Oh no - now I have a “proper job” again, does this mean I’m expected to wear something other than t-shirt & jeans when presenting at conferences???
I’m off to look for dresses and stuff that can survive being packed in my motorbike for days on end before being worn to present.
Well I'm properly old and grumpy so the powers that be know how terse my response would be to any demands to wear inappropriate clothing for my role.
You should see the people in my office, dress code - dress what? But then I do work in fashion (tech) dahrling.Pretty much anything goes. For anyone who requests pictures, I don't want to end up on any sort of offenders list so it's not going to happen!
I recall you work in GLH, and as such I can attest to the batshit crazy outfits many of your colleagues wear! I miss some of the lift chat since we moved office, real stuff of the intelligencia; "Ohmygodbabe, are you on hats today sweetie?" "no, I'm on swimwear, doing hats on Thursday hun". *facepalm*
We have no dress code, people look presentable in the main, devs less so, chairman and CEO more so, although they still wears jeans every day. Don't get customers visiting, but we do have external visitors.
I worked for an insurance company where they decided we should dress the same (ie suits) as the trading offices, where brokers visited. A broker had never been to our regional office, and this was one third of one of five floors, so it looked a bit daft. I just moved desks as I wasn't part of that team anyway!
First school I worked at, one of the English department (always English) came to work dressed in cowboy boots, a tiny skirt and...some top, I cannot remember the top part to be honest, all I remember is the legs.
Anyway, suffice to say all the boys paid attention in class that day. She looked pretty scandalous. Email from the principal came round shortly after the morning meeting and staff slightly stunned at her attire for the day.
My next school the head had worked for a few years in Jamaica, and said he always wore full suit even on the hottest days, so all the men at school had to wear suits all year round, despite classrooms being scorching. Women again could get away with sandals etc. in the summer.
Luckily my new job, the dress code is fairly relaxed. Although I did have a moment where I was chatting to a near retirement age archaeologist last week and realised we were dressed the same, I am 33.
Rachel you need a little mini steamer. They work a treat.
We had the following message from the ceo in the middle of the summer:
Businesses like ours are completely dependent on the talent of the people who work here. Yes, many companies say that, but in our case it’s true: our customers value, and pay for, our unique products and services created, marketed and sold through your skills and commitment.I believe we perform at our best when we can be ourselves at work. One example is how we dress. For some people, it’s no big deal. But for others, it’s an important issue of comfort or identity. Therefore, with immediate effect please feel free to dress as you want to. I trust you to be mindful of your colleagues and any reasonable sensitivities they may have and, of course, of the need in some cases to be smart in front of clients. I’m not going to prescribe what that means – as I say, I trust you.
So what’s our dress code? From now on, we don’t have one.
🙂
We had the following message from the ceo in the middle of the summer:
Very enlightened thinking!
One of my school friends did his medical degree at Charing Cross in the Eighties, and anatomy in the pre-clinical part included cadaveric dissection, with ties to be worn by men as a mark of respect. Having burnt his olnly school tie on leaving, he borrowed from the back of his father’s cupboard - wonderful Sixties and Seventies offerings for which the passage of time had only made more gaudy and striking, especially with their 7 or 8” blades offering a broad canvas in contrast to the thin monochrome contemporary styles on display round the other students’ necks.
Within a fortnight, the supervisor dropped the tie requirement, as there was clearly no respect being offered by the ties that taste forgot.
Job interview next week.
While I'll obviously be wearing a suit, if it's a suits place I'll be instituting a mlre relaxed dresss code - I;ve spent too long in jeans/shirt/jacket to return to worn out suit trousers and a jacket ruined from being rung on the back of a chair.
I upset security at the posh building my "not for profit government transport organisation" rents some flooors on by turning up in full orange PPE and boots for a meeting (it was clean!). I was made to leave the foyer and enter via the delivery entrance. I also upset the safety briefer by wearing orange as apparently it wasn't the done thing to turn up in the PPE you would be wearing trackside whilst enacting the new rules we were being briefed about!
Never wore a tie to work and only wore trousers for a few weeks as they where part of the new proffesional uniform, sadly they shrunk so much and i was cycling 32 miles a day to work and back my legs filled them to almost bursting, since then always wore jeans and never a tie or a suit and never will.
Thank goodness we abandoned dress down. Back to proper attire but some odd folk have started to forget their ties. Sloppy as their work...
My first experience of dress down Friday in an office 25 years ago didn't go so well, I turned up in Bermuda shorts and a bright blue vest - it was hot. Lost my job the next week - only a summer job fortunately.
I used to work in a university and had a meeting with two academics. One turned up in fleece, shorts and hiking boots and the other was in a full three-piece suit, pocket watch and cravat.
They got on like a house on fire and were close colleagues for years.
My last place expected all male employees to wear suit and tie in the office, I worked from home so was doing well if I managed pants and dressing gown.
I have been known to wear pants in the office (whilst drying my shorts after getting rained on cycling in)....
Finally told my work - boss via text after he was pushing me to book a flight on my day off of all things - I’m not flying anywhere.
No reply, and I’m sure a series of difficult conversations will happen but as I’m on a UK contract and not required to fly about contractually everything will be fine. I hope.
Sorry to be OT and not an attempt to hijack the thread but I had to get it out. Please feel free to ignore and carry on...
Back OT then:
managed pants and dressing gown.
One of our chaps got caught out when he was summoned immediately onto a conference call, and stupidly did so whilst sitting next to a pool in Spain.
I work in a Uni - huge variety of dress standards, from sharp suits to Professors in scruffy shell suits !
A couple of jobs ago we had a dress down Friday dress code of "no bums or tums", which totally ruined my crop top and assless chaps look
We had a similar email a few years ago from the chairman where I worked.
