To think bare legs at work isn’t unprofessional

[Basketofkittens]

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.

We have a strict dress code at work. Bare legs isn’t on there. I agree with you, aslong as the skirt is a decent length.

I would assume someone who is so wrapped up in what their colleagues wear in an era of very large corporates endorsing casual clothes is a. Insecure and/or b. Shit at their job trying to hide behind their wardrobe. Fine if you feel comfortable in office wear but don’t look down on someone in trainers

It's hot. Why would you wear tights? You need to be comfortable to work effectively. Plus they give you thruish (or an equivalent uncomfortable itch).

Flip flops never belong in a professional environment though. Neither do strappy tops. But there's no way I'd insist on tights or stockings.

I’m really surprised anyone is denying that dress codes apply differently to people depending on their bodies.

If I and my 22 year old assistant wore the same size 8 bodycon dress to the office you would certainly see that one of us looked smart casual and one not. Actually even if I wore mine in a size 16 same would apply.

Likewise I need at least 3/4 length sleeves to look smart but someone with smooth toned arms doesn’t.

I used to think bare legs wasn’t acceptable however I have relaxed my views as the general world of work clothes is becoming more casual.

If I and my 22 year old assistant wore the same size 8 bodycon dress to the office you would certainly see that one of us looked smart casual and one not. Actually even if I wore mine in a size 16 same would apply.

Exactly. And when it comes to bare legs, I think when I was 22 you would have to look quite closely to see that my legs were bare so I would (and did) get away with it whatever the official dress code Now that I'm in my 50s it would be a bit more obvious.

And this is why I am glad I work where i work. Today is a cropped jeans and birkenstock day. Luckily our boss prefers that we actually do a good job, are comfortable and it doesn't matter what we wear. We all definitely are more casual than smart casual. But no one takes it to the extreme and comes in crop tops or anything.

It totally depends on the environment. I work in finance of a large multi-national firm. Our uniform is very strict- even on 'dress down Fridays'
I do think bare legs look less professional personally and flip flops are a no-no in pretty much any job unless you are a life guard.
a white stuff skirt would be far too casual in our office and a t-shirt is a definite no-no

They're absolutely fine. The length of the skirt matters a lot, though.

It depends on the job and depends on the legs and the length of the skirt.
In your office non customer facing roll, knee length skirt it shouldn't be an issue.

Varicous veins would fit under disability in this context as a long term condition.

The duration of a condition alone does not make it a disability. The definition of disability under the EA 2010 is "a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities." There may undoubtedly be some people for whom varicose veins have a substantial negative effect e.g. if they cause ulcers and/or severe swelling, but for many others the main impact will be only that they are unsightly and so won't automatically be a disability.

A senior manager should really know this stuff and shouldn't be making incorrect pronouncements on what does and doesn't constitute a disability.

The duration of a condition alone does not make it a disability.

Exactly. The only things which count automatically as disability as far as the equality act is concerned are cancer, HIV and MS.

We have to wear dark (black) tights under horrible wool/polyester mix skirts (unless we're wearing the equally horrid trousers).

I got sent home a while ago for wearing black leggings rather than tights. No-one could tell me what the difference was, or even why tights were acceptable but leggings not.

The leggings were new, paired with black socks and I felt smart but it wasn't acceptable.

Investment banker based on the trading floor. Dress codes are definitely more relaxed than 20 years ago, but we are still expected to wear suits or very smart dresses. Bare legs on days we're not meeting clients are just about acceptable, but tights and heels are definitely required for client meetings. I wouldn't dream of attending an interview with bare legs regardless of weather. However, it's dress down Friday today and I'm in jeans and a t-shirt - way more comfortable

I’m really surprised anyone is denying that dress codes apply differently to people depending on their bodies.

And I'm really surprised that people think otherwise. I don't know about the UK, but here in the US a manager would be on very thin ice if he/she ventured into the territory of talking to an employee about the shape/condition of their body in any context. And saying that someone doesn't look professional/smart is not sufficient because the employee's next question is "why?"

Some years ago, when I was in local government, a new chief officer issued a "whole department" email saying that the standard of dress was unacceptably poor and that,

from the following Monday, all staff would be expected to wear shirts, jackets and ties.

He had completely failed to note that 50% (approx) of the staff were female. Sadly, they didn't do the obvious pisstake and turn up in shirts and ties that day.

But what did happen was the scruffy men still looked scruffy, they just looked scruffy in a suit, and the men who always looked smart but usually wore chinos and a polo shirt were pissed off and uncomfortable.

My mate, who was infamously scruffy, paid a whole £49 for a washable suit from C&A. By the time he'd worn it 3 times, it looked about as smart as my dog's blanket. He's someone who would still look like a sack of shit in a Savile Row suit and a shirt hand-made in Jermyn Street.

And that's really why I think dress codes are crap. You can't polish a turd.

I think bare legs are fine in most offices. If she was wearing culottes and flip flops then definitely sounds like what you wore was in keeping with where you work

You really should have commented back about her dress

Bare legs are fine.

If you have bear legs maybe don’t get them out.

Reminds me of this

She's a massive hypocrite and she clearly either doesn't understand that flip-flops aren't allowed or it's one rule for her, another for you. I'd go faux-innocent to HR saying you'd hate it if you were misinterpreting the dress code but... Silly mare.

Out of interest, why are leggings banned?

No non-natural coloured dyed hair. No gel nails or bright nail varnish. What the heck kind of outfit tries to impose that kind of dress code? And, genuine question, can you tell without close examination the difference between a gel nail and ordinary nail polish?

Just wear trousers fgs. The fuck?

Sounds like she is being a bit of a bully. I find it ridiculous even imagining bare legs being unacceptable in an office if your dress or skirt is smart. V weird!

She’s jealous
You must have nice legs 😊
Silly woman

Could not pay me enough to wear tights in this weather. Memories of horrendous sweating during secondary school where we were forced to wear tights all year round

No one wears flesh coloured tights anymore. Bare legs with a skirt are normal and fine, unless it's a miniskirt and you are in danger of flashing pants/upper thigh when you sit or bend over. Then you need black or coloured tights. She's wrong, especially since flip flops are totally not smart casual.

I think flip flops are possibly against health and safety in an office. Did you not stare at her flip flops?

I went through this, as I had a habit of shucking off my shoes at my desk (in IT, believe me, this was the least awful habit among my colleagues) so I could sit cross-legged on my chair (I'm also very short).

If the working environment is dangerous enough to require specialised equipment (eg. steel toecaps) then that specialised equipment should be provided. Otherwise, there's no difference between flipflops and any other types of open toed shoes, or barefoot - so if you can wear one type, there's no H&S reason to require them.