office wear

[Flute56]

I work in an office and the majority of the peole wear casual and by that I mean jeans and t shirts and trainers. I always dress smart for work. Some who have tatoos wear short sleeves and show huge tattoos down each arm. I do not think that is appropriate for the office. I really wish i worked for a company who has a strict dress code wehre the women have to wear smart trousers and jackets and dresses and skirts and the men have to wear shirts and trousers and maybe a suit. I could not go to work looking sloppy even if there is no dress code

I’m not sure what how someone dresses affects their work? It’s great you feel comfortable in your own work attire and hope it’s the same for your colleagues - variety is the spice of life after all!

Then move companies. It’s a modern world, people have tattoos, get over it.

The world has moved on. If you love a uniform, find a customer facing role.

Maybe you should retrain as cabin crew - sure their uniform would suit you.

You'll get ten million replies telling you that it doesn't matter what people wear, it's how they do their job. FWIW, we are currently revising our dress code at work and putting stricter guidelines in place about appropriate dress. We wouldn't say anything about tattoos unless they were offensive. It's not a conventional office though.

depends what you do - a friend works for a large legal practice, and they're fairly stuffy about dress code, even for staff that don't have any client contact.

I wear jeans, jumpers and trainers every day in my office. You'd hate it

I really wish i worked for a company who has a strict dress code wehre the women have to wear smart trousers and jackets and dresses and skirts and the men have to wear shirts and trousers and maybe a suit

Go and work for one then. I’m sure there must be some companies out there that are still strict about clothes. Although you’d have to hope they don’t apply similarly rigorous standards to employees’ spelling, grammar and punctuation.

OP why do you think it bothers you so much? How does how your colleagues dress impact your / their work?

Some industries have stayed traditional ie suit/tie but most have moved to casual. ESP post pandemic heels are out (thank god!!) and replaced with flats/trainers which is fab. At my workplace which is ultra casual, I still dress smart but casual. And there are folks at both ends of the spectrum. I kind of enjoy the variety but I don't like it when people look frumpy because they can't be bothered I.e battered t-shirt or unwashed jeans with run down socks..that's taking it too far imo.

Christ, you’d hate me. I’m heavily tattooed, jean and trainer wearing, a real scurge of the office world clearly ha!

clutches pearls

Tattoos AND jeans?

The horror

I work in a large professional office where anything goes.

50yr women with pink hair and tattoos, 20 something girls in jeans and trainers, 40yr women in silk dresses and heels, 25yr scruffy guys that look like they've not showered in months, men of varying ages in nice shirts and trousers (I rarely see a tie though).

At the end of the day they all get the job done and do great work. I don't see a problem

At my place of work you'll see t-shirts and shorts, jeans and tees, chinos, shirts and loafers, smart office wear and anything in between. Everyone does a fantastic job and, aside from meetings/interviewing new starters, people just wear what they want to. It doesn't negatively or positively affect their work at all.

i know people have tatoos but cover them up at work. I know someone who works in an office and she was told to wear very smart casual. No jeans no trainers. When I was flat sharing many years ago my flat mate worked in the insurance industry and had to wear tights no bare legs. Also if you go into the ctity of London and see what the men wear. Most of tem are in suits with cuflinks and ties. . In fact I walked past a bar after work and two men were wearing pin striped suits

Maybe you could work from home? If you live alone, you'll be able to guarantee everyone is dressed to your standard of formality at all times.

I think tights are scandalous, ankle length skirts and blouses only.

Your spelling is more unprofessional than their outfits

I think at the moment we are in an extra casual phase.

I would expect it will go back the other way eventually. These things go in cycles.

The default for office wear where I work is - blazer, wide leg trousers, Veja or Samba trainers.

There’s the odd Gen Z outlier who will turn in wearing clothes I wouldn’t be seen outside the house in, but broadly speaking there’s an expectation that casual also means looking put together.

I get a dress code but working in an office. Sat at a desk all day not talking to public, why does that need a suit or strict dress code?

You can easily find a job where people are keeping Next polyester in business

We work in schools as an external provider and we have to wear smart/casual - no jeans/trainers/no t shirts

just change job to some company who shares your ancient views. Why does it even matter if colleagues are inked etc? You sound superficial and judgemental.

@Flute56 there is an interesting question upthread - what is it about casual office dress that worries you? It's the sort of question that can tell you a lot about yourself if you unpick it a bit.

Were you raised very traditionally, and wish that you'd had this level of freedom in your early career? Or do you see senior staff wearing more formal clothes and want to emulate them? Are you quite rigid in your thinking and feel there should be a clear divide between office and home, and clothes are a marker of that?

I'm a lawyer (in the City, fwiw) and the only people I see in suits these days unless they are appearing in court are barristers' clerks. The world has moved on.