I was just reading an article about “what not to wear to work” and I’m feeling like a bum. The
temporary agency Adecco commissioned a report that surveyed more than 1,000 American adults and… let’s just say that my dressing habits are worse than I thought.
Among the findings:
72% believe that strapless or backless tops and dresses are inappropriate for the workplace. I’m OK with this. I don’t even own anything strapless, and if I did, I certainly wouldn’t wear it to work. I would be terrified of a wardrobe malfunction in front of my co-workers, in which case I could never come to work again out of sheer humiliation. But that said, I certainly wouldn’t be “offended” if somebody here came to work sporting something backless or strapless. Frankly, I don’t care what you wear as long as you do your job! Well, unless it was a hairy guy. But that’s another blog for another time…
But here’s where things start turning bad… 59% said that shorts are inappropriate at the office, 76% said flip flops are inappropriate, and 35% said open-toed shoes in general are inappropriate. Thank goodness I don’t know the people that were surveyed for this. They’d hate me. Take today, for instance. I had to go with one of our salespeople to meet with a client and I have on a cute dress and a pair of bright red peeptoe pumps that I think are ADORABLE. Now I learn that 35% of people would not approve of my footwear. That’s crazy. These shoes are SO cute and I thought they were just fine to wear to a meeting, but I guess not. Yesterday, I was seemingly more offensive, as I had on a dress that, again, I THOUGHT was cute, but as I walked by the mirror in the restroom, I realized it looked more
like a bathing suit cover-up. And yes, I was wearing flip flops yesterday too. I guess I am just one faux pas after another to the respondents, but see, I totally disagree with the 76% that said flip flops are inappropriate. There are so many cute flip flops… flip flops with jewels, flips flops with sequence… you’re telling me that it’s “inappropriate” to wear those to work? Come on! We live in West Georgia and East Alabama and flip flops are what we wear!
I guess I should REALLY thank my lucky stars that the respondents didn’t see me the other day when I showed up to work in a Lynyrd Skynyrd t-shirt, shorts, and flip flops. They probably would have taken me out back, shot me, and threw me in the dumpster. “Any girl that would dare wear a Skynyrd t-shirt to work… BE DAMNED!!!”
Then again, I work in radio, so who cares? It’s not like I’m on TV and it’s not like I’m
constantly in front of people. The days I have to meet with people outside of the office, I make an effort to dress nice. If I were on the sales side of radio and were constantly getting out and meeting with people, I would dress nice as well. And if I worked in a law office or a classy establishment or somewhere with “professionals,” I’m sure I would have a totally different outlook too, but since I’m in radio… the on-air side of radio… they’re lucky I don’t show up in my pajamas when I oversleep.
On a side note, something tells me that the respondents would lose their mind if they knew I occasionally brought my dog to work, while wearing flip flops and shorts, of course…
