topic Re: Business Work Attire in Community Chat

Business Work Attire

Jordan2 — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 19:23:28 GMT

So is business work attire a thing of the past? I work in a school as long as you wear clothes anything goes. I was in Macys today, I was near the workers entrance and saw one woman dressed like she was going to the gym dressed in a crop top and biker shorts, another woman wore a kind of a tank dress that was way too short! I get casual Friday but seems like it is very casual everyday.

Re: Business Work Attire

lgfan — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 19:35:45 GMT

Maybe it is time to go back to uniforms. I remember when I was younger bank employees wore jackets over their regular clothes. You could actually tell the difference between the customers and employees.

Re: Business Work Attire

millieshops — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 19:40:05 GMT

I think the trend has been arriving for a couple of decades now, and the large percent of workers who tuned in from home during the earlier days of the pandemic may have cemented the trend into place for many more years.

I know those who work from home in my neighborhood virtually always dress casually, just adding a bit of neatness and a bit more makeup for Zoom meetings or a few hours onsite.

About 20 years ago, I was in a conversation with a lawyer in San Antonio when he was asked if his office did casual Fridays. He said they had tried it, but too many didn't understand casual Friday in the workplace isn't the same as a day on the fields or at the beach! Workers in lots of places would do well to think carefully about what makes most of their clients/customers feel comfortable.

I think I am comfortable with a wide range of outfits, but I still believe there's a difference between what I choose to wear when I'm home alone and what I don when I'm headed into a public place. I'd like those I do business with to think more about the message their clothes sends.

Re: Business Work Attire

Kachina624 — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 19:44:32 GMT

@Jordan2 Macy's has employees that don't work in the public venue. They may be stockroom or janitorial workers. I doubt they'd allow sales personnel to dress in bike shorts and a crop top. It could have been a day off and picking up her paycheck.

Re: Business Work Attire

Laura14 — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 19:43:30 GMT

It's casual every day. I can't do it except on Fridays but it's just not a thing anymore required or expected.

I actually interviewed for a job two years ago when I thought this one might go away. The manager of a well known national pharmacy met me in a flannel shirt and jeans. Not dress jeans, jeans like she came off the tractor and baled some hay jeans, and we're not a rural area.

I was shocked that she would meet a prospective new hire like that but welcome to the younger ones. I was offered the job and would have done it part time for some extra money when this one didn't go but I could not get over the disrespect or indifference maybe it is towards a prospective team member.

It may be a sign I am officially old but I think the employer needs to make a good and professional impression too. And I came highly recommended from a personal friend and co-manager and completely qualified which is beyond rare in that profession. I wasn't off the street or a trainee.

It still makes me shake my head.

Re: Business Work Attire

lgfan — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 19:44:29 GMT

I worked for a company that ended casual Fridays because some workers were too casual. One woman actually wore a bathing suit and a pair of shorts. She also wore a pair of thong sandals.

Re: Business Work Attire

millieshops — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 19:46:43 GMT

@lgfan I've seen company shirts at every place from my Chase bank to the car wash to the grocery stores just in this last week.

Re: Business Work Attire

gertrudecloset — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 19:54:14 GMT

@Jordan2 wrote:
So is business work attire a thing of the past? I work in a school as long as you wear clothes anything goes. I was in Macys today, I was near the workers entrance and saw one woman dressed like she was going to the gym dressed in a crop top and biker shorts, another woman wore a kind of a tank dress that was way too short! I get casual Friday but seems like it is very casual everyday.

@Jordan2 doesn't this depend on where one works? If you work for a Fortune 100 or 500 Company, odds are you're not going to walk around your office in crop tops and shorts. In some locals (like my city) many people COMMUTE to work looking one way and change when they get to their place of work. I used to do that with my footwear. Dressed in suits with comfortable sneakers until I got into the office to change into a pair of shoes. Ever went to the Bank and need the help of the staff away from the Teller's Booth? How do they look?

Where do you live that you see people not prepared and dressed appropriately for work?

Baristas, stock persons, sales people are not allowed to come to work in crop tops and shorts in any place I've ever seen.

Re: Business Work Attire

ALRATIBA — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 20:00:44 GMT

I haven't seen anything unusual re business attire around here.

