Community Chat

[Jordan2]

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. 

[lgfan]

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.

[millieshops]

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.

[Kachina624]

@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.

[Laura14]

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.   

[lgfan]

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.

[millieshops]

@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.

[gertrudecloset]

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@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. 

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@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.  

[ALRATIBA]

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.

[jlkz]

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 !