To think my work are trying to penalise me for not wearing makeup or dresses?

[Name1Changer123]

I work in a large office, there is no official dress code or uniform but men are expected to wear suits, and women 'to look presentable and buisnesslike'. I'm not girly and I don't like dresses or skirts so I usually wear just a blouse and ordinary black trousers. I never wear high heels or makeup because I don't feel the need to alter my face every morning and I can't walk in high heels.

A couple of times comments have been made about making sure we look presentable, seemingly directed at everyone in general so I just ignored them as I presumed I did.

Well this morning I was called in for a chat with my manager who said there had been a few comments that I didn't seem to be putting any effort in to look presentable and could I make sure I'm following the dress code (which is just to 'look presentable). Yes I basically just wear a blouse and trousers every day, but surely that is business like? The only reason I can think of why I'm not 'presentable' is my lack of make up. I'm literally the only one who doesn't wear any. There are ladies in my office who wear a blouse and a skirt and they never seem to get told off so aibu to think my office is trying to get me to wear makeup?

Loops you need to get out a it more then!
Seriously OP you need to contact him and ask for specifics. Include HR. As long as you are clean and smart.
I am a teacher and never wear make up and my hair is usually scraped back (not phobia!).

6'1 and size 12 feet sounds peferctly proportionate to me.

I think your answer my be in some of the comments in this thread. i.e sexist wank.

loops2019

I'm a doctor and I don't wear makeup, or nail varnish/gel nails. I wear simple clothes.

I would judge a doctor with loads of makeup on and gel nails as absolutely unprofessional, to be honest. And, if I'm honest, a bit (dare I say it) chavvy. It's not a professional look.

Could it be your hair? Is it tidy? For what it's worth, I like brogues, so like the idea of men's lace ups.

@seaweedandmarchingbands I mean exactly the same type of nail as you mean. Clean and not ragged. I’m not suggesting she start posting on Mrs Gloss about whether coffin shape would suit her.

@Glacecherrychops gel nails are unprofessional? You realise it's just a manicure that lasts longer?

Those of you whining about how awful it is that the OP refuses to spend additional time and money looking like a doll - have a look at the men in business environments. Wierd hair and unusual ties are a sign of 'character' not something to punish them for.
It is reasonable for an employer to request that staff be clean and tidy (no stained clothes or dirty fingernails if it's white-collar, customer-facing work) but if there is no actual company uniform, they can't insist on expensive clothes for low-paid staff, or a consantly-changing fashionable wardrobe unless it's a fashion-related business.

Shirt and trousers are fine as long as they are clean/ironed

They can be both of those things and still rather scruffy looking.Clothes age and go baggy and faded and you may not realise when you're busy and on autopilot in the mornings.

25loops2019

Your post is all kinds of wrong

Are the men's clothes 'well fitting', flattering and fashionable? Or are they only required to be suits, however dated.

OP I think you should ask for specifics

Sadly I also think they're looking for dresses and different shoes and makeup etc.

I've had gel nails (no extensions) for over a decade. It's just laziness because I only have to have them done once a month. It's not vanity at all- quite the opposite. It was actually a (very good) GP who told me about them.

cleverplayonwords - absolutely unprofessional. In the same way a bad fake tan would be.

You do need some specific advice. You could ask for this from work or post a photo.

Black trousers and a shirt/blouse can look very sharp or very scruffy depending on the fit and condition of the clothes and whether or not they are ironed properly.

loops
Standing out a mile in a sea of highly made up gel nailed women isn't a problem unless the workplace has an explicit dress code.

The OP's situation doesn't mean she has to be dolled up.

There's two main likely reasons behind this conversation:

1. The manager is really sexist and thinks the OP should be all hair, makeup and skirts

1. There's no issue with trousers, but the OP's work attire suggests lack of effort (e.g. not well fitting trousers, blouses that aren't tailored properly, doesn't look like much care has been taken).

One school I worked in some women complained that a reminder went out one summer about staff attire. The problem was senior leadership had a point. The men still had shirt and tie on, lighter fabrics etc but still smart. Some women decided the summer meant they could wear casual summer skirts, t shirts and casual cardigans with sandals and wedges. They didn't look smart at all. I'm sure the MN thread would have been something like this though:
AIBU to think it's not for my managers to tell me to dress up for work. It's summer and I've been wearing nice skirts, think fat face/sea salt, with decent light top and t shirts with smart wedges. Senior leadership have decided to send a memo round and suggest that some of us should be appearing more corporate, but I don't see why we should when we are clean. I think they're pushing us into being more glam like the in group

Reality: complainers didn't look smart, the so called in group were still in smart attire.

I think if you added a jacket OP, in a contrasting colour, you'd be fine. So dark green, mustard, red, royal blue etc.

If men are in suits, then you need to look equally smart and trousers and a shirt are not really the same.

We have a similar dress code. I make sure I am clean, my clothes are clean. My boss can go whistle if he tries to require me to do anything else.

I did once read a job description where 'be willing to come to work heavily made up every day' was a requirement. I didn't apply. I do wear make up but I dont agree with that kind of thing.

Hopefully in your case its just something silly like your shirt was buttoned up wrong last wednesday.

I think one of the problems is that a skirt and blouse with tights is much easier to look smart than trousers and blouse.

If you wear a plain skirt with an ordinary blouse it can look business-like in a way the same blouse with plain trousers may not.
It's odd.
I was at Wimbledon and thinking exactly that. The men wear shirts, tie and trousers and looked smart. Some of the women wore blouses and skirts and looked smart. And some chose to wear the same blouses with trousers and generally looked relatively scruffy. I couldn't quite see why.

If the men wear suits, then probably the way to go is a trouser suit and I doubt they can complain about that.

"I would judge a doctor with loads of makeup on and gel nails as absolutely unprofessional, to be honest. And, if I'm honest, a bit (dare I say it) chavvy. It's not a professional look"

You've just described my doctor. I have a couple of chronic conditions and see her often. She is highly professional and I can't believe anyone would judge like that.

@ReanimatedSGB men generally wear a jacket though (and occasionally a tie but I find that weirder) and I don't know any that wear lace up shoes so I would say they do make an effort in the work place. Some women make way more of an effort obv but the OP says she's making less of an effort than men do.

If that makes any sense. So tired

You could very well work in my office, who have this exact POV.

Do you work in a customer facing role? Which industry?

so what if people would 'stand out a mile where i work' ^^pp
since when did being dressed 'appropriately' mean full face slap, heels and dress/skirt
which tbh i would/will never wear aka over my dead body would i ever wear a dress