Dressing up for work

[CdnCarrie]

Spin off from hoodie thread because I'm wearing a hoodie today which is rare.

Over my 35 years of working in an office setting things have gotten so casual versus in the past. I recall my parents wearing suits/skirts to the office and know I rarely see anyone in a suit.
I mix it up with either jeans/dress pants, dressier top with blazer or sweater. Summer capris and nice top.

There are couple people that do dress up more but they tend to be ones doing presentations, meeting with clients outside the institution, higher level meetings, etc.

I kind of miss having to dress up more. Use to actually wear skirts on occasion. Now it would feel weird with most around me in jeans.

 

[LoveSpringsteen]

It was the same when I first started working. Business attire for all. Then they started casual Fridays with strict rules as to what was permitted apparel, then it changed to casual wear all the time. There are still rules, but most people just wear jeans with a button down shirt or polo for the men and blouse or sweater for women. I do not miss the business attire wear at all, but I have some clothes if it’s needed. I’ll start working from home full time next year and I’ll probably continue dressing as I do now, but swap slippers for my work shoes.

 

[Praying Colonel]

25 years or so ago I worked for a stuffy, traditional firm where coat and tie was required and wearing a blazer and slacks was considered borderline hippie by the partners.

One time an email was sent to the associates saying it had been noticed that some had left to go to lunch (in the summer heat) without having their suit jacket on, and that was not allowed.

Eventually they (reluctantly) introduced Casual Friday, for the last Friday of each month.

That firm "merged" with (was acquired by) another firm and I wonder what it's like there in 2022. Me, it's khakis and polos now.

 

[Magical2017]

I think people should wear whatever they want as long as it follows the dress code. If you want to dress up work it!

I work at a university and never wear jeans to work, but I don't usually wear a suit, either. I wear dresses, skirts, or slacks with a nice top--sweaters, jackets, blazers, etc. Our faculty does pretty much the same, but I see a few who really dress up and a few who wear jeans.

 

[NotUrsula]

How timely; I spent 15 minutes this morning digging to the back of my closest for my navy blue loafers, because I decided to wear jeans to work today. (Also at a university, and I will wear jeans, but nicer ones; dark blue and trouser cut).

What I won't do is wear sneakers to work; I guess I'm old, but sneakers at work are just something I cannot do unless I'm spending the day doing pure grunt-work, like cleaning out a storage room. I do have colleagues that are comfortable wearing sneakers at work, but I just can't cross that line. (Part of it probably is that I really just don't like wearing sneakers; traumatized by gym class, I guess.)

 

[tvguy]

Working in TV news it always was interesting. Some bosses tried to enforce a dress code in the newsroom. They would get push back because when I started many on camera people (anchors and reporters) got a clothing allowance, and the rest of us did not, so we were picking up the tab for the cost of nicer clothing. Less of an issue these days became very few on air people have a clothing allowance anymore, THEY have to pay for their clothes too. Which is why at least here you see most reporters out in the field in blue jeans and a polo shirt with the station logo on it. In the office, jeans and tee shirts are the norm, or shorts in the summer. About the third time I ruined clothing changing toner in the copy machine I just went to a polo shirt and jeans.
My next to the last boss was famous for saying we should dress "like we are going to see our Grandma". A few folks pointed out that their Grandmas were just happy to see them, and didn't care what they were wearing. She cornered me once and asked "what would your Grandmother thing of your clothing". I told her I had no idea since both were deceased by the time I was born, on my father's side, she died 37 years before I was born. Boss never asked again!

 

[PollyannaMom]

If I had read this yesterday, I would have definitely said I don't miss dressing up!

But I had on something a tad dressier this morning, and it actually felt pretty good.

I guess like everything else, balance is key.

 

[mrodgers]

I could never do a job I need to dress up for.

Currently as I said in the hoodie thread, greasy dirty shorts and t-shirt. I don't match your office atmosphere though obviously.

 

[tvguy]

Funny thing is, I never liked dressing up for work. However DW and I like to dress up when we go on cruises and have been disappointed that formal nights have either disappeared or allow very casual dress.

 

[soccerdad72]

I think society, on a whole, has become more casual over the last few decades.

I know I've gone from suit and tie, to shirt and tie down to khakis and a dress shirt in the matter of 25-30 years. I'll wear a suit when I have in person meetings with management, but those are far and few in between in this post-pandemic era.

 

[2Lunds]

I'm personally looking forward to the day we all dress in a stretchy onesie a-la Star Trek

Seriously though -I do not miss having two wardrobes (one for work and one for regular life) and if I ever had to wear pantyhose again I'd absolutely lose it.

 

[bcla]

Never had to other than a brief period where I had to deal with customers in person. But most of my contact was over the phone or through electronic messaging systems, so I didn't even need to dress up for that. And when I did I needed to wear no more than a polo shirt and khakis.

