To think that spaghetti strap dresses/tops are not appropriaye/professional office wear no matter how hot it is?

[SerenDippitty]

Except perhaps on a dress down Friday and perhaps not even then.

Most women have flabby, untoned arms, bingo wings and side boob. Very unattractive whereas a short sleeved or no sleeved shirt id far more flattering and cooler!

Yes! This is what I mean by private parts of the body. I don't want to look at somebody's upper arms or armpit stubble at work. And I wouldn't inflict mine on colleagues, it feels impolite in a professional environment.
How would you feel if the men in your office wore spaghetti strap vests to work, with their armpit hair and shoulders on display?

All the blinding white flesh on display this week has hurt my eyes. Why do Brits dress so awful?

Go and conduct a thorough study to find out why. Let us know how you get on.

How would you feel if the men in your office wore spaghetti strap vests to work, with their armpit hair and shoulders on display?

Couldn’t give a fig if they were doing the job I hired them to do to be honest.

I’m loving be outrage at shoulders

All the blinding white flesh on display this week has hurt my eyes

I choose to keep my skin white because (a) I’m not prepared to have it damaged by sun and (b) I would look ridiculous with any sort of tan.

Best get your sunglasses out.

Many people have commented that as long as it's not client facing, or that they will put proper clothes on for client meetings. Why? If it doesn't matter and you can do the work in bikini, why bother?

For the same reason I might slob around in my pyjamas at home, but decide to put on clothes when I leave the house

Or why I don't turn up at a wedding or christening in tracksuit bottoms and a hoodie

I'm so glad I work somewhere without daft restrictions.

Last week I wore a maxi dress (with capped sleeves!) today, Capris and a t-shirt. I'll probably wear a dress tomorrow as I'm on tills all day and nowhere near the air-con!

Luckily my boss would prefer us to be comfortable as opposed to sweltering but "smart".

Couldn't give a stuff about spaghetti straps in the work place. They don't contravene any health and safety regulations. Flip flops, on the other hand...

For the same reason I might slob around in my pyjamas at home, but decide to put on clothes when I leave the house

So you agree there is generally certain type of attire people expect in work environment. Me too.

I don't have an issue with spaghetti straps for work per se but it does depend on the top / dress. If it's relatively smart and not too revealing then go ahead - if it's something that you would wear to the beach or shows a lot of cleveage / back / side boob etc then it probably shouldn't be worn in a professional environment. I feel the same about shoes too - beach flip flops or sliders are just not professional, regardless how comfy they are :-)

So you agree there is generally certain type of attire people expect in work environment. Me too.

But it's different types of attire for different types of work environment

In my office with my colleagues, it's like getting dressed up to go to the pub

If I'm leaving my casual work environment to go to a client's office with a different dress code and company culture, it's like getting dressed up to go to a posh restaurant

It's not that difficult, surely?

Some of the comments on this thread are very

Fat upper arms.
Acres of white flesh ect.

Some posters seem to have wandered enthusiastically into 'people who IMO are ugly should cover up' territory.

I agree with those who say it depends on the overall outfit and the job. Spaghetti straps aren't offensive in of themselves.

I don't particularly feel sorrt for the men as it's not women telling them they have to wear suits. They have to sort this one oit amongst themselves. However women do a lot of prepping to look appropriate in skirts etc - they shave legs and armpits, pain toenails, moisturise etc. It's not the same as a great hairy leg with manky toes suddenly being revealed to all - so if men would like to wear skirts or shorts they need to do a bit of prepping first!

they shave legs and armpits, pain toenails, moisturise etc. It's not the same as a great hairy leg with manky toes suddenly being revealed to all

on what planet could any company demands that the female staff did some grooming before baring any flesh? They obviously can't, and it's much easier to demand appropriate clothing for all.

Why do posters insist on making it a female vs male thing? No bare shoulders, no hot pants, no flip flops and appropriate office wear for all is a gender neutral request!

I'm not making it female v male, I'm responding to someone else who did!

The point I'm making is that men shouldn't complain that they are getting a hard deal. Women's dress expectations are usually not easy and comfortable compared the theirs.

Every time I read one of these bonkers threads I'm frankly reminded of the lunatic service manager who thought that exclamation marks should not be used in emails, even to colleagues, as they were "unprofessional".

I'm in the office now and am plotting a terrible death for the flipflop wearers. The NOISE! That constant slapslapping about is making me long for the dress code days to come back. The clothes are okay, we have airco so nobody is 'flaunting their curves' but oh sweet heaven please stop it with the flipflops.

Re men in vests - I once had my hair done at the hairdessers by a man in a vest, his gingery brown hairy not so sweet-smelling pits were about 5 cm from my face as he leaned over. Truly vile, so yes please there are times when you simply should not wear whatever you fancy.

Women's dress expectations are usually not easy and comfortable compared the theirs.

I fail to see why, not only can I wear a trouser suit and flat shoes if I am in the mood, but I have also a nearly unlimited choice of skirts/dresses/long "shorts". On the dressing side of things, women are absolutely winning!

No one really wants to see shoulders and armpits or toes, male or female.

A few posters have mentioned not wanting to see armpits. I just don't get what's wrong with armpits. Or toes, come to that.

Depends on the dress code and general feel of the office/business surely?

My work gear before I went off on maternity was black tactical trousers (heavy material similar to what police/army use), black polo shirt and a stab vest/hi viz vest.
That along with steel toe boots and 12hr shifts isn't fun in this heat but a safety measure.

Now in maxi dresses at 8 months but sheesh I'm feeling for my colleagues lol

Half the people on this thread are probably guilty of the short skirt upside down milk bottle leg, flip flops, armpits out, hairy toed, crusty feet, vest top persuasion. And cross that it offends our eyes. People might be cooler if they covered up with loose cotton as opposed to ill fitting patterned polyester.

We have a dress code which states (for both male and female) that no underwear can show. So that means no spaghetti straps,

I wonder what they'd do if someone turned up in a spaghetti strap top without a bra? Technically, it would comply with the dress code, and if they insist that underwear isn't visible, I don't see how they could object to someone not wearing any.

And cross that it offends our eyes

Nobody really cares what offends your eyes. Look away or, radical notion, get yourself a hobby that doesn't revolve around judging people for what they put on their body.

Touched a nerve thyme

Depends on the office and what they do. Marketing for H&M, it maybe fine. A clerk to chambers not fine.
I’d have words if anyone turned up at our offices inappropriately dressed and would send them home if they arrived at an external meeting dressed in casual clothes.