Do you need to change the way you dress for work?

[mx wcfc]

Thinking about it over the years work have suggested to me that I should tidy my hair up on a couple of occasions. I'm not a hippy - I just can't be arsed to go to the barbers often enough (and have you seen what they charge these days?!).

I have also taken advantage of the Movember men's charity thing to grow some particularly ridiculous moustaches a couple of times!

 

[Poot]

There is no dress code but I wear smart-ish to the office and an assortment of hi-viz and various PPE on site. And I usually need wellies, which I supply myself because the ones that my company supply are crap.

If I have a meeting at head office I'll do heels and a frock and everything. I quite like the variety.

 

[equationgirl]

I tend to wear black trousers with a top and cardigan. My internal thermostat gets stuck on thermonuclear at some point during the day so it's helpful to be able to shed a layer.

I wear trainers though, my back can't take heels these days.

 

[purenarcotic]

We can wear whatever we want, there’s no dress code. I kinda think it has to be that way - a feminist organisation telling women what to wear is unlikely to go down well.

I wear the same stuff all year round no matter what I’m doing really - jeans, t-shirt and hoodie or sweatshirt. I have one pair of smart trousers and a shirt for when I have to be smart. I don’t even know where my smart shoes are tbh.

 

[spanglechick]

This thread is brillliant. My school (or certain factions within it) keep trying to impose a strict dress code on our sixth form. Now, at least half of our kids are performing or visual arts or basketball academy students... so... yknow... wtf?

But also, it strikes me that increasingly few workplaces (especially nominally graduate ones), require rigid "suits and ties codes. And of course no universities do.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

I dress a lot smarter at home than I do at work...

 

[FridgeMagnet]

Where I work (meeja) anyone in a suit is a consultant there for a pitch who doesn't quite know how the industry works. Even just chinos and a shirt in that semi-casual-but-clearly-at-work way means you're American middle-upper management on a junket.

That doesn't mean there isn't a dress code though. Younger people in the "creative" side dress up fashionably and have advanced haircuts. Most people wear just normal decent clothes. Techies in various fields wear band or black t-shirts and jeans or combats. It's easy to tell who is who when something is going on - you can tell who is "talent", who is PR, and who is setting shit up and making sure that something actually takes place.

 

[moomoo]

I work in a supermarket so I have to wear a uniform. But I’m a rebel so I won’t wear their horrifically unstylish trousers. Instead I wear my own and hide every time I see the uniform lady.

 

[Celyn]

I once worked in a place that was a bit over-keen on dress "standards". Not that this was written down anywhere - I think we were meant to guess, or to know that it was so very obvious that no-one could fail to know. Oddly, for once, this worked out slightly better for women than for men, because you can alter your skirt&blouse or dress* thing depending on season, but god help any chap seen not wearing a jacket no matter what the temperature. This was not even a publicly open place, so the crazy dress protocols were just in case a senior partner might see something he didn't like and suffer immediate human combustion.

* Ah, yes, nearly forgot that bit. Women not to wear trousers. Because it would herald the end of the world or something, I suppose.

 

[Riklet]

I always make sure my clothes are as clean as possible for work. Cant always say that for outside of work. Regularly wear collared shirts, proper shoes, nicer jumpers and I have smarter trousers I wear too which sometimes I wear out of work too tbf but not always. Then again I have longer hair and more piercings than most but I try and look 'professional'.

Its nice to create your own formality as long as youre not 'regulating' yourself I guess. But it feels like a fake work skin I can take off when I get home, or at least partially. Im not sure what the policy is at work but Im def a fair bit above it as some peeps wear jeans trainers and tshirts.

I dont get the freedom in rocking up to work super casual unless youre in a job where it makes sense. Oh, it gets hot here in summer and I have so far got away with sandals which technically arent allowed. Informal action or wot....

 

[Celyn]

In some ways the "fake work skin" is sort of good. As you say, you can shed it when you get home. And try to slough off the evil company one works for.

