Stylist - I work for a large corporate company. I am 28, but most of the employees are in their 30s. The dress code is business casual, so men wear khakis and a golf shirt or button-down. For women it varies, but generally they wear slacks or a skirt and some kind of blouse...Our office has a "Casual Friday" policy where we can wear jeans and similarly less-formal gear. There are rules/dress code, but they are seldom enforced or followed. In general, no tank tops or flip flops, just look put together and presentable. What my colleagues find acceptable, I would never think is acceptable. They show up in ripped jeans and hoodies...One day I wore Lilly Pulitzer navy blue shorts and a white, ruffled silk blouse, which was buttoned-up to my neck, with a cardigan worn over it. The shorts were a little shorter than knee-length. I went to lunch and when I returned my boss called me into his office. My boss made it clear that he didn't think it was a big deal, but he went on to tell me that "Somebody called HR and reported you for wearing shorts, so we want you to go home and change. Personally, I'd rather have you be here and be productive, but that's what people want you to do." How is that OK?"
Chics, am I right guys? Give em an inch they'll take a mile. Nothing gets me more riled up in the office than when I hear girls griping about the dress code.
From the sounds of this article, I work in a very similar office, huge corporate company, business casual dress code except Fridays which are casual (ie, you can wear jeans, GO CRAZY FOLKS!). Anyway, it's pretty well spelled out everyone knows the rules, people flirt in the fringes of what's acceptable, jeans a little tattered, maybe a shirt comes untucked after lunch, but for the most part everyone complies...
Except when it comes to girls...I don't know why its so difficult to read a list of rules and comply, but for some reason somewhere around 50-60% of the girls in the office just can't. The list says no flip flops, girls wear flip flops (like $1.99 Old Navy flip flops, like they just walked off the beach), rules say no Capri's above the knees, girls wear Capri's above the knees and get their Capri rights taken away, etc, etc...It goes like that every year, particularly around summer...and the complaint is always the same:
But I got these at Ann Taylor (or Express, or Banana Republic, basically fill in any moderately overpriced store that sells clothing for professional woman).
Like that makes it ok...Oh sure, just bring in your receipt and we'll let that slide. Nope. Girls, you get away with murder with office dress codes. What's so hard about finding a pair of Capri's that comply with the knee rule? As a guy, you know what my options are, pants. Just pants. It's not like I'm allowed to wear Jorts in the summer (nor would I, but at least I'd have the option), yet here you are with this absolute gift and you just can't comply. You're allowed to not tuck in shirts...do you know how awesome that is!? And yet you want to push the limit with tank-tops and low cut cardigan things...Just wear a regular shirt and enjoy the free-ness of the non-tuck! It's not that hard.
Like this girl in the article...No you can't wear shorts! Do you see guys rolling around in shorts? You didn't mention it. We'd all love to wear shorts, but we can't. Same with sandals? You think I don't want to rock my Jesus sandals around the office, just loafing back and forth to the copy machine? Of course I do. But I'm pretty sure I'd get a call down to HR the first time someone caught sight of the hair on my big toe.
Bottom line, day to day girls are allowed to dress a lot more casual and a lot less stuffy then men, it shouldn't be that hard to comply folks.
PS: I'm all for no dress codes, I really am. But if I've got to be uncomfortable, so does everyone else. I'm nothing if not spiteful.
