To ask help wording a dress code policy for our office?

[OvertiredandConfused]

I am in despair of the dress code at work and want to change it so that it gives a reasonable idea of expectations but isn't a ridiculous list of dos and don'ts! We're all intelligent adults for goodness sake!

The aim is to have what I would call a smart casual / business casual environment. So that would allow for tailored jeans with a shirt or jacket and smart shoes, for example. Your favourite tour t-shirt, ripped jeans and trainers is not ok.

We currently have what reads like a very prescriptive dress code and yet half the staff still look scruffy even thought they technically follow the guidelines whilst the other half are irritated that the jeans example above is not allowed.

I was thinking of a statement along the lines of "we expect employees to present themselves in clean and smart attire that is appropriate for their role and an office environment." However, I think that is a little too open to personal interpretation.

Has anyone got any useful suggestions, or great policies that they're willing to share?

The problem you have is that the majority of the population are overweight and think this excuses them from wearing tailored clothing.

"I still think that a lot of dress codes are more about putting staff in their place and indulging the egos of petty little sods who need to make themselves feel like they are in charge, though"

You are so wrong about that.

I have worked in sales and marketing most of my adult life and what you wear does give the right or wrong impression to the customer.

It is all about perception and being self aware enough to understand what is considered inappropriate or not.

Some dress codes have to comply with health and safety regulations, which is why flip flops are banned in so many workplaces.

I think there are some dress codes that are pointless, petty bullshit. Just not all. There are jobs where you need to wear certain things to be safe, there are jobs where not looking a certain way potentially harms yours or your employer's reputation and/or alienates the people you deal with. This can apply to both smart and casual. There are also jobs where none of these apply but there are still loads of pointless rules anyway.

Doesn't matter how you write it if it is not enforced at all, we have a nicely written policy but no enforcement.

This is partly due to an impasse where we have people that have to do scruffy work, or no client interaction but the company doesn't want to pay for standardized/company branded polo shirts/cargo pant etc or equivalent.

It's all very well to go on about the free spirit stuff, but often dress codes are about the comfort of your colleagues and potentially customers too.

I don't think anyone would appreciate working next to someone with an offensive logo on their t-shirt (think up what personally offends you), or with gruesome gnarly feet on show, or displaying too much flesh (male or female). There was a woman at my last workplace who wore very short skirts, such that you could see her pants even when she was standing up, let alone sitting down. There were quite a few complaints about this. It was just unsavoury .

I have worked in sales and marketing most of my adult life and what you wear does give the right or wrong impression to the customer.

That's right, just imagine if the estate agent wasn't wearing a shit polyester suit, you might not realise they were crap and adjust yourself accordingly.

Lol-ed to the Mary Berry comment, brilliant!!!

I have worked in several solicitors offices, obviously client focused. Nothing other than smart office wear is acceptable. Don't get me wrong, I don't wear a suit every day but make sure I am smart. You are representing your company after all. First impressions and all that. So, for me, jeans? In an office? No way.

I still think that a lot of dress codes are more about putting staff in their place and indulging the egos of petty little sods who need to make themselves feel like they are in charge, though.

I agree with this and I also have worked in marketing (in a quite fashiony area) all my life. Health and safety aside employable adults don't need a code telling them how to dress and whether its appropriate. They can work it out themselves. And frankly no detailed dress code is going to save you from horrible dressers.

I recently was at a customer event with very big corporate brands attending and some were in sleeveless band t-shirts with visible tattoos. Others were in suits and ties. The women were more consistently dressed - smart dresses or trouser/blouse combo. The diversity wasn't a barrier to work or professionalism.

It is true that certain ways of dressing do act as a short cut for conveying skill, authority or professionalism but taking a step back, those dress codes are also based in hierarchy (the court example), gender norms (look how much we are focused on suits and ties) and class / wealth (it is expensive to dress smartly). It's good that those old codes are being broken down...slowly.

And it is possible to look 'too smart' for certain jobs. When I used to do market research, we were advised against wearing suits to go door-knocking, as people tended to see a person in a suit and refuse to answer the door as they would assume you were going to try and flog them double glazing/bother them about your imaginary friend/take their DC into care on the spot...

Exactly SGB. It is about dressing appropriately for the job.

Whilst your points are correct I don't like the inverse snobbery of some on here that scruffy jeans and t-shirts are somehow indicative of a person's moral superiority.

I have worked in a variety of industries and there was always a dress code.

Creative industries are possibly the strictest - jeans might have been allowed, but you wouldn't have got far with 10 year old blue harbour m&s jeans and a faded disney character t-shirt.