Edit: not accusing anyone else of working for an evil company. Only me.

 

[Looby]

I wear what I want which is usually leggings, trainers and some sort of casual dress.
If I’m going to a meeting I might dress a bit smarter but probably not. I’m working with victims of trauma and asylum seekers so being super smart or flashy seems massively inappropriate. There was a uniform in my org which has now been phased out but some people are still wearing it which I find quite funny.

I guess I’ll need to smarten up a bit when I qualify and will need some ‘court clothes’.

 

[Leafster]

Like mx wcfc , I've seen a lot of changes in my profession since I started work. When I was a trainee accountant in the mid 1980s the partners wore two or three piece suits and we were expected to follow. The women wore smart skirts and blouses with heels. By the late 90s (I think) we could get away with smart trousers and a jacket but always with a tie.

I work for myself now and mostly from home so usually I wear jeans and a T-shirt but if I'm expecting a client or I visit them I tailor what I wear to their expectations. Most are happy to see me in smart trousers or black jeans with a proper shirt but some still expect the full suit and tie. It usually depends on the industry they work in. I visit one older client at their house and they always wear a jacket and tie to receive me so I do the same. It doesn't always work - I remember visiting one client with a suit and being asked to wear jeans and a casual shirt on my next visit as they thought the sight of a very official looking bloke turning up was worrying to the staff.

I have to attend weekend conferences and I'm still surprised to see other delegates turning up in a suit and tie so I assume that is what they normally wear during the week.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Younger people in the "creative" side dress up fashionably and have advanced haircuts

What is an advanced haircut?

 

[Saffy]

I normally wear legging and a dress or trousers and t shirt with a cardigan. People take the piss out of my cardi because I always wear it but it's kind of a security blanket.
I would love to smarten up a bit, even just add more colour into my wardrobe but losing weight means I'm in between clothes and I don't want to buy anymore yet.

 

[weepiper]

Yes. I get very dirty.

Same.

 

[kabbes]

I gave up years ago trying to figure out what the unspoken rules were for work clothes and just went back to wearing a suit and tie. It's so much easier. If in some meetings I'm the smartest person in the room then I can live with that.

 

[Hellsbells]

I don't wear trainers to work or my scruffy, muddy faded jeans. Or my gym clothes. Other than that, providing I look presentable I don't think anyone cares.
Although the new temp did look me up and down last week and ask if it was dress-down friday

 

[ElizabethofYork]

I've worked at the same place for 20 years, and the dress code has got more and more casual over time. When I first started, nearly everyone (male, female, teaching staff, admin) wore suits, but now hardly anyone does, unless there's a client meeting or something of that type.

 

[8ball]

In some ways the "fake work skin" is sort of good. As you say, you can shed it when you get home. And try to slough off the evil company one works for.

Edit: not accusing anyone else of working for an evil company. Only me.

Yeah, I mentioned someone at work about how the evil kind of seeps into your clothes and they looked at me like a dog that had just been shown a card trick.
I get to wear "moderated version of freedom clothes" on a Friday. The dress code on other days is very confused.

 

[StoneRoad]

Over the years it has varied a lot. Some employers were quite strict on "smarter casual" and I've even attended special (awards) events in more than usually tidy outfits. Others, as long as the clothes were clean and correctly positioned really didn't seem to mind. For the design studio, that included tidy trainers, jeans and t-shirts (without offensive printing) or jumper in the winter.
Recently, workshop attire has predominated - including steelies, as large lumps of timber are quite capable of doing serious damage to the toes. When I'm coach painting, that can be time to count the colours and spots on the overalls ... I do get good results, but I must admit, I can be messy at times.
Out in the garden, it depends on what I'm working on. When I'm just sitting quietly, just enough to get an even sun tan ...
Socially, I don't go out a lot, but with friends for a meal it is usually black jeans or slacks, coloured tee or sweat shirt, smart trainers (my feet hate smart shoes)

 

[maomao]

We got a dress code at the beginning of year: shoes, smart jeans or trousers and a collar. This pisses me off because I do a 5k walk on the way to work every day and my size 13 trainers are too big for my locker so I either have to walk in shoes or have stinky trainers under the desk all day.

