Re: Dress Code *Results*

[Lisa Higgins <lisarea -at- DRUAK -dot- DR -dot- LUCENT -dot- COM>]

> <grump>
> I've a simpler question. If you can't be comfortable in more than one style
> of clothes, don't you think that's a dangerous sign of personal
> inflexibility? I didn't answer the survey, because frankly it doesn't
> matter to me. If traditional business clothes are uncomfortable to you, I'm
> sorry but I think it's no one's fault but your own. Comfortable clothes
> come in all styles; if you can't be bothered to find ones that fit
> comfortably don't go blaming somebody else for your own ineptitude.
>
> Personally, I'd worry that a person who can only be comfortable in one
> style of clothes wouldn't be able to think "outside the box" when a truly
> creative problem solution was required.
> <end grump>

Wow. Arlen, your rant's gotten away from you and is marking its
territory in my front yard.

You have some good points, but you've weakened them with some pretty
harsh judgements.

Dress code and comfort ARE valid factors to take into consideration
when considering a position. I haven't seen anyone say that they'd
turn down their dream job because they didn't like the dress code.

And even if they had, so what? It doesn't make them uncreative,
stupid, or evil. Comfort level is a personal thing. I know people who
have to dress up every day to be comfortable. I NEVER judge those
people, even though they are silly,  insecure, and just plain loopy.

***RELEVANT PARAGRAPH FOLLOWS***

Part of being a technical writer is fitting in with your environment.
Most of us have to be accepted not only by our clients and our
management, but by our SMEs as well. If any of these groups sees us
as unprofessional (or uptight), we're in trouble.

***END RELEVANT PARAGRAPH***

>        If the same males who told women to wear skirts in winter also had
>       to shell out the bucks for a real wardrobe and not for a
>       comparatively small collection of suit jackets and shirts and ties
>       (which all look the same more or less) that can be worn again even in
>       the same week, then perhaps dress codes wouldn't be as strict as they
>       appear to be.
>
> Oh, pish-tosh. The real problem is *attitude* not cost. If I'm content to
> wear two outfits that look similar during the same week and you're not, why
> is it anyone's fault but your own that you have(?) to buy more clothes?

Frequently, it does seem that the women who complain that it's harder
for them to dress for business have brought it on themselves. When I
worked for a "banker dress" company, I had about three suits, a bunch
of plain silk shells, and maybe four pairs of shoes. Many of the
women there who complained felt a need to buy an entirely new
wardrobe every three months or so. They required this of themselves.

Of course, I've completely ignored the "no pants for women" codes
both times I've come across them. Pantyhose are uncomfortable and
expensive, and the shoes you have to wear not to look silly in a
skirt WILL hobble you. I am proud to be one of the few grown women I
know who doesn't have her little toe permanently smashed under her
second toe.

The option of wearing a skirt is nice, though. It's sort of fun to
point out to male coworkers that centuries of oppression and
pejorative connotations attached to femininity have created a social
environment in which I can feel cool breezes all the way up to my
delicates in the summertime and they cannot.

Lisa.
lhiggins -at- lucent -dot- com

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