What ever happened to professional in the way a woman dresses?
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion Archive: Archive February 2006:
What ever happened to professional in the way a woman dresses?
I'm sorry this should probably be on the debate board.
Whatever happened to women dressing professional and not provacatively at work?
I like to see the best in people but I learned at a very young age of 20 if you wear a V-neck blouse and a man is across the counter and you lean over he will look and stare. Not many men look away. I stopped wearing low cut, and V-necks for that purpose. I was an accountant, I wanted the people (men) to listen to what I say, not look at me like a peep show. Sorry I'm being blunt.
Today, I took dds into get their haircut. It is a chain establishment and very well kept. However 3 out of the 5 women had lingerie blouses on that V'd down to where their bras would cross. These women ranged in age of 20 - 57. NONE of them looked professional or looked nice in what they were wearing. Sorry, this time they had the apron strap type of apron on, so you could see everything, not a cover up coat.
OK, it is 32 degrees here today, not 92. I was freezing in there and they were wearing strapped lingerie.
Does anyone agree on a time and place where this should be worn?
I'm in the 40 something group here, so please take that into account when I say, in general, I am not too crazy about the styles they are showing these days. If we had the money, I would probably shop at specialty clothing stores that carry more conservative, classic styles. I mean, I don't think I'm a prude,( or at least I hope not) but many of the styles I see shown look more like lingerie. If I were to wear some of the things I see, I would feel like I'm leaving home with my whole slip showing. I guess I still like to leave some of my "imperfect" body covered and leave it up to imagination as to what is under my clothes!
Also, I was never fond of the 70's. The striped blouses and v-neck look doesn't do it for me, either. Some of the other things I see shown at the major department stores just leave me less than thrilled. I'm actually glad I'm too broke to shop for clothes!
Okay, I know I just dated myself. Maybe if I was fit and thin (I wear a 10-12) it would be different? I just can't seem to find clothes that appeal to me. So, to answer your question, Marg, I wouldn't wear what you describe at all, but if I did, it would be evening wear only. Not to a upper scale restaraunt or play etc., though. I like sexy but with a classy edge to it.
I'll be 40 in March.
It looked more like evening wear or lingerie to me. I wouldn't have thought it was odd if it were summer and 92 out. But it is winter. I'm not sure there is such a thing anymore as winter/summer clothes. It just all seems to blend together.
I guess I just stuck to my time period.
What I laugh at it some of the clothes that come out now that say 'medium' looks like it would fit my 10 yo who weighs 75 pounds.
Heck, i'm only 23 and the only person that sees me in lingerie is my DH, even if it is the trend! Too many women are trying to mix fashion in the workplace and while I think it can be accomplished to a certain extent, most women just don't know how to do it. I don't understand todays fashion but maybe that's just a sign of my ever aging mind, lol. I still have peers that wear things I wouldn't be caught dead in.
Also to add, it's generally a rule in the haircutting industry to wear tops that cover your chest and underarms. Most people don't care to see either and when you are cutting hair you tend to get right up in a persons face. I'd complain if I were you.
My personal thoughts are cleavage is for dates and evening wear, not work. No matter what your age.
Well I'm guilty of the lower cuts and shorter skirts and dresses BUT I would never in an office...not low cut enough to see my "lingerie" anyway. I'm with you Marg, I want the men AND women to see me for who I am and my brains not what I have under my clothes.If I'm on a date or something that's different and the shorter dresses and the like I only wear in the summer of course.
I agree that in the work place a certain code of decorum should exist.
I agree, absolutely. I'm of the generation that fought very hard for women to have equal opportunities at work, and to be treated as professional colleagues, not eye candy. I take it sort of personally and it pushes my buttons when women dress provactively at work.
One of the lawyers I work for now is a young woman who, bless her heart, is willing to take advice (and you all know I'm not short on advice). Recently I commented one morning that she looked very glamerous. She responded that she was trying for professional, not glamerous, as she was going to be in court with one of the partners. She was wearaing a grey jacket and skirt, and a knit boatneck black top that showed a lot of upper chest and was maybe an inch above the top of her bra line. I looked at her, and also looked at one of her female attorney colleagues who was just passing by, and suggested that the difference between glamerous and professional was her neckline. She immediately tugged at her knit top and the neckline to move the neckline up a couple of inches, and that did indeed make the difference between "professional" and "glamerous".
Something else that has annoyed me. We had a shower today for two of the secretaries who are both very pregnant. And one of them is really very, very pregnant - carrying very far out and at 4 months looked almost 9 months gone. The one secretary has worn loose tops over skirts or slacks, that hang down straight from her bosom over her belly. But the gal who looks like she is about 12 months pregnant right now has been wearing knit pants and knit tops that hug her body. And, aside from that I don't think it looks attractive, it really doesn't look professional to have her wearing black knit slacks and a white knit top that hugs every curve and bulge.
By the way, why do women wear long skirts to work? Long skirts make it more difficult to get in and out of cars, more difficult to go safely up and down stairs, and you always run the risk of having the skirt get caught under the wheels of your chair. It has never made sense to me.
The last place I worked, the young women from a nearby Catholic high school who would work as mailroom clerks after school and in the summer were frequently wearing tops that showed their middles - but at that office the hiring partners liked eye-candy, so it was never addressed.
Having worked in a trendy salon in the past, the emphasis for the employeess is to look "sexy and hip" - I actually had scheduled breaks to redo my makeup. You go to a salon to look good, so the people working there need to reflect that. It may be that their boss has a sexy, hip dress code.