He finished off by saying 'xxxx is a professional organisation and new age travelers are not welcome'.
Didn't go down particularly well but he owned the company and he didn't give a shit what people thought.
Jeans and tshirts for me. Sometimes I push the scruffy look a bit too far with downtrodden jeans and muddy boots, but me and my clothes are always clean!
4. Jeans and denimphew, i think we're ok there
was this guy already fired?
[img] 
[/img]
I work in a law firm. Every month the day before dress down day an email comes round with "advice" on what to wear. A vacation placement student once turned up in a rugby top (on dress down day) and as far as I can tell he blew his chances of a job at that point (no sportswear). Day to day I push the limits slightly with dresses and cardigans rather than a suit but have got away with it so far.
Other than the odd day of wedding photography (suit, no tie), mine's the same as matt-outandabout's. I do spend most days lying in puddles taking photos of dogs. Gets to the point - at this time of year - where I just keep one pair of manging, soggy Craghoppers trousers, walk the dog in them and go to work in them...
Ah, halcyon days of laboratory boiler suits/scrubs - when all I had to remember to do when I rode in was bring some underpants with me 🙂
I think this has to be the future for the male of the species:
I feel sorry for all you drones that have to wear suits to work. That must be totally rubbish. I've never really got the "we must dress up to impress clients" .. personally I view people wearing suits as trying too hard and I tend to distrust them. Smart casual generally comes across much better in my line of work.
For a number of years I was a manager at a fintech firm and I wore jeans and t-shirt every day (apart from the very occasional once a quarter "dress up" day where corporate overlords would turn up and lecture us all about strategies, silos and synergies). Wearing a suit was pretty amusing on those days, but screw doing that daily.
I now work as a developer and wear ... jeans and t-shirt (or maybe long sleeve depending on how I'm feeling). It drives my wife nuts as my home and work "wardrobe" are the same wardrobe.
We had the following message from the ceo in the middle of the summer:
Very enlightened thinking!
Likes....
I also read an article about a US company where the company instituted similar policies for hours and holidays; basically do your jobs, don't let the company or your colleagues down, and if that means you can take the odd half day here and there, then do so. No-one was counting how many you took, just measuring you on what you did.
The small (software engineering) company I work for was started by people who'd gotten fed up of things like dress codes and HR departments. When discussing getting a potential hire in for a second interview, one of the directors said that they'd ask them to turn up in the sort of clothes they're comfortable in and if they showed up in a suit then that may indicate they weren't a good match for the company.
I occasionally meet clients and when I do usually a polo shirt instead of a t shirt is the only change necessary. I've probably occasionally changed jeans for trousers but not very often at all.
If i want to dress up instead of a t shirt and shorts I've got a park tools apron to wear
Im considering aquiring a set of office slippers for when its too cold for flipflops.
Many years ago we were sent a memo (it was that long ago) from the CEO complaining that some people had been seen with rolled up sleeves. This was unacceptable and must stop.
Short sleeve shirts were also banned.
This was a high tech engineering company, not a city bank, so the memo was ignored!
I’m so glad I’ve never worked anywhere that has a dress code. Sounds like being back at school.
I feel sorry for all you drones that have to wear suits to work
Says the man who then goes into say that he wears the ultimate in male western drone wear: the tee shirt and jeans. 😆
Quite proud that in leaving interview from MoD. My line manager's boss said when I arrived everyone was in suits and ties and now 2 years later it's pool shirts an moleskins. (lots of ex senior army officers as well as civilians)
Im considering aquiring a set of office slippers for when its too cold for flipflops.
Reminds me of Manchester Town Hall. Don't forget the cardigan.
mine's the same as matt-outandabout's.
I have a confession.
As I'm now mainly in schools, I now wear the nice shirt with chino's...still with fleece and Salomons mind. And regularly go full Bear Grylls...
I had to wear a uniform when I worked on the retail shop floor of a place called Charlie Brown's many moons ago (think a Northern Halfords).
I had to buy own black shoes that were only ever worn at work.
Suffice to say they were bought cheap and used till they fell apart. Even doubled as my commuting shoes on the bike.
Whilst on holiday one summer a colleague was told by the manager to break into my locker and see what the smell was.
Turned out to be my gradually decomposing shoes going off in the summer heat.
They decided not to throw them and instead put car air fresheners into my locker and the shoes instead then lock it back up.
Got a few more months out of those suckers from memory.
As I'm now mainly in schools, I now wear the nice shirt with chino's...still with fleece and Salomons mind. And regularly go full Bear Grylls...
I'm sure the kids love it when you drink your own piss.
we've all come in looking very demure today... haha!
Office dress codes horror stories...The loom room here get really hot in the summer, and some of the samples and first runs we make needs us to hover about to make sure it looks OK (it's all very 18th century) so last summer, I was down here on my own, and it was mega hot, so stripped off to just my vest and cycling shorts...In walks the MD and a group of visitors!! que me hiding under the back of the loom and creeping out 😆
If i want to dress up instead of a t shirt and shorts I've got a park tools apron to wear
Doesn't that break the "no bums" rule?
most days jeans and a shirt - not worn a tie in 10 years or so
if my boss wants me to wear a suit he buys me one 😀
I'm just a drone so no one cares
I usually wear jeans with a t-shirt or jumper. T-shirts are normally metal or geeky. Looking around, that's pretty much what everyone wears...
I'm sure the kids love it when you drink your own piss.
We are Roman cooking on an open fire in city centre Edinburgh on Monday...I see an opportunity to really gross them out, so ensuring police and fire are called.... 😉
And regularly go full Bear Grylls...
Monogrammed dressing gown from the 5* spa hotel?
