I’ve seen a number of things lately that made me raise my eyebrows about office clothes — so let’s discuss. Are the rules around office clothes changing? How are workwear rules changing (beyond the obvious “towards more business casual clothes”)? In your observation, are some fields changing more than others, either due to new face time requirements (such as all the lawyers who now work from home) or in the context of careers that often have an army of new young graduates led by a few older people (like journalism)? Do you think this is a temporary blip (post-pandemic fashion is a bit strange in general, after all), or that this is The Way of Things to Come?
Signs the Workwear Rules are Changing
Here are some of the news stories I’m talking about:
In this April 2024 story, The Wall Street Journal reports that executive women are wearing sequins to work. Executive Women Are Wearing Sequins to Work. ‘I Made the Decision to Be Seen.’ (gift link) I can’t actually find any images of the women quoted wearing sequins to work (this “hobby shepherdess” might be the lawyer quoted in the first graf, but she hasn’t posted in over a year and even then it looks like mostly breakfast pictures?)… if you know of any “sequininfluencers” I’d love to see how they’re styling their work outfits!
A week or two ago, The Washington Post (gift link) had a story about what interns are wearing to work on Capitol Hill, and woo boy, buckle up. One young woman felt overdressed in the blazers and pencil skirts from Ann Taylor and Express that her mother picked out for her first summer internship, so for her second year “she adjusted accordingly. She turned to Anthropologie, Free People, J.Crew and Princess Polly for some more relaxed pieces, and she went thrifting to round her wardrobe out,” and explain that her new goal for workwear attire is “dressing like I’m going somewhere nice. A nice dinner or something like that.”
They picture her wearing a white eyelet babydoll dress with puffed sleeves that is… well, wow, it’s really short.
Other interns quoted in the piece are wearing blouses that have a single button in the front to hold the two pieces of fabric together. There is, of course, a male intern pictured in — wait for it — the typical pants and button-front shirt that guys have been wearing for the last 50 years.
Finally: I saw this on Twitter and TikTok, but there has been a rousing discussion on the question of whether “short shorts are appropriate for interviews.” The NY Post has a story about it if you prefer to read about the drama — a young woman made a TikTok complaining that she got “dress coded” during an interview, wherein they stopped the interview and rescheduled it for the next day because the woman wore a white twinset with black shorts. A debate ensued, because she actually did look pretty nice if she was interviewing in a casual field (and the shorts were longer than what that the intern in the WaPo wore as a dress!).
Obviously, my take would be that any shorts are not appropriate for an interview, but I think it’s an interesting question — might a twinset and 4-5″ shorts count as “business casual” in some offices?
Are Workwear Rules Changing? Some Questions
So, some questions for discussion, at least based on your own offices…
What skirts are too short (or too long) for YOUR office? Are shorts of that length also appropriate?
Crop tops, no bras — what’s appropriate? (Remember the days when we used to debate whether you could wear a sleeveless sheath dress without a cardigan on top?)
What are the rules around shoes? Are beat-up sneakers appropriate? Are sandals appropriate?
What would you wear for an interview at your office at this point in time?
Do you think this is a generational shift or something else?
Are some fields changing more than others, either due to changed face time requirements (such as all the lawyers who now work from home) to fields that often have an army of new young graduates led by a few older people (like journalism)?
Do you think this is a temporary blip (post-pandemic fashion is a bit strange in general, after all), or that this is The Way of Things to Come?
The Old Advice on What Not to Wear to Work
Our old advice on what not to wear to your internship included this kind of advice…
What not to wear as a summer associate or intern — ladies, you may not even realize what can put you in the danger zone! Finer points of this: which skirts are too short (pictured), when girly clothes become unprofessional, which shoes not to wear, and when to show personality.
How to build a summer associate wardrobe
Pantyhose in the summer — do you really have to wear it?
How to dress professionally if you’re curvy or busty
Speaking of accessories — is it WRONG to carry a handbag worth $9,000 if you’re an intern? (If not as an intern, when can you buy a pricey bag and carry it to work?) And say: can you wear statement pieces as an intern?
Pondering how to dress professionally for summer? We’ve tackled heat waves as well as regular summer work clothes.
Makeup in the summer — how do you change it up and make it last? How different is it from interview makeup?
Building a professional wardrobe from scratch? Check out our top picks for the most affordable work clothes!
Speaking of suits — please don’t try to “make” a suit out of different black fabrics! Also: here is everything you need to know about dry cleaning suits.
Lucky enough to be working abroad (and hoping to travel a lot)? We’ve covered what to pack.
Stock photo via Deposit Photos / eyesidea.
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