Posted on 08/23/2006 8:48:35 AM PDT by qam1
On those rare occasions when insurance executive Tara Guizot wears a suit to her Los Angeles office, "people invariably ask me if I'm interviewing for a new job," she said.
The trend toward casual dress has gone so far that Matt Smith, a 27-year-old Los Angeles lawyer, is on a quest to establish "Tie Tuesday." He would like to wear a suit to work but knows he'd be ridiculed. Instead, Smith dons a tie every Tuesday and hopes other men in his office will follow. So far, a couple have.
"It's just something fun," he said.
Forget casual Fridays. In many workplaces, it's casual everyday as corporate dress codes have gone the way of fedoras and white gloves.
Office workers, from executives to receptionists, now wear pretty much what they want, sometimes baring more cleavage, tattoos and body fat than co-workers care to see.
....
Polo shirts, sweater sets and tailored slacks -- what many companies consider "business casual" -- have given way to halter tops, rubber flip-flops, T-shirts and jeans.
The trend has even sparked a mini-backlash among professionals opting for a more buttoned-down look.
"Wearing a tie used to be a sign of conformity. But dressing down is now conformity and dressing up is rebellious," said Robert Stephens, who founded the Geek Squad, Best Buy Co.'s computer repair service. Squad members sport short-sleeve white shirts and black ties.
Credit younger workers, who bring a who-cares-what-I-wear attitude to their cubicles, for the casual-everyday trend
.....
"It really helps us, specifically with Gen X and Y workers," said Miriam Wardak, senior vice president for ICF International, a Virginia-based consulting firm, adding that some younger workers have told her they would not consider a potential employer if they had to wear a suit and tie.
(Excerpt) Read more at contracostatimes.com ...
I think dress code should follow the business. I work in an inbound call center selling insurance. If we sell more than X amount of policies in 1 day, the whole center gets a dress down day. It's nice, but when we don't get that number of sales, we have to wear pretty much "anything but jeans." LOL. Not much of a dress code.
Kewl!
LOL - When I began working I wore fancy dresses, high heels, and GLOVES! OMG, I can't stop laughing now! That's too funny!
"Tired of seeing women's tramp stamps sticking out over top of their jeans."
Nah, it just mean's they're easy.
Not in my company. We have casual friday..but the rest is business casual. And they occasionally re-send the dress code through the email to remind us.
LOL! How True. Our best programmer in my last job (casual EVERY day) wore tshirts and shorts every day.....
Here in the UK I work for a company at which I had several arguments with my former boss over having to wear a tie; he stated the same old rubbish about looking professional etc (when the women are for the most part in crop tops and flip flops). Bought a clip on that went on in the morning when I arrived; off when I went out to lunch and off when I went home. Being uncomfortable and sweaty doesn't feel professional to me. Thankfully, he's changed departments and the tie rule looks to (I hope) have been relaxed.
This guy looks to be about as fun as a barrel of monkeys!
I think this guy has a point. I spent years wearing jeans to work (even when I worked in the stock market). Now I wear a tie and enjoy every bit of it - it's like playing "dress-up". After years and years of boring "casual" - I get a kick out of dressing up.
I guess it all depends on your perspective.
LOL! Sorry I took so long to answer, work called. No, I'm not pulling a Sheehan or Jersey girls ; my wife is the only person I know in the medical field (outside IT). I only know what she tells me. One clarification: she's a CNT, not a nurse. From what she tells me, you may have a point specifically about RNs (now I'm going to tick a lot of people off).
The way I understand it, in many facilities the real person-to-person, Florence Nightingale care is handled by the CNAs and CNTs. They do most of the lifting, tugging, wiping, bathing. I think it's fair that these people should dress in away that allows maximum mobility.
RNs (LPNs are almost an extinct species) dispense meds and do a LOT (and I mean a LOT) of paperwork (charting, coding, etc). There is no reason folks with these responsibilites shouldn't dress more "formally".
Of course, ER and maternity nurses do a lot more hands on care, so they would fall under the same rules as CNTs.
So, we agree now? (unless you're an RN and you ate my guts now...) ;)
"Wearing a tie used to be a sign of conformity. But dressing down is now conformity and dressing up is rebellious," said Robert Stephens, who founded the Geek Squad, Best Buy Co.'s computer repair service. Squad members sport short-sleeve white shirts and black ties."
True enough. I'm the only teacher in my entire school district who comes to school in a freshly-pressed shirt and a tie. It is a way for me to be a non-conformist. It's also a way to demonstrate to the public that I'm a professional. Society will come back to where I'm standing someday.
A few years back, in the locker room, I saw a hot dog shaped tattoo on an overweight woman's rear end. I asked her what the tattoo was, and she told me it used to be a smiley face.
There is one intern in R&D who will go into the corporate lore and never be forgotten where I work...
Her name is Rebecca...
True but as you undoubtdedly know we will be paying far more than any past generation. Add in the "prescription drugs for the wealthiest Americans" program and we will probably pay twice what any previous generation has paid.
You don't really believe that rubbish do you?
I don't know about where you live, but around here many hospitals mandate what nurses can wear, often by department. L&D wears only blue scrubs, ICU only green, etc etc.
As for the cape and hat, you can't be serious. That's not professional, that's high comedy.
My wife and I do the same. I don't worry about people staring, she is worth it.
Now, I like it when people dress up for work on one hand. In fact, I miss the concept of gloves and hats and suits.
But hasn't productivity in this country increased significantly since dress codes where relaxed and when all is said and done, isn't that the point?
Have you seen the Sopranos episode where Tony "counsels" the young guy who wears a ball cap in a restaurant?
Sadly, you obviously value people based on their incomes. I'll tell you straight up that the guy who makes half as much as I do is entiled to all of the respect I am entitled, and the same goes for the guy that makes twice as much me.
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