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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think bare legs at work isn’t unprofessional

346 replies

Basketofkittens · 27/06/2019 20:24

I work in a non customer / public facing role in an office. Today as it was hot I wore an nice knee length A-line skirt and a T-shirt. All very respectable. Think White Stuff style. With ballet flats.

One of the more senior managers pulled me up and said that bare legs and a casual skirt weren’t appropriate. She was wearing linen culottes and flip flops.

In my last job I would wear a maxi dress and sandals in the heat but there was no formal dress code. I looked at the dress code for this workplace and it’s smart-casual. Knee length skirts and smart tops are in the acceptable column. Flip flops are not.

Normally I would wear a smartish work dress with tights but it’s just too sticky and the office has poor ventilation.

OP posts:

gamerwidow · 28/06/2019 07:21

agree with some previous posters. It depends on the legs
No it doesn’t. Work cannot mandate you wear tights just because your legs aren’t pretty enough.

TheSerenDipitY · 28/06/2019 07:24

as much as i loathe culottes and flip flops, just for that i would be off to get some, just like hers and i would wear them every single day for weeks and dare her to pull me up on it

LakieLady · 28/06/2019 07:26

Where I work the policy is that culottes and flip flips are not allowed, bare legs are allowed.

At what point does a pair of culottes become a pair of wide-legged, cropped trousers though?

In my wardrobe, I have both. At least one pair of culottes is narrower in the leg than one pair of trousers.

susiella · 28/06/2019 07:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

StreetwiseHercules · 28/06/2019 07:42

“One of the more senior managers pulled me up and said that bare legs and a casual skirt weren’t appropriate. She was wearing linen culottes and flip flops. ”

Just a bitter and insecure person. Imagine being as triggered as this person.

Women can be so awful to each other in the workplace over trivial pish like this.

Dungeondragon15 · 28/06/2019 07:42

I think if you need to be ultra smart then it depends on what you legs look like without tights. You obviously don't have to be that smart if she was wearing flip flops though.

Dungeondragon15 · 28/06/2019 07:43

No it doesn’t. Work cannot mandate you wear tights just because your legs aren’t pretty enough.

It's not school. They can mandate you look very smart though and whether someone does look smart barelegged depends on their legs.

RiddleyW · 28/06/2019 07:53

It's not school. They can mandate you look very smart though and whether someone does look smart barelegged depends on their legs

This is true. My current place is smart casual and most people can do bare legs. I don’t look at all smart with no tights - my legs are mottled and veiny. Sad for me but there you go!

gamerwidow · 28/06/2019 07:53

They can mandate you look very smart though and whether someone does look smart barelegged depends on their legs
Not you can’t and you would get your arse handed to you under equality laws if you said someone with old lumpy legs has to hide them and someone with young unblemished legs can show them.
You can say everyone has to wear tights but you can’t say only some can based on how attractive their legs are.

PeonyPink0 · 28/06/2019 07:57

Toes do not belong in the office.

EarlGreyOfTwinings · 28/06/2019 07:59

You can say everyone has to wear tights but you can’t say only some can based on how attractive their legs are.

sadly true.
That's why there are so many strict or weird sounding rules, because you have to make them general even if they were written because of one individual (i can think of a couple of real life examples there).

Our dress code stipulates cardigans have to be waist length.
I might be wrong, but I am guessing the issue was more about cropped cardis than long ones - or someone turned up in what looked like a dressing gown, that happens too.

I like dress code, you can easily find "office wear" just as comfortable as lounge wear, just buy the right size and it looks better.
I quite like to keep my casual clothes for my private life personally, I like having 2 "wardrobes".

Ffsnosexallowed · 28/06/2019 08:03

I'm in bare legs today, I'm trying to get over my irrational need for tights. Years ago a senior female colleague advised me to wear 2 pairs at once in case one pair got laddered.....

Dungeondragon15 · 28/06/2019 08:05

Not you can’t and you would get your arse handed to you under equality laws if you said someone with old lumpy legs has to hide them and someone with young unblemished legs can show them.

Assuming that they didn't use the words "young" legs what equality laws they would be breaking? Anyway, they wouldn't need to say that. The rule would just be that you had to look smart.

gamerwidow · 28/06/2019 08:14

Disability discrimination if you are saying that someone with varicous veins for example has legs not fit for public view.
Smart can only include what you wear it can’t include what your body looks like. Saying you have to look smart wouldn’t cover it. If two people are wearing identical outfits you can’t say one is ok and one isn’t based on what their body looks like.
As I mentioned up post I am a senior manager in the NHS and there is no way on earth we would get a policy like that past HR because it doesn’t meet equality and diversity standards.

Dungeondragon15 · 28/06/2019 08:21

Disability discrimination if you are saying that someone with varicous veins for example has legs not fit for public view.