Equally my local 6th form college has no formal dress code as far as I can see, but only somebody from Mars would get the impression that the students don't take their appearance very seriously.

Thoroughly agree, ALassUnparalleled. How clever to sneer at a pimply young man in a cheap Asda suit in his first job. What a loser, huh? Fancy trying to look smart, whereas lil' ol' me, too creative to conform, dontcha know.

Actually, that's not the point. The wankers are the middle managers demanding their poorly-paid, low-skilled workers wear suits to in order to sit in a fucking call centre being shouted at all day because they will 'look smart' when actually they will all look like crap because they either can't afford anything other than Asda nylon and pleather shoes.

A lot of companies' dress codes are idiotic and not relevant to the job being done - it's just rules for the sake of rules, which is alway the mark of a shit organisation.

You're missing the point sgb . I have no idea if call centre workers have to abide by a dress code. It would be ridiculous if they had to follow the dress code which applies in my office.

My point is the attitude displayed by certain posters here assuming that overly casual clothes innately makes the wearer cooler and more creative coupled with sneering remarks such as

On the other hand it is only a matter of time before people in suits, ties and anything else that looks obviously uncomfortable are generally considered to be slightly strange and untrustworthy...

Our office is open plan and everyone is on show. Clients and other funders visit most days. Fridays are surprisingly popular for visits; luckily we don't do DD Fridays thank goodness.

The powers that be recently decreed that we all wear company polo shirts (supplied, although wearing them is not compulsory). It's not my idea of smart, so I only wear them when directed. The rest of the time I wear a smart office outfit of skirt or smart trousers, blouse, jacket and smart shoes. I work better when dressed like that. Even in a polo shirt I feel I ought to be having a clearout, moving furniture or something. However, they are popular with the staff.

I like the line about representing the company 'brand'.

The places I've worked in with dress codes had them for very sensible reasons. You could be sent to meet anyone - I once turned up late as usual and my boss didn't have a go, she said: 'Thank god you're here, leave right now and meet Princess Diana.'

It was an award ceremony that my company was sponsoring but had got the wrong day. I was the only one who looked smart enough to get into the hotel .

I was quite pissed off because that was the day I'd chosen to wear a blue polo neck (cashmere), black ski pants and flat black shoes. It looked nice but I looked out of place in a 5-star hotel for posh lunch. If I'd have known I'd have chosen a better outfit.

Diana in heels was about a foot taller than me in flats. But my mum treasured the photo of us shaking hands.

Mostly I didn't meet royalty and it is as important to dress down so as not to intimidate people, as it is to dress up when intimidation is exactly what I want to do.

I have been a middle manager and I have told people that their clothes were incompatible with the job we were expected to do. Mostly people get it without having to be told.

You will be barred from many places or rub people up the wrong way unless you are conventionally dressed. It may bore or offend some people but I have no problem with it. In fact I think it's offensive to wear things that you know will upset people or don't care.

I had two different wardrobes back then - my work wardrobe of boring blouses and below the knee skirts and my clubbing wardrobe of what looked like two bottle caps on my nipples and a spider's web on my crotch.

Cashmere and ski pants

The only place that doesn't have a dress code is your own home.

I'm freelance. I don't wear my dressing gown all day any more, but I wear comfortable scruffy trousers, socks and a selection of crappy t-shirts bearing the logos of various companies I've worked for.

I'm covering someone's maternity leave in an office from next week and I've had to go out and buy some new work clothes.

It's a casual office - which is not the same as anything goes. I've blown quite a lot on some nice trainers, t-shirts and jeans. I'm not complaining. It will make me happy. It's in a great shopping area and I fully expect to take late lunch hours so I can explore the shops for more things to wear in the office.

Leaving aside discussion about smart/non smart clothes, fashion isn't usually dictated by comfort and I don't think people are about to stop caring about fashion.

What you wear sends a message. The message you want to convey will vary from job to job - formality is important/you pay attention to detail/you are up to date with current trends/you are trustworthy because of your uniform/you are approachable/you are clever and have no time for clothes/you will comply with company rules/you are quirky/you are clean/you are qualified.

Whatever you wear you are always sending a message and most people don't want to send a message that says "I slept in these clothes" (although I accept that there are some jobs where you might want to say this.)

I was channelling Audrey Hepburn Swallowing

I am non customer facing and office based but have to wear a uniform. Quite grateful now

Hhmm, I wear leggings for work quite a lot - but I tend to wear them with long tunics/skater dresses and knee-boots...

Are people saying that this isn't accepted office wear?

Depends completely on the office.

I was channelling Audrey Hepburn

Which is what I thought reading your post limited !