I always get really scared at this time of year when I see women bring out their toeless and heelless sandals or flip flops and start wearing them to work. The ones who haven’t bothered to get a pedicure are the worst when you are walking up the stairs behind them as you exit the subway. Please ladies, use discretion and objective judgment when getting dressed during the dog days of summer. The workplace is not the beach or the back yard. We have clothes for work and we have clothes for play.
The IT world heralded a new style of dress for the workplace when young, bright, but unstylish professionals hit the market in the late nineties. To the chagrin of many companies, the relaxed manner of attire filtered down beyond the IT world, even attacking some high profile business environments.
Revealing tops, jeans, sleeveless shirts, flashy Tees, flip flops and running shoes sprung up all across North America because many companies didn’t have a dress code policy that dictated company dress regulations. Up till this point in time there had always been a distinct demarcation between work and play wear. It would be prudent to find out exactly what constitutes business casual in your office.
Fortunately for people who love an excuse to shop and for businesses who take pride in their professional image, the workplace is starting to make a comeback to a more professional demeanour.
Cathy DeSerranno, professional wardrobe consultant, offers some do’s and don’ts to my usual list for corporate environments:
Do:
- Consider your daily schedule, what will carry you through the day.
- Ladies, wear walking shoes to and from work and dress shoes at work.
- Dress for your size. Consider the messages you will send with what you wear. Check out the cut of your neckline ladies. If someone is standing while you are sitting how far down your top can they see.
- Invest in a well made suit, if appropriate, and build a wardrobe from this suit. Buy complimentary shirts, skirts, ties, slacks, and shoes. Wear up to date ties and accessories.
- Know if your workplace is a scent free environment.
- Dress to fit the environment and ensure the clothing fits you properly. Follow your boss’s lead – though this can be misleading at times.
- Use an iron and make sure your clothing is spot free and clean.
Don’t:
- Extreme fashions are short lived and end up costing a lot more money.
- Don’t show inappropriate skin.
- No flip flops please.
- No noisy jewellery.
- No heavy make-up.
- No T shirts with writing on the front.
- Don’t replace quality with quantity – shop consignment, Goodwill or Value Village to dress well for less.
When getting dressed in the morning, ask yourself if your clients or customers will see you as the expert you are if dressed this way. Would you want to do business with you? If you could wear what you have on to a sporting event, change it.
It is now up to corporations to write and implement their own dress code that is congruent with their work environment. While you are waiting to be told what you can and can’t wear, start tomorrow by dressing one step up from your present position. It is hard for management to promote someone who doesn’t look like they could handle the promotion or to invite you out on a client lunch or meeting if you don’t look the part.
Colleen Clarke
Career Specialist and Corporate Trainer
www.colleenclarke.com
Author of Networking How to Build Relationships That Count and How To Get a Job and Keep It
And we have clothes for comfort, which I believe you’ve missed mentioned.
Since when is a subway a workplace, excepting of course those who actually work there?
What difference does it make what we wear to/from work?
Aren’t you at all tired of the dress suited “sneaker” commuter crowd of mostly woman who look like Marvin the Martian with their big white converts and far more ridiculous than they would perhaps wearing a comfortable pair of up-scale flip-flops (think leather as opposed to extruded plastic) with naked feet.
Why don’t you include men in your comment who (shock) wear socks with sandals at or to work? Yes, no shorts but perhaps casual slacks.
Tess makes a good point. We try to look good to and from work as well as just at the office. Speaking from the younger and professional contingent we need to balance both. I agree flip-flops are not appropriate at work, it’s a health and safety hazard. However we need to adapt to the fashions of today both at work and at home. If you look good at work you’ll look good on the way to and from. Wearing the white converse with a good suit just looks goofy. Wear a nice pair of loafers or dressy leather sandles, you’ll feel better about yourself too!
Work places are beginning to balance their casual and professional attire guidelines. Suits are great when working in a very professional environment, however if you are in a casual one wearing a nice yet casual collared shirt with a nice pair of dress-casual slacks wouldn’t look overly out of place in a casual environment. Also a stylish shirt with a pair of dress-slacks/skirt with a nice pair of comfortable leather closed toed dress shoes (lace up or loafers for the gents and pumps with a kitten heel for the ladies) paired with a sport coat for gentleman to add that little level of professionalism. Ladies: keep the makeup down! Don’t look like you just rolled out of bed but don’t look like you’re about to go out on the town either. Nice neutral makeup is best for most office environments. If you need help most cosmetics departments offer make overs for little to nothing, generally the staff are trained cosmeticians and can help you find a flattering and subtle make up style.