I'm not sure that having varicous veins counts as a disability and even if it did they wouldn't be specific would they? They would just say that you didn't look smart.

As I mentioned up post I am a senior manager in the NHS and there is no way on earth we would get a policy like that past HR because it doesn’t meet equality and diversity standards.

I don't think that you can extrapolate what happens in the NHS to smaller companies. Not everywhere has very specific dress codes. They can just say "smart casual" or "formal" without being very specific.

Dungeondragon15 · 28/06/2019 08:24

If two people are wearing identical outfits you can’t say one is ok and one isn’t based on what their body looks like.

Obviously but it would be pretty rare for people to be wearing identical outfits. If they are wearing different outfits you can say that one is smart enough for the company but the other isn't. Whether one looks smart may depend on how good their legs are etc but they wouldn't need to specifically say that so don't see how they could be in trouble under equality laws.

tenbob · 28/06/2019 08:27

I work for an American company and have to spend a bit of time in our NY office every year

Bare legs are seen as practically compulsory there! Tights are a real no-no in the offices.
Look at Meghan Markle vs Kate Middleton - Meghan rarely wears tights with formal dresses

Tell your snotty manager you’re channeling your inner MM

nornironrock · 28/06/2019 08:27

I obviously haven't read all the posts, but I have been told in no uncertain terms that any amount of bare leg is not acceptable in the office. I absolutely must wear trousers, even when it is very hot - shorts are not permitted at any time. I must also wear a shirt - t-shirts or polos not permitted. I also must wear shoes, no sandals - certainly not flip-flops (which are a crime against humanity in any environment anyway) and absolutely no trainers.

Basically, I must be completely uncomfortable to fit in with a 100 year old idea of what an office should look like.

Restrictions on clothing suck, but believe me, in the heat, it seems much worse for men.

BogglesGoggles · 28/06/2019 08:28

It’s not professional dress code but not unprofessional per se iyswim.

gamerwidow · 28/06/2019 08:31

What about someone with scarring from an accident or prosthetic limbs. Do you really think you can say to them you only look respectable if I can’t see your scars/disability? If you say ‘you don’t look smart’ and they say ‘why’ what do you say? your legs are unfit for public view even though x and y are fine. How do you have that conversation without being discriminatory? You can’t.
Varicous veins would fit under disability in this context as a long term condition.
You can’t put subjectivity into a dress code it’s either ok to wear or it isn’t.

Pinkfinkle · 28/06/2019 08:35

Unless you’re Meghan markle and the queen is knocking about in linen culottes nowadays.

Not unprofessional but the length of the skirt matters imo. There’s a TA in my DC’s school who wears a mini skirt and tight blouse every single day. She isn’t overly young so should know better really, I don’t find that professional attire in a teaching role whatsoever. When I say mini, I mean if she bends over her knickers would be exposed.

GinDaddy · 28/06/2019 08:38

I would hazard a guess that this manager is exercising power and control, presumably because she feels insecure about your confidence and your perfectly acceptable workwear.

Her wearing of flip flops illustrates to me (just my opinion) that she doesn’t have any actual criteria here for what she is saying.

I’m not saying that managers have to explain every decision to direct reports. But this is one where context would hugely help and would have saved 10 pages + of Internet forum opinions where some find it acceptable and some don’t.

If she had said “it’s about formality etc, it in the handbook, should have been communicated to you sorry about this” then you’d have some instruction and context. Then you could make a decision as to whether the overall ethos isn’t for you

Sadly you’re now left with simply a person’s pettily communicated opinion; it’s little things like this that chip away at people in offices, it’s such a British office thing to flex power in silly petty ways, haughtily point our faults but fail to help someone develop or empower them.

I have to ask like a PP did, is there any jealousy at play here?

francienolan · 28/06/2019 08:38

My husband and I both work in places where office staff have no dress code. He's wearing shorts today, I haven't seen anyone in tights since March. Im surprised how many people are saying it's unprofessional! In the hottest parts of the summer even front of house staff are allowed to have bare legs and normally their uniform is strict.

ImpracticalCape · 28/06/2019 08:40

WTF? I work in a very very corporate environment with very very corporate clients. I wear bare legs for 9 months of the year. I have never owned a nude tight. They are hot, uncomfortable and frankly unnecessary as I have perfectly functionable skin.

Given I am veh senior this reckless display of skin doesn't appear to have impacted my professional status nor shocked any clients.

As for the people who 'wouldn't hire someone with bare legs'... hilarious.

Dungeondragon15 · 28/06/2019 08:43

They don't need say your legs are unfit for view though would they? It would be stupid to say that someones legs were fit for public view but someone else's legs weren't. They would just say that someones outfit wasn't smart. If they did ask a manager why and they chose to say that they didn't feel bare legs were acceptable then they would have to apply the rule to everyone but they don't have to be that specific if they don't want to be.

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