re 'creative' colleague

[Lydiaatthebarre]

Someone I work with has just had a telling off from her manager about the kind of clothes she wears to work - long hippy type skirts, flip flops, tie dyed t-shirts, huge jumpers with patterns and slogans.

She is now complaining that she is a creative person and her clothes reflect her personality and creativity and she doesn't feel comfortable in the 'type of clothes the rest of you wear' because she's artistic and needs to express this.

AIBU to think she's talking a load of rubbish. There are actually a few genuinely creative people in here who write, act or sell craftwork in their free time. They wear perfectly normal clothes to work, to reflect the job they do.

Is there a dress code?

Honestly I find the people who dress the most ‘creative’ tend to be the ones with the most bland personalities

I’ve got a degree in design and wouldn’t be seen dead in what you are describing. No she should have to dress like everyone else at work in professional attire

Not an official one, but it's generally understood that you dress neatly and professionally.

I don’t think clothes with slogans on are appropriate in the workplace

If there is an official dress code then she needs to adhere to it.

She dresses neatly and professionally at work and keeps the hippy dippy tie dye for her non-working hours.

Is your colleague customer-facing at all?

Could always wear colourful clothes, but in the style of business wear if there is a dress code.

I agree, however I do wish I could wear flip flops at work. My feet are wide and I have bunions and 'tidy' shoes just hurt!

After seeing that it’s not official but generally understood I think she needs to take the telling from the senior member of staff and dress for work the way she’s been asked to.

I think your work need to implement an official dress code if it’s the type of place that sets store by “professional dress”

If there is a dress code she should adhere to it. If there isn’t one then it’s a bit unreasonable for the manager to single her out because of her particular style, however awful it might be.

I have a 'creative' job, one which I should be am doing right now, and I am doing it while wearing jeans and a shirt.

I am however working my way through a tube of Love Cocoa truffles while I 'create' because at this point in the creative process, chocolate is everything.

I think that if the management want employees to dress in a particular way (e.g. neatly and professionally) then they should have an official dress code that sets out what’s acceptable.

Otherwise it seems a bit harsh telling her off for her “creative” style of dressing.

I have a very creative job. I would dream of wearing what you describe. And anyone who thinks they are more creative than those around them simply because of how they dress really does lack imagination!

Wouldn't not would

I think a great sign of creativity is working within constraints that are imposed on you to come up with something new (eg a composer only using the 8 notes of a major key). So she could demonstrate creativity by finding a way to show her "artistic" personality while remaining within the rules on what to wear.

If your managers want a say in how people dress for work then they should put a dress code in place. Otherwise they are just criticising someone's dress sense!

But having re-read, you're take on her whingeing isn't unreasonable. A person can be creative with their dress within some boundaries, as someone else says above.

she doesn't feel comfortable in the 'type of clothes the rest of you wear'

AIBU to think she's talking a load of rubbish

Yes. You can't tell her how to feel about her clothing.

If your managers want a say in how people dress for work then they should put a dress code in place. Otherwise they are just criticising someone's dress sense!

THIS!

If she is not customer facing or representing the company/organisation in front of the public, I fail to see how wearing clothes that she is comfortable in detracts from her ability to do her job?

Yeah she’s been offensive to ‘the rest of you’. You don’t need to dress in fancy dress to be creative!

DadDadDad that composer would really struggle to write anything not completely anodyne.

OP, maybe your colleague is annoying, but I hate the way the world embraces tight, uncomfortable clothes and high heeled shoes, for instance, because current society has decided that they are "professional". I don't see why tie-dye and flip flops is inherently less "professional". It is just a question of social mores, which are in constant flux.

Some people do like to dress a bit flamboyantly. If there's no dress code, then I don't think bosses should have told her off, unless her clothes were overly revealing or the slogans were rude.

I think YABU to think she's talking rubbish. That's just her sense of style. She probably thinks the rest of the people in the office dress terribly!

Honestly I find the people who dress the most ‘creative’ tend to be the ones with the most bland personalities

Totally agree.