Sleeveless top for work - yes or no

[FallenFigs]

i work in an office. SME not corporate.

is it appropriate to wear a sleeveless top or dress, or not?

A colleague was today and I certainly didn’t think it looked inappropriate, but in my head I don’t think I’d be comfortable. And no way would a guy do it. Seems unfair they are generally still in trousers and shirts (albeit short sleeved) whilst the women are in dresses.

would you, or not?

Why are you not able to work from home, at least for some of the week?

Agree about sleeveless not strappy incidentally, but not an issue if you worked from home at least for a few days.

This is what I was taught of old. It what most dress code policies say.

I never want to see anyone else’s armpits, so it’s a no from me, but I recognise that I am likely to be an outlier here.

I did yesterday at secondary school. It's a "workwear" style one just sleeveless 🤷🏻‍♀️

Yes, though I think too many dresses are quite low cut. So if appropriate neckline then I think it's fine. You shouldn't stop yourself just because men have to wear a shirt - they can go topless in their gardens and parks.

I'd wear a dress without sleeves, ie practically whole shoulder and all of back covered, but not a vest and definitely not racer back

I wouldn't have done when I worked in a more corporate environment, but I think things have changed there too now. When I started there were no bare legs!

What a weird thread. Thank god I'm self employed!!!

Didn’t even cross my mind that sleeveless is inappropriate. Lots of people wear sleeveless in my office.

I've gone sleeveless today which is unlike me! Although I'd never wear something strappy. I'm more senior so I'm always conscious of how I'm dressed in the office, although the younger ones think it's okay to turn up with see-through leggings and belly buttons out so maybe I should care less.

I wore towel shorts, a tank top and Birkenstocks to the office yesterday 😂😂

This is something I've been pondering as started a new job and mostly work with men so I can't really see what the rules are for women. In other places I've worked, sleeveless was definitely fine and worn by the most senior of managers. It is weird to think why shoulders are unacceptable.

I've worn shift dresses for work plenty and so have a lot of my female colleagues. We work for a large bank so very corporate (though it's a lot more chill since returning post lockdown, my colleague saw someone in jeans in head office which used to be a total no no)

What, anything? Anywhere?

I guess it depends on your office, if you've seen one person do it then you're probably ok to do the same. About 20 years ago I worked in an office with no dress rules at all until we had a heat wave and the air conditioning failed and took a week to be fixed. During that week they brought in two new dress rules, navels must be covered and shoes/sandals must be worn. So sleeveless wouldn't even have raised an eyebrow.

Yes of course! Go for it. Everything is forgiven in hot weather!

To shave or not to shave is the next question

Do you still wear tights and closed toes? I always do

These threads always make me laugh, I work for a creative agency where we deal with very senior government orgs, some of the biggest financial service companies in the world and the biggest tech companies, but we dress SO casually! Literally someone once turned up to work in pyjama bottoms and it wasn’t an issue. The idea of worrying about a sleeveless top is so alien to my job, thank goodness.

I used to teach in a prison. In college sleeveless was fine. But in prison, you had to wear sleeves and no low necklines. One woman showed up in a thin strapped top and was sent home. Sometimes there have to be rules.
They wouldn't have allowed Florence Pughs see-through pink dress either!

Unless your company has a dress code /policy then wear what feels comfortable surely.
Given the weather, why are men dressed in trousers and shirts? Could they not wear shorts an a t-shirt?
Sounds like there might be an expectation of sorts.

Best check.

Lots of my female colleagues wear sleeveless dresses, typical smart tailored, not strappy and not too cut too deep. The Hobbs dress is a prime example. Similar style also for tops with tailored trousers or skirts.

Even HR and some of the senior team/group heads wear them.

This thread just makes me think of how seeing a woman's ankles use to be shocking 😂😂 I care more about the quality of work getting done in the office than the clothes the person doing the work is wearing. And surely people work better when comfortable and confident? 🤷

The Hobbs dress is fine. A vest top isn’t.

Wouldn't cross my mind not to, I wore a sleeveless cotton dress yesterday and one of the 'smart' tops I wear most often is sleeveless.

Neither are strappy / cleavagey though.

I wonder what it is that people are afraid that they might see? I wonder if it’s hairy armpits? Or bingo wings? Or maybe a tattoo? It’s entirely possible for women to look really good in sleeveless tops/dresses/jumpsuits.

seriously though…I do find this really odd. I know it’s a thing, but it’s pretty strange.