I do remember once at a trade show in Vegas, I was invited to dinner with coworkers from my division, but these were mostly sales/marketing/applications where they were in more customer facing roles. They had to wear the company polo shirt in the booth. But I got to attend and see whatever I wanted. They asked me to come in and help bring fragile items back (where they wanted to minimize rough handling) and also help taking down their booth at the trade show. They said that we were going someplace nice for dinner so at least dress up. I wore a T-shirt and jeans when helping them with it, but before we all went out for dinner I changed into a collared shirt and khakis. Someone commented that she didn't think I owned anything like that. Later on I did oddball things like wear a suit to work, just because I wanted to justify the expense The usual comments were about whether or not I going to a funeral or to a job interview.

It's way different now that I work from home, but even then I have to show my face with teleconferencing and nobody cares how one is dressed. Most wear hoodies, T-shirts, etc. where it's more about comfort than anything else.

 

[Boopuff]

I remember, a zillion years ago, when I started working in the school system. Jeans were a big "no-no" most people dressed rather nicely. Time warp... today you can't tell a teacher from students! I still have a hard time wearing jeans to work, but when I do, they aren't ripped or crappy looking.

 

[mrodgers]

I'm personally looking forward to the day we all dress in a stretchy onesie a-la Star Trek

Seriously though -I do not miss having two wardrobes (one for work and one for regular life) and if I ever had to wear pantyhose again I'd absolutely lose it.

I have 2 wardrobes, but the opposite way. I buy regular life clothes and when they get a hole or stained, they go to work duty. With no more brick and mortar to go buy clothes, those 2 wardrobes are slowly becoming 1 as I can't buy clothes any more as I have to see and feel them to see if they'd be comfortable and fit.

Wanted to buy a pair of jeans. I like Arizona (Sears or Pennys, I can't remember) and thought I'll just look online. 18 different cuts with weird names and all the pictures looked the same. I couldn't tell which ones were just normal jeans.

 

[EACarlson]

When I go into the office, usually once or twice a week, I wear golf slacks with either a button down or polo. Occasionally a dark pair of jeans with a button down or polo. Many of the people in my office only wear jeans, sneakers and t-shirts. No one is enforcing the dress code.

 

[disneychrista]

When I first started working for the courthouse I was kind of shocked at not only how casual people were dressed but that visible tattoos, colored hair and piercings were allowed. We can only wear jeans on Friday though and only if you aren’t working in a courtroom. Guys still have to wear slacks/dockers and collared shirts. But the 20-something girls IMO are pushing the boundaries of what is business casual and what is just casual.

 

[Christine]

I've always dressed up but I'm definitely more casual than I used to be. I have a lot of dresses though--mainy sweater dresses or sheath type that are really comfortable. Lots of pencil skirs too with nice blouses or sweaters. Lower heels. More often though, I buy skinny ankle "dress" pants (glorified leggings I guess) and top it with a really nice blazer and some booties or flats. I just feel really great when I put something nice on. I often don't look good in my casual clothes--kinda frumpy.

 

[leebee]

DH is a chemistry professor, so on the days he's lecturing (which is almost every day) he wears a dress shirt, tie, tie chain, khakis, and semi-dress shoes (usually slip-ons but sometimes his wing-tips). I've almost always worked in research labs and have ruined enough clothes to know that jeans are the way to go. On the days I have to teach, I'll wear nicer jeans, or colored jeans, and a nicer top, but on lab days, I wear jeans and a shirt.

When I was working in a public school, faculty were asked not to wear jeans, except on Fridays. That was OK, as colored jeans, dockers, etc were OK, as were skirts and dresses.

 

[tvguy]

With no more brick and mortar to go buy clothes, those 2 wardrobes are slowly becoming 1 as I can't buy clothes any more as I have to see and feel them to see if they'd be comfortable and fit.

Wanted to buy a pair of jeans. I like Arizona (Sears or Pennys, I can't remember) and thought I'll just look online. 18 different cuts with weird names and all the pictures looked the same. I couldn't tell which ones were just normal jeans.

Wow, where do you live where there are no brick and mortar stores? There are a lot fewer here than there used to be, but they are still there. My daughter does buy clothing online but that turns into a cycle of "ordering" "returning because it doesn't fit" ""ordering" "returning because it doesn't fit" mess. We still have JCPenney, Men's Warehouse, Macys etc. And my Dockers and Slacks the last 10 years have all come from Walmart.

 

[kdonnel]

I have worn shorts and T-shirt’s to work for almost 30 years. I only had to wear a dress shirt and tie for the first year of my career in IT.

Lately I wear pjs until after I get my run in and shower at lunch.