If you work in a region with adverse weather conditions (such as in Alberta Canada and our winters) it would be prudent to wear snow boots/shoe guards to protect your dress shoes from salts and excessive wear. Also to protect the office from muddy and wet floors! To ensure your investments in footwear will last be sure to wipe mud/salts off of your shoes when you get home and use a proper leather/suede sealant.
Best advice here is to dress to the level above you, speaking as a manager;
if you don’t look the part you’re applying for it’s unlikely you will get the job. Qualifications are a part of it, but if you don’t look like you can handle the job it’s reasonable to expect that you cannot.
Good luck!
It is great that you have started talking about this. It is very hard to find a tastefully dressed woman on Toronto streets. There is definitely need in an education program in schools and colleges.
Truely, shoe choices can be limited by location and travel. (We dont’ all drive. I commute by train 2 hours each way to work each day.), and storeage space, (if any), alloted in the office.
I’m surprised that the author of this article didn’t mention the muffin top. I find that one of the most off-putting fashion faux pas is people, mostly women, but certainly not exclusively, wearing tight tops that reveal every lump and fold in the waist and back, and pants that are too tight, and/or sit low on the hip. This may be workable for someone who is very slim, but for most people these days, this kind of an outfit results in a back view that is as littered with spare tires as a junk-yard! It’s horrifying!
I’ve seen people of all ages committing this fashion crime. If you weigh more than 125 lbs (and I don’t mean to denigrate the majority of the population who weigh more than that, as do I!), you can’t get away with snug-fitting, or clingly, flimsy tops, and tight, low-fitting slacks. A short-sleeved, cotton shirt that fits you properly, and a pair of slacks that also fit you properly with a waistband that sits just below your waist, or at your waist projects a much more “together” image.
I think that nowadays, people are more superficial than ever. What is asked to do for wardrobe at work is often excessive compared to what kind of work we do, if we meet clients or not and mostly for the salary that is given. I personnally was asked to dress business, not even business casual, and I make less than 30 000 a year. I cannot afford the wardrobe they ask of me. Also, im just a receptionnist. I was always under the impression that secretaries and receptionnist were allowed a businness casual wardrobe, wich suits best what they do, and what they can afford. I agree that sporting clothes, beach clothes and anything damaged should not be worn to work, but in mine and many other peoples cases, I think the employer is asking for too much clothing wise.
I think this whole thing is silly. You can dress nicely and look like a professional even if you wear jeans every day. It’s all a matter of cut and style and how you present yourself.
Also, why do people hate having open toed and open heel shoes? Are toes going to be too risque and make people have trouble concentrating? Just because it was the traditional route doesn’t mean it’s the correct route.
Seriously, people. Wear what you want, that makes you comfortable, and allows you to look put-together. The main thing is to make sure that what you wear actually fits you.
Remember the guidline – no toes should be showing.
Sorry, but I think dress codes at work are SO outdated. What your wearing has no connection to your work performance, so what you wear should be irrelevant. I hate the fact that, as a man, I am forced to wear pants to work when it’s 35C outside while my female coworkers can show up in a camisole and a loose, light, short skirt while I am sweating like a pig. Sorry, but what’s more attractive, a guy feeling comfortable in shorts and a tank top or a guy sweating in dress pants and a buttoned shirt having a hard time focusing cuz he’s worried he has pit stains from taking the overheated subway into work?
Until my present job, I have always been able to wear what I wanted to work without limit, and in summer, that meant shorts, a tank top and flip flops…and it didnt make me any less professional. When the president and CEO of my last company, a billion dollar worldwide software monster, visited our offices, he was in shorts and a t.shirt. THE CEO.
It is time for companies to get rid of dress codes all together and let people focus on their work rather than their clothes. We all like dressing up some days for sure…I wear a tie to work sometimes just because I want to…but not when it’s 35C outside. Ladies, if you can wear flip flops to work and that’s what you want to wear…WEAR THEM. And be thankful that for once, a double standard plays in your favour while use guys sweat it out in long pants all summer while you can wear mini skirts and barely-there tops.
I think people in general just don’t know how to dress anymore (myself included). I work as a tour guide in a museum, when I first started, I was told to dress “business casual” and that I would be given a uniform shirt to wear. So, I put on some kacki green coloured pants, some Birkenstocks, and our grey/beige work shirt. I thought I was very under dressed, until I arrived at work only to find the guide I was shadowing to be wearing jeans. Not just any jeans either, but jeans that had clearly seen better days with faded spots and tears at the bottom. Now in my line of work, you need to find a happy medium between looking professional so people respect you, and looking comfortable so people don’t think you’re too stuffy and dread having to spend an hour with you. To me, jeans at work are completely unacceptable, with the exception of a nice pair on weekends or designated casual days. When I asked my supervisor, she said black dress pants are preferred, but would be t!
alking to everyone at once to set a dress code, I later talked to some of the girls wearing jeans, and they had no idea this was unfavourable!