Also I don't do shirts if I can help it so bought a couple of polo shirts. I work four on four off and no dress code on weekends so two polo shirts is usually enough. This week is stinky week though as I'm on Tuesday to Friday and have to wear them both twice. Obviously the 5k walk every day doesn't leave them exact fragrant. Fuck 'em. I have to pay more for clothes because of my height and I'm not in a customer facing job so I really resent it.

 

[KatyF]

Our dress code is "appropriate to the work situation" which mainly means smart. I just wear a dress every day, nothing too patterned and that seems to suit.

The actual HR policy here states things like "clothing must be cleaned and pressed", "no extremes", "socks must be worn" and even "fingernails must be clean and well-trimmed".

In a previous job I got fired (was a temp job) for wearing a top without a collar.

 

[Celyn]

...
Although the new temp did look me up and down last week and ask if it was dress-down friday

Very rude temp! Does temp realise that you could make her or him even more temp than was previously planned?

 

[Hellsbells]

Very rude temp! Does temp realise that you could make her or him even more temp than was previously planned?

I think it was a geniune question rather than her having a dig at my clothes tbh. I was wearing jeans which I hadn't worn the rest of the week. Although I did think they were smart jeans tbh. Maybe not!

 

[Celyn]

Yeah, I mentioned someone at work about how the evil kind of seeps into your clothes and they looked at me like a dog that had just been shown a card trick.
I get to wear "moderated version of freedom clothes" on a Friday. The dress code on other days is very confused.

"Freedom clothes". That is a fun concept.

I can see it now - Wolfie Smith, now older and running a clothes shop, shouting "Freedom from suiting!"

And it would be good if Hamish Henderson would make a song called the "Freedom Clothe All Ye". (He won't, because he's all deadybones).

 

[Celyn]

I think it was a geniune question rather than her having a dig at my clothes tbh. I was wearing jeans which I hadn't worn the rest of the week. Although I did think they were smart jeans tbh. Maybe not!

I'm sure she was not really having a dig. As soon as I had hit "send", I did actually think that it's very good if temp feels able to make such comments because it would seem to indicate a certain comfortable-ness in the job, which is definitely good.

 

[Looby]

I don't wear trainers to work or my scruffy, muddy faded jeans. Or my gym clothes. Other than that, providing I look presentable I don't think anyone cares.
Although the new temp did look me up and down last week and ask if it was dress-down friday

[emoji1]

We have a dress down day once a month and our manager sends an email reminding us all. With the exception of one bloke on my team who wears a shirt and trousers, I don’t think the rest of us could dress down any more. I’ve threatened to work in pyjamas.

 

[kalidarkone]

I wear a uniform, but have replaced the horrible navy trousers with black bootleg suit type trousers. We are permitted to wear trainers, but I wear fit flop clogs.
I have a problem with pen leakedge and every single one of my tunics has ink stains right where my left nipple is. All my previous scrubs were the same. I can't fathom it, no matter what kind of black pen I use, eventually it leaks. I wonder if it's the heat from my bosom? Anyway I've started keeping the pens in my hair. Must ask for new uniform.....

But yes look totally different out of work, big hair out, piercings, nail varnish....
.

 

[Yu_Gi_Oh]

Like someone else said upthread, I am happy to wear grubby clothes at the weekend, but I wouldn't wear them to work. I also don't wear trainers in the classroom, although I could if I wanted to, and if I don't have any classes that day but am in work, I do sometimes keep them on.

Our work policy says no shorts, no t-shirts, no sandals, but everything else is fair game. I do wear sandals in the summer, because I'm sure something got lost in translation and they meant flips flops, but If they didn't they can fuck off anyway. I make sure my feet look presentable (un-chipped toenail polish, no cracked or dry skin, etc), which I don't really bother to do during the summer holidays, so they can be grateful.