Dress Code Nightmares
Celeste Blackburn SPHR
248 Posts
Spring has officially sprung. And like snakes shedding their skins, employees tend to shed their office-appropriate winter wardrobe of sensible shoes, long pants, and concealing sweaters in favor of flip flops, short skirts, and revealing tops. So we want to know: What is your biggest problem when it comes to the office dress code?
Is it harder to keep people in line on the "little things" like flip flops (after all, who's looking at my feet?) or issues that are a little more subjective and personal (how low-cut is too far?). We've included the options in the poll that we could think of, but please feel free to check the "other" box and leave a reply with your answer. And, of course, we'd love to hear the stories that go along with your votes!
Is it harder to keep people in line on the "little things" like flip flops (after all, who's looking at my feet?) or issues that are a little more subjective and personal (how low-cut is too far?). We've included the options in the poll that we could think of, but please feel free to check the "other" box and leave a reply with your answer. And, of course, we'd love to hear the stories that go along with your votes!
Comments
Anyway, in addition to tank tops, I have an aversion to tight clothes, pretty much on anyone whether they be large, small, or in between.
Anyway, in addition to tank tops, I have an aversion to tight clothes, pretty much on anyone whether they be large, small, or in between.
Sharon, you reminded me of a couple of episodes we had around here with white leggings back in the day when they were so popular...one girl used to wear them with short tops and a variety of different-colored underwear that she apparently didn't realize showed through until someone explained it to her!
Another girl showed up for a meeting in my office wearing white leggings, a short top, and either thong underwear or NO underwear, because when she turned around to walk out she had a hole in the seat of her leggings and we saw a lot more of her than we'd expected to!
[url]http://hrhero.com/hl/articles/2010/06/09/a-more-serious-take-on-debrahlee-lorenzana/[/url]
I already had a low opinion of Citibank, and this article did nothing to improve it. Asking her not to wear turtle necks is rediculous. Asking her not to wear tight clothing is different, and her turtleneck was a bit snug.
An employee here who recently moved on had an excellent figure and often wore clothes that showed it off. None of her clothes were too tight, too short, or too low, but they were definitely designed to enhance her appearance. If any male employees had been ogling her they would have been warned to behave professionally. As long as the female's clothing is appropriate, she should not be blamed for the actions of men who aren't mature enough to handle their hormones around an attractive female.
Just my 2 cents.
If Citibank did indeed tell her she was dressing provocatively and distracting the men and when she didn't change, fire her, then that is, in a way, discrimination. What man gets fired for making women drool? Why hold her responsible for the men's inability to stay focused? However, even if true that doesn't follow that it rises to the level of illegal discrimination.
I might feel differently if she was dressing the way she did in pictures 31 forward. In that case it would have been clear she was dressing in a way intended to distract. Of course, even that is subjective. 10 years from now the way she dressed in the later pictures may seem tame, or perhaps the way she is dressing now may seem outrageous. That's the trouble with opinions. Everyone's different, and they keep changing.
She was on the t.v. show Inside Edition the other night and modeled a few of the outfits she said she wore and there was nothing wrong with them, although with her build I think it would be safe to say that unless she wore a burlap sack probably pretty much anything she might wear would definitely accentuate her figure.
Between the more provocative pictures included in that slideshow and her Inside Edition appearance and all the press she's getting for this, I think the girl is doing an excellent job of putting herself out there...personally, I think she's hoping for some sort of celebrity-type career to come out of this.
Between the more provocative pictures included in that slideshow and her Inside Edition appearance and all the press she's getting for this, I think the girl is doing an excellent job of putting herself out there...personally, I think she's hoping for some sort of celebrity-type career to come out of this.[/QUOTE]
It sure does seem that way, doesn't it? Why else would there be so much publicity about a simple arbitration case?
Julie Athey
With that said, I was reading a "10 Summer Office Fashion Don'ts" article this morning on CNN in my usual fear of finding any number of my own faux pas listed on there, but was pleasantly surprised to find that, at least for that article, I flew under the radar. Safe!!
I do at least have the fashion awareness to dress up if I'm going to be emerging from my content cave and interacting with the public, but I consider the rarity of that a job benefit.
Yes, that is a hot pink screen-printed t-shirt. The collar has been skillfully torn off to make it easier to wear off-the-shoulder. The teller defended this clothing choice by pointed out that she isn't revealing her bra - that black strap is to the swimsuit she's wearing underneath.
This was on Friday... this morning, the branch manager was still surprised that I made such a big deal out of this.
As for the woman in the news, I think its clear by her behavior that she is simply seeking attention and hoping for some notoriety from all of this. Its balloon boy all over again.
Frank, I'm still chuckling at your teller telling you it was OK b/c it was a swimsuit and not a bra. Like you were going to respond, "A swimsuit? Oh, my bad. It's totally acceptable for you to wear your swimsuit to work. I apologize for thinking it was a bra."
I've had a few friends work as tellers and other "front" positions at banks and they have had, by far, the strictest dress codes of anyone else I know. They may not have to wear the "fanciest" clothes but there were very clear guidelines -- some even to the point of "Monday = black pants and solid color button down shirt" thru "Friday= Khaki pants and red bank logo polo"
Our overall dress code has relaxed quite a bit over the years, but we allow each of our front-line managers to decide what is acceptable for their tellers to wear. I've discovered there is a pretty wide range of what some managers find acceptable: some of them think that capri pants are a huge no-no, while others don't have a problem with a nice pair of capris during the summer months. Some say no open-toed shoes or sandals at all, some say if you wear open-toed shoes you must either wear pantyhose or have your toenails painted. Some say no jeans at all (they'll allow khakis on "dress-down" days) but most of them do allow jeans at least every other week on a Friday, usually with a bank logo shirt. A couple of branches tell their employees which shirt they are allowed to wear which weeks and their employees have to wear black, not blue, jeans.
I remember joking with one supervisor about her dress code being so strict, maybe we'd just go to uniforms. She was horrified at that idea, although what she didn't think about was that by dictating exactly which styles & colors of shirts and colors of pants they were allowed to wear on any given day, they were already pretty much wearing uniforms.