(no subject)

[azurelunatic]

Girls really do have a lot more freedom of expression in workplace clothes. I'd like to see the uproar of challenging it.

Comments

[onyxrising.livejournal.com]

I have seen men in this city wear kilts, as most workplace dresscodes do not assign a gender to the wearing of skirts or kilts. Utilikilts are reasonably popular here.

[wibbble]

There was someone wearing a kilt at the last 'dress down day' at work.

The dress code rules state that 'national dress' is only permissible on dress down days, which mean that you'd face disciplinary action if you wore a kilt on any other day since the dress code for men specifically states dress trousers must be worn.

[azurelunatic]

Jeans would get the same disciplinary action, though, wouldn't they?

[wibbble]

Yes, although if you wore black jeans it would be easier to get away with it.

[azurelunatic]

I suspect a female phone goon couldn't get away with a denim skirt, either?

[tygerr.livejournal.com]

My employer has a dress non-code. As in, when the company went to a "casual dress" policy they stated that all clothing must be "suitable to a professional environment" without actually stating what that means.

I suspect a man in a skirt would be considered "unprofessional", unless it was a kilt on Halloween or Burns' birthday.

[onyxrising.livejournal.com]

This is Portland, which has some very fun laws about gender, gender expression, and discrimination.
Which is to say that if the women in an office can wear a skirt, so the hell can I. I merely opt not to, because I hate wearing skirts. But I've seen it done.

[onyxrising.livejournal.com]

And I should also state that do to a combination of local laws and culture, I have seen men, who are male identified, wear women's clothing to work every day with makeup.

[tygerr.livejournal.com]

I, OTOH, am stuck in Texas. Southeast Houston, in fact. Not only the place which inflicted Ye Bush on the world, but also the Secure Homeland of *sigh* Tom DeLay.

Institutionalized sexism is just as alive and well around here as is institutionalized homophobia. And skirts on men? A gross violation of BOTH of those types of Community Standards. *grumble*

[azurelunatic]

*comforts*

[azurelunatic]

Even if it were a very professional skirt? :-P

[tygerr.livejournal.com]

This is such a Red State area that my neighbors keep re-electing Tom DeLay. It really wouldn't matter HOW professional the skirt was. *thbbbbbt*

[azurelunatic]

Fie on the neighbors! Fie on that twit!

Re: workplace clothes

[wolfieboy.livejournal.com]

Girls have more freedom of expression and more selection in clothing in general. I'm currently reading The Lazy Crossdresser. A lot of these things would definitely go over much better outside of work though.

Re: workplace clothes

[azurelunatic]

That book sounds intriguing.

[xinef.livejournal.com]

Very true. On the other hand, women are expected to NOT show up in the same outfit day after day. Fine for the men to wear the same suit, with similar shirts day after day. Not fine for women to do the equivalent. So women tend to spend more on work clothes.

[tygerr.livejournal.com]

I think anyone (any gender) who wants to wear a limited wardrobe should be free to do so, as long as it's kept clean and in good repair (and otherwise meets any reasonable dress code restrictions), and that those (any gender again) who want to be flashy clothes horses should be able to do that--as long as they don't whinge about the cost of their indulgence.

(Which of course makes ME a hypocrite, since I complain about the lack of options for men one day, then bitch about how EXPENSIVE the Really Cool Clothes are the next day. Oops.)

But then, I doubt this suprises anyone. (Including, I suspect, the confession of hypocrisy.)

[xinef.livejournal.com]

I think that it depends very much on the specific environment. A good friend of mine has mostly gotten away with this, or at least she did when we worked together. She usually showed up in a dark sweater or blouse and a dark skirt. The skirts were pretty much interchangeable. I don't recall if they were identical or just similar, but the overall impression was very similar to the guys' suits.

So I suspect that there is a combination of expectation and personal preference there. Now that I work from home, I will often wear the same outfit for 2 or 3 days in a row (yes, as long as it stays clean!) in a way that I wouldn't have done when I worked in an office.

And yes, the really cool clothes for both men and women tend to be expensive!!

And yes, men do definitely have fewer options, esp in terms of work wear.

[tygerr.livejournal.com]

And yes, men do definitely have fewer options, esp in terms of work wear.

I'd have to say it's MOST especially true in the area of FORMAL wear. Much more so than work wear.

[xinef.livejournal.com]

Ok, I was thinking of work vs casual, not work vs formal. I do agree.

[azurelunatic]

I got the CD! Thanks again!

[xinef.livejournal.com]

Great! Let me know what you think of it. Happens to be one I really like.

Christine

[azurelunatic]

The first song blew me away. I was raised around violinists, so I know that getting all those tricky little notes out fast and crisp without slurring is a very nice technical accomplishment.

[xinef.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that first song, B Minor, is awesome. Great pick-me-up if you need energy.

They are really really good in concert, too. The energy shows. The next two albums have vocal tracks as well as instrumental-only tracks. Also good, but not quite as awesome as their first, in my opinion.

[azurelunatic]

I am fortunate in that I can show up at my workplace in the sane and sober combination of a black skirt and a black blouse day in and day out. I'd rather look like a raven than like [insert choice of flashy parrot here], which is how I'd look if I let the other end of my fashion sense take hold.

[fatmuttony.livejournal.com]

Totally, and that's one of the few things that make me a very jealous boy.

[azurelunatic]

Someday, the liberal influence will spread!