People just don’t dress how they used to, it’s no longer part of our culture to look sharp and well put together, go back 70 years, and it was completely unacceptable to not be dressed, coiffed and made-up by 10 or so in the morning, even if you were just staying home for the day. Fast forward to today, go to work in your flannel pajama pants and a ponytail…who cares?! People as a whole are lazier (myself, being a stay at home mom, usually don’t get out of bed before 10) and as a result dress like slobs, and obviously this translates to the workplace.
I was told to wear business professional dresses to work. So how should you dress if you are over 125lbs and have to wear business professional dress to work? Explain, does this mean full business attire or business causal?
The worst is when your boss askes you to wear your bikini.
Thanks for this article: I think that it’s important how we look on the others’ regards… If we’d like to be respected!
Lets’ try to keep our good sense as it seems to have vanished!
It’s a great pleasure for me each morning to dress when I go to work: to match my dress, my shoes, my bag, my (discreet) jewelry…
Trying to stay elegant.
I love this article – I completely agree – I’ve always turned my head away from women who wear flip – flops to work & especially the ones who don’t get pedicures – I usually make the odd comment when spring is approaching about flip flops & casual wear – my father is so old fashion that I was raised to dress appropriately – I would wear flat shoes just to drive in cause lets face it ladies, who wants to ruin those beautiful heals !!! Yes, I’ve had many comments over the years from co-workers and friends but I feel great dressing appropriately !!
So toss those flip – flops to the beach & put something sexy on your feet !
This problem with dress code stems more from a change in how and the environment that we work in, and it’s not necessarily just people not having “business fashion sense”. I have worked in roles and environments where deadlines are extreme and short – causing 10-14 hour days and you essentially live at your job. I can tell you that you won’t care for a suit and tie. You just need the project done! Meanwhile, the old adage of “work is work” and “play is play” has become a spectrum of gray vs a defined line in many work environments as companies and staff try to increase their work/life balance by increasing comfort and fun in the workplace. I personally feel that being comfortable is more important than “looking like an expert”, because after all, no one would say Steve Jobs isn’t an expert in his field – black tops and blue jeans are his trademark now. At the same time, how many times have you met someone that “looks professional” in their dress but were completely un!
professional in their conduct? Professionalism is equally if not more in attitude and behavior than just a nice suit.
I can’t believe the responses I’m reading! What is wrong with todays society!? Work is where you earn your living. It’s NOT casual Friday every day. This disregard for appearance is not only rampant in the workplace, it’s everywhere today. Tina Fey said a line on “30 Rock” along the lines of “what’s wrong with people today..they wear flip flops to church.” It’s true! Women and men don’t dress to go out thse days. Ballcaps are the norm for men anywhere it seems and do most women even wear make up anymore? Even blue collar workers used to shave before work. My mother worked a mid range paying job forever and always could afford proper work attire, so the “I don’t make enough money” card doesn’t work. As mentioned in the article Value Village is a good place to start.
Personally, I believe it depends on what field you are actually working in.
I myself am in graphic design, therefore I can dress it up when meeting with clients, however if I’m infront of my MAC all day then I’d prefer the jeans and t-shirt combination. I don’t believe how you dress truly shows your talents and workmanship, I believe it’s shown through determination and hard work and if you work better in jeans and a t-shirt, I don’t believe breaking your ankles and back because you have to wear high heels is really necessary. I do agree that dressing too provacatively and possibly wearing shirts with inappropriate wording, etc. is understandable. However I believe that in today’s age people are opening up a lot more to different views, styles and just over all general appearances that may have been unacceptable last decade.
There should be a certain level of indiscretion in what is worn to the workplace. I shake my head whenever I see people wearing what I call “barbeque clothes” to the office. Wearing shorts, flip-flops, t-shirts, tank tops demonstrates a lack of professionalism and integrity at work. I was once given the advise to dress well because you never know who you may meet one day, your future employer or even your spouse….
Dress for the job you want , not the job you currently have.
So wearing a tuxedo while working at a car wash may be difficult but you will be noticed.
Damion, I beg of you, don’t wear tank tops EVER. These are never good, either in the office or anywhere else. If we’re going to talk about what’s attractive, let’s let it be known that a man’s hairy armpits are not attractive. If i had to work near them, I might retch.
Also, I agree that if you’re not earning much, you shouldn’t have to spend piles of money on a business-appropriate wardrobe. I make 13 bucks an hour and wear jeans, and I will do so unless I get a fat raise! But if you’re making good money, I say suck it up and dress for it. No one’s forcing you to work there, and if it’s such a complaint to dress half-decently you can always go drive a forklift or something.
