According to a survey by Office Team, dressing up for work continues to go out of style. It appears that office dress codes keep getting more relaxed as a result of the influx of millennials in the workforce.
Half of the senior managers interviewed in the survey said their workers wear less formal clothing than they did five years ago, and 47% said their employees dressed “too casually.” The survey also showed that 32% of managers said their workers showed “too much skin.”
Tiffany Yannetta, shopping director at Racked.com, says that leggings at work is a definite no-no. "To the dismay of many, myself included, leggings are just too closely associated with lounge-wear. Though they can double as a pair of thick tights, wearing them as pants makes you look unprofessional." In contrast, she says that jeans are a go, especially if you're wearing darker jeans, which look a little more crisp.
Here are Yannetta's tricks for wearing jeans to the office:
Dark jeans look more professional. Avoid jeans that are lighter in color or have an acid wash.
Wear your jeans with a professional shoe. A nice pair of loafers, flats or even a pair of black boots works well, she says.
Pair jeans with a more formal top to "balance" the outfit. A collared shirt or a blazer are great options.
Bosses hire candidates they think will be a good fit with their team, and what you wear to a job interview plays a role in the impression you make - and an even greater role once you're hired. Conflicts arise when employees prefer to dress comfortably, or in the most recent styles, rather than realizing the importance of presenting themselves in a more professional/conservative manner. Proper business attire is important in the business world because you never know when you will be required to meet with someone from outside of your company; your image to this outsider will be the image remembered of/for your company.
Should organizations providing training on professional attire?
How does behavior modeling by employers impact employee attire in the workplace?
Is employee salary responsible for appropriate and/or inappropriate workplace attire?