We have several hospitals, banks, PD precinct, lots of stores, restaurants, public junor high school and Catholic elementary school.

Everyone is dressed appropriately.

I'm frequently up around Madison Ave .... still seeting men in suits and women in "normal" office attire.

Re: Business Work Attire

jlkz — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 20:02:33 GMT

DH just retired from his sole proprietor law firm. For a long time, law offices in the suburbs went casual ( think sweaters or golf shirts ) unless there was a court appearance scheduled or client appointments.

Consequently, his collection of predominantly long sleeve white shirts which had grown over time, became relics and he stored them in the never used spa tub behind the shower curtains.

About a month ago I hung 1/4 of them on a rod and had him go through and pick out which ones were to be donated. Did this three more times. I carefully folded the shirts to be donated and sent them to St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Shop in Naples for distribution to migrant field workers to serve as protection against skin cancer.

Count: 48 shirts. Remaining: You don't want to know, lol !

Re: Business Work Attire

paixmcdao — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 20:04:44 GMT

@Jordan2 wrote:
So is business work attire a thing of the past? I work in a school as long as you wear clothes anything goes. I was in Macys today, I was near the workers entrance and saw one woman dressed like she was going to the gym dressed in a crop top and biker shorts, another woman wore a kind of a tank dress that was way too short! I get casual Friday but seems like it is very casual everyday.

That is certainly not the case in the public school districts that I am quite familiar with.

Re: Business Work Attire

ninjawife — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 20:18:27 GMT

@Jordan2 My first job out of grad school was in a middle school. The principal told one female teacher that she was dressing too provocatively for the young adolescent students. The next day she came to work in a negligee. No she didn't lose her job. This was 32 years ago.

Re: Business Work Attire

Blondie59 — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 20:17:47 GMT

I work for an insurance company. Headquartered in Hartford, CT, it was rather stodgy. Anytime I went to hq, it was suit, blouse pantyhose and pumps. In the early 2000s, they allowed one Friday a month as casual dress. No jeans- tailored pants, sweaters, golf shirts if it was warm. Oh how I loved that day! Now, it's business casual everyday and some really push it to the limit: flip flops, concert tshirts, pants I swear are pajama pants. I might be getting old, but I don't like it.

Re: Business Work Attire

deepwaterdotter — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 20:39:18 GMT

@ALRATIBA wrote:
I haven't seen anything unusual re business attire around here.

We have several hospitals, banks, PD precinct, lots of stores, restaurants, public junor high school and Catholic elementary school.

Everyone is dressed appropriately.

I'm frequently up around Madison Ave .... still seeting men in suits and women in "normal" office attire.

This is my experience also. Guess I'm more observant of an employee's proficiency at attending to my business than I am at their fashion choice.

Re: Business Work Attire

Meowingkitty — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 20:56:46 GMT

I really don't care what one wears to work. As long as bits and pieces are covered I'm ok with it. I for one would not work for a company that required me to dress up. I like casual. I can do a good job whether I'm dressed in a dress and heels (which by the way I would not accept a job that required dressing up and yes I did turn one down that required me to dress that way) or jeans and a tee.

Re: Business Work Attire

Pook — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 21:14:39 GMT

Doesn't matter to me what anyone wears just so they are efficient and the job they were hired for gets done!

Re: Business Work Attire

santorini — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 21:18:02 GMT

We still dress up at my office and I'm glad. I have invested a lot of money in my "work" clothes and I enjoy wearing them.

Re: Business Work Attire

skatting44 — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 21:51:13 GMT

What does one expect in today's schools, " everything goes " except teaching reading, writing, arithmetic .

Re: Business Work Attire

Kachina624 — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 22:20:55 GMT

@skatting44 wrote:
What does one expect in today's schools, " everything goes " except teaching reading, writing, arithmetic .

@skatting44 When you see a mob of people outside of a school, you can't tell the teachers from the kids. They all look grungy.

Re: Business Work Attire

proudlyfromNJ — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 22:28:50 GMT

Our schools itinerary is online for all to see. The normal subjects are taught. Reading, writing,etc. not much looks different from when I was in school. Small town here. Sorry about small text, this is a very old IPad and. Can't change it.