There also may be a certain comptetiveness amongst an all-female workplace and those women were probably single. I know my DH would be a little worried about me going to work looking like what you described.
I would be bold, like usual, and ask,"Aren't you cold???"
I'm a certain size myself that attracts certain attention...but, I know how to cover it up. In fact, most of my work wear is sweats!! LOL 
Ya know I tend agree with Colette. Also it's a creative environment and people tend to dress a little differently then the general public. I worked in advertising for many, many years and we always dressed a bit "differently" from other corporate people, especially in the art department. I used to wear a cat suit to work, ok this was in the 80s but still it was perfectly acceptable. I would have never worn this in an accounting office.
I guess you have the choice not go back there if you don't like the way they dress.
I don't have a problem at places like salons because as others have mentioned, it is part of the image they are trying to promote. I go to a pretty hip and upscale place (neither of which I am--LOL) to get my hair cut. There is one girl there who dresses like she is modeling for the Derelict ("dare-a-leak") promotion for any of you Zoolander fans. In Louisiana in the summer she wore a puffy ski vest over a sweater had too perfect circles of bright pink blush on her cheeks like a china doll, shredded hose, and had random bunches of skunk-hair pulled into elastic orthodontic rubber band in various spots on her head. No method to the madness, but yikes!
In an office though I do expect professional. I get to wear scrubs to work which I love--everyone is covered and no decision making about what to wear to work. It is also practical since I spend most of my day crawling around on the floor or getting drooled on. Our bosses were considering a modest V-neck and we all freaked out. We told them it would be a huge mistake considering how often we are bending over small children with the occasional teenaged boy and lots of dads who bring kids to therapy. They listened.
I like wearing scrubs to work, too!
While we are discussing this - let me first say, I work in jeans and Tshirts, etc. In the summertime, I wear tank tops to work. BUT I wouldn't wear the *lingerie* tops to work. HOWEVER, I am not in an office where we have *visitors*. It is rare for someone other than my boss or a surveyor to actually come in to the office. And I am *covered*. And when I know someone IS coming to the office for a meeting, etc., I dress according. You won't see my bra or my thighs or my *cleavage* - not that I have one......
And regarding offices that require *business attire* as their dress code? Many of the business *suits* for women have short skirts now. I think that is unacceptable. Don't get me wrong, some people look VERY attractive in the shorter skirts, but that's not appropriate for a work environment.
Our former Nextel rep was a very curvacious young lady and she took to wearing clingy tops and velvety *swirl* SHORT skirts on her customer visits. Looked like she was going out to a club. Of course my boss was salivating and talked for weeks afterwards, but I was disgusted.
Even in casual offices and work places, there should be a line you don't cross.
In the hospital I used to work at, one of the nursing supervisors wore street clothes, under a lab coat. For a while, she was wearing a short skirt and a short lab coat, so if you saw her from the back, you would wonder if she had anything on.
I think someone must have mentioned it to her supervisor, because then she started wearing more modest clothes. As one of the residents I worked for said, "It would be a great outfit for going out, but not for work!" She had the body for it, but it really wasn't appropriate for work! She definitely was a topic for discussion on quite a few nights!
I think it stems from acceptance through our TV programing. It use to be that blue jeans were not acceptable but now they have become daily attire for most. My dad use to have to wear a three piece suit every day, he is a big wig at the company he works for. It was what was expected and then they started allowing dress down Fridays.. That was slacks and a golf shirt. Then they went to jeans Friday.. And now they wear jeans every day.. some might wear a blazer over a dress shirt but most just wear golf shirts every day but Friday and Friday is T shirt and jeans.. We are becoming to casual, I believe..
AND I can't find clothes... I am too old for most and to young for the rest. I just don't think they make clothes for someone in their 30's.
I thought I was the only one, Bobbie! I can't find clothes, either. (So glad I'm a SAHM.)
Yeah, I have a hard time finding skirts/dresses. But, since I mostly wear slacks and blouses or tops, that's OK.
My firm had jeans Friday when I started there, but has since canceled it. I think the main reason for canceling it is that we often have clients visiting our offices - we'd get emails on Thursday about twice a month canceling "jeans Friday" because of client visits. Even when we had jeans Friday, you had to wear a shirt with a collar, and definitely no t-shirts.
The lawyers only wear suits if they expect to be going to court or meeting a client, otherwise it is slacks and dress shirts most of the time. Support staff outfits range from skirts & tops or dresses to slacks & tops. I prefer the idea of no jeans or t-shirts; I think it's more professional.
I think if you have you should flaunt it because you don't have it very long! Enjoy! (Lol) Just kidding... sort of..
I don't think I ever "had it!" LOL!
LOL, Dawn! Neither did I. LOL!
As a former teacher, I'm well aware of "professional attire". In fact, I taught in a parochial school where the dress code was a little stricter than public schools. I never had any problems with it though because it was also what I considered to be appropriate. As a SAHM I no longer need business attire, but I often window shop and there are still lots of appropriate options available.
My best friend has been a hairstylist for almost 25 years. Although she dresses with a little more flare than typical business attire, she always looks professional and respectable. Some women just don't "get it". LOL!
This reminded me of a trip to a local children's shoe store a few years ago. The clerk who helped us was wearing a low cut shirt with a push up bra. While standing she looked OK, but when she was kneeling and leaning over to help DD try on shoes...  OMGosh!
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