can be worn as a sandal, or tennis shoes, or pretty much anything in between.  No shower shoes!  No shorts... no hats.... no t-shirts with inappropriate sayings on them.... basically, use some good common sense.  I love being able to wear jeans, but tend to put it with a dress shirt (something that would easily go with a skirt or slacks) and appropriate shoes.  Since I love my heels, that often means I'm in high heels and jeans, a look I absolutely love!  If you have contact with the public, then you dress in slacks and polo shirts for men, and skirts/slacks with appropriate blouses for the ladies.  No tennis shoes allowed there.  My fear is that our new Director will come on board and decide that the casual dress code we are all loving is too lax and will revert back to business casual through out the building, which though nice is not as comfortable or washer friendly.  I mean, our dress code states that jeans must be neat and clean with no holes.... and very few folks wear lounge suits anymore (though we had a few that were coming in in them!).... so I'd really like to keep my jeans!!!

[Cozwaz]

Working as part of a 'household' my dress code can be very varied depending who is about and what is going on.

Today I am wearing jeans and a jumper, but tomorrow I could be dressing up in a skirt and jacket it just depends.  Because I live next door to my employer I have even been seen in my dog walking clothes including the muddy boots!  The joys of living in the country

[crackerjack]

No company should need to have a dress code. We are all grown ups and should dress appropriately.

[claudiamag]

Crackerjack, you would think its not necessary but believe me when I say some people just don't know where to draw the line at "casual".  I've actually had situations where I had to send people home to change their clothes.

Once it was a 30+ year old receptionist who had worked at a bank for many years so you would think she'd know what's appropriate and what's not.  She showed up wearing shorts  and she just didn't see anything wrong with that.  Another time it was an accounting executive, again older person with a lot of experience.  She came into work wearing pijama pants - very cute but still pijama pants. 

I find that when there is no written rule, people will push the boundaries to see how far they can go.

[Katie G]

We do have a dress code - mostly a list of restrictions:  no jeans, tank tops, tee shirts, or athletic shoes unless required for medical reasons (and yes, we have a person who comes under that).  Most people here wear suits or coordinated separates.

We have "business casual" Fridays in the summer.  Men can forego the necktie and suit and opt for a sport shirt or polo shirt with khakis and leave the blazer at home.  Women can, in the words of our guidelines, "adjust the level of formality accordingly" as long as they don't wear any of the prohibited items. 

The problem is the fine line between:
 - a sleeveless top or dress and a tank top.  (Of course, you can always toss on a cardigan to fix that.)
 - a dressy sandal and a more casual, beachy sandal.  Rubber flip flops are a definite no-no.   
 - capri pants that are obviously meant to be dressy and the more casual type.

I avoid the issues by wearing a khaki skirt with a polo shirt, or a cotton knit dress that comes to my knee (like a polo shirt with a skirt attached) that I wear with ballet flats on those days.  If it's really humid, I'll wear my hair in a up in a clip, but that's as far as I go.

I must say though that our two youngest employees (both in their early twenties) are some of the most conservative dressers in our department! As one of them said, "I don't want people thinking I'm one of those dimwitted kids that doesn't know how to dress, so I'm erring on the side of caution!"  They always look sharp!

[Smith]

I'm quite lucky my boss doesn't really mind what we wear. As long as its not Hoodies! lol.
However i do enjoy wearing my smart attire as it gives me the sense of accomplishment rather than arriving at work in trainers etc.
I think as long as you don't look a mess i think its all good!.