But not in a tank top please.
umm… i just have to say that once again this seems mostly geared towards woman… And you know what men ? You’re gonna have to learn to control yourselves and stop thinking with your pants. Who cares how far someone can look down my shirt, they shouldn’t b looking there in the first place. It’s not my fault some horny man can’t help himself and wants to look down my top which I don’t really understand the fascination with, nor the fact that its inappropriate.
Does that mean when a man wears a dress shirt where I can see his nipples makes him inappropriate? Does that mean a man needs to wear a certain bagginess of pants? No, I didn’t think so. But God forbid a woman show a little bit of bra when she bends over to pic up the papers she dropped working for some man anyway. I thought we fought for equality, and if I wanna walk around with no bra on under my shirt, it shouldn’t be considered inappropriate dress attire because my boss can’t look at my face while he’s talking to me. When did horniness become our problem?
OK, my thoughts on this topic… of course there are mixed feelings on this. I can agree that how you dress does not make or break your job performance. However, going casual you are going to get those people that abuse the code and don’t have a clue on how to look acceptable in casual attire. I think that if you feel you look good about your appearance it is reflected in the way you approach your job and leaves a good impression with others. About the comment on the “only a receptionist” this is the window of the company and if anyone should look professional it should be reception.
I was with a company that introduced a very strict dress code but the 6 of us in that office never saw anyone from the outside but still had to adhere to the rules. I worked with a woman in the past that looked liked she should be on stage with the heavy make-up (she was nicknamed Meme) also heavy perfume. Just to the other readers, if this is you then you might want to get an updated look.
I believe that it strongly depends what sort of job you work at. If, like me, you are not customer-facing, then wearing a good cut of dark jeans and a collared shirt is fine.
I would agree with the comment Mike made concerning people with mid-range salaries affording decent work clothes…but this is based on priority. My priority is not to have a closet full of work clothes…but to ensure I look decent at work, while spending the majority of my salary on what is important to me. The newest pair of kitten-heal pumps is certainly not high on my list. Addionally, why do women HAVE to wear make-up? I wear a little mascara and that is it. My skin is good BECAUSE I don’t clog my pores with foundations and powders. I fully realize there are dressing extremes with some people pushing the ‘casual’ of business attire too far…but seriously the opposite spectrum of everyone being dressed to the nines and matching dresses to purses to shoes…really? Wouldn’t that time be best spent actually working? Or better yet, that hard-earned money be spent on you and your life? I’m not working to be a fashion queen.
I believe that one should not dress in a manner that is offensive, but that should be the only rule.
Professionalism is a question of behaviour and attitude, towards others and towards your work. Dress should not enter into it.
In the 70s, when baby formulas became big selling items, people dressed as nurses and doctors in the developing countries to get mothers to switch to formulas in place of breatsfeeding. It didn’t seem to matter that the persons being targetted couln’t read, or had no access to safe water to use when mixing the formula. This is an extreme example,of course, but a good one that shows non-professional behaviour but “professional” dress.
I think we are becoming more conservative (small “c”), and re-emphasizing dress codes. Too bad – it is too artificial to a criteria by which to judge performance, or upon which to base employment.
I swear to god when I started reading this article, I thought I was reading something from the 90s.
Are you kidding me with this flipflop stuff? And why are you just addressing ladies. Most of my colleagues are men and they all wear THONG SANDALS. I don’t think any less of them, nor do they for me when I wear mine.
I’m careful about what I wear when we have clients coming in, or when I’m going to see them, but you know what? In the dead of summer, in the heat waves we’ve been pummelled with, nobody cares! My clients wear THONG SANDALS and spaghetti-strapped summer dresses when they come to our office and when they welcome us in theirs (which is way more formal and corporate than we are, BTW) top male execs were wearing capris and THONG SANDALS and NOBODY cared. They looked comfortable and stylish.
Tell me what’s worse? Seeing an employee looking comfortable, stylish and cool? Or seeing an employee wearing a button-down shirt and tie with huge-ass sweat stains on their backs, under their arms and on their bellies? Cuz I’ve seen this far too many times and I swear I almost threw up a little in my mouth. I’ve also seen women dress corporate (as you think everyone should) and be called out by colleagues (who were dressed more casually, though totally appropriately) because these women looked totally uncomfortable and were dying of heat under their skirt suit or pant suit!
And can we stop calling them flipflops? Flipflops conjures images of plastic $5 made in china garbage that nobody wears in the city anymore anyways. Today, you’ll find very cute and fashion forward designer THONG SANDALS that put their plastic counterparts to shame. They are made of leather, suede and/or fabric and have an actual shaped sole, lifting your foot properly off the ground. They are adorned with metallics, stones etc and sometimes even have extra straps.
Use your judgment, yes, absolutely, but come on… Enough with this miss-manners type of outdated advise and tips. The workplace has changed a lot and for the better!