A Moment of Silence for a Pioneer of the Casual Workplace
by Steve Watters on 01/30/2009 at 8:00 AM
When I was three years old, Elivs Presley performed a concert in Hawaii that was beamed by satellite to a billion people. I don't remember a lot from the night my parents took us over to some friend's house to watch the concert, but I ended up getting a lot of wear out the LP version of the show. My favorite song was "I Can't Help Falling in Love With You," one that Elvis introduces as a song from the movie "Blue Hawaii." When I tried to watch the movie later, I realized it wasn't as compelling as the concert, but I did find all the Hawaiian shirts to be rather cool.
It wasn't until this past weekend that I discovered the connection between Elvis and casual clothes in the workplace. In an obituary for a man who died at age 86, the Wall Street Journal wrote, "When a lei-draped Elvis Presley posed for the cover of the soundtrack to "Blue Hawaii," he sported a red aloha shirt from the man who made the garment world-famous, Alfred Shaheen." The journal went on to describe the influence of Shaheen's shirts:
Elvis wasn't the only one wearing the wild-style shirts that signified everything from Hawaiian ethnicity to surfer cool to casual Friday. Frank Sinatra wore one in "From Here to Eternity," and Tom Selleck wore one in "Magnum PI." More recently, Hawaiian native President Barack Obama has been photographed in aloha shirts, and so has the Rev. Rick Warren, who gave the inaugural invocation.
And I found this part fascinating:
Lobbied by the Hawaiian Fashion Guild, the state senate in the early 1960s issued a proclamation recommending aloha wear for business attire all summer long, says Ms. Arthur, also a professor of apparel marketing at Washington State University. In 1966, Aloha Friday became official, according to her 2000 book, "Aloha Attire." She contends that Hawaiian shirts were the vessels that carried casual Friday around the country.
"Surfers brought [the shirts] back to the mainland," she says. "These guys then founded Silicon Valley and brought along casual Friday. It was in Hawaii 20 years before it came to the mainland."
Casual Friday has morphed into casual Monday through Thursday in many places and a survey conducted a couple of years ago implies that a majority of today's workers prefer business casual. But that survey also pointed out what employers think is too casual:
The survey uncovered that wearing revealing clothes to the office is the most common fashion faux pas (63 percent), followed closely by wearing flip-flops (62 percent). Fifty percent of executives said employees push the boundaries of office dress codes by wearing jeans. Other inappropriate fashions in the office include sleeveless shirts (44 percent), athletic shoes (42 percent), visible tattoos and piercings (37 percent) and clothing with inappropriate slogans (34 percent).
Whether or not you've ever worn the pioneering Hawaiian shirt, what's been your experience with casual clothes in the workplace?
1. Dan Gill said the following at 8:47 AM on Jan 30:
We are full-time casual here, and I love it. We are a small organization, and nobody abuses the policy.
However, at another company, we had to institute a no-stirrup-pants rule. There were some who were guilty of Cruelty to Spandex . . .
Interestingly, my favorite aloha shirt was from by brother's memorial service. He lived in Honolulu, and the funeral program/invitation specified, "Aloha Wear". I had to go and buy a shirt for the memorial. It is a prized piece of clothing to me now.
2. Christina (in green) said the following at 9:03 AM on Jan 30:
Other inappropriate fashions in the office include sleeveless shirts (44 percent), athletic shoes (42 percent), visible tattoos and piercings (37 percent) and clothing with inappropriate slogans (34 percent).
I find that one particularly odd...I guess its because I do work at a casual dress engineering plant.
If your an engineer and you do a lot of work in the labs, you HAVE to be wearing athletic shoes - no if's, and's, or but's. It IS the dress-code.
Other than that, for us little techies that spend most of our time working amongst ourselves or at our desks (i.e. only attending meetings that result in hashing out code with coworkers and status meetings with our PE), dress is very casual - jeans, flip-flops...I show up to work in a skirt and people ask me what the occasion is.
The more you interact with customers, program leads and management, directors, vps, and ceo's, the more business formal it gets. I've been known to slip out my black business heels, don the panty-hose and black skirt complimented with the cashmere sweater for a quarterly meeting with our Naval Customer. But when daily work-life involves sitting in front of my pc, asking questions of my fellow sw engineers, or traipsing into the lab for some testing, casual is the order of the day.
3. Christina (in green) said the following at 9:05 AM on Jan 30:
Compliments to Ted on the new comment process (I'm assuming he's the techy web-master guy of the group...).
If its not Ted, compliments to wherever they are due :)
4. Kellie said the following at 9:10 AM on Jan 30:
One (of many) reason(s) I went into healthcare: I get to wear scrubs and tennis shoes every day!
5. Caroline said the following at 9:14 AM on Jan 30:
I worked as the Public Relations Intern for a large company during the past two summers. While the dress code was business casual (varying by department), I found that I did my best work and felt the most productive when I took things up a notch. So, I'd take care to wear a pencil skirt, nice blouse, good heals, and do my hair, rather than doing the "khakis and polo" routine.
I had another motivation to do this: as someone conspicuously young and female in a mostly male workplace, it was important to look serious and put-together.
I can't imagine that anyone works better in jeans and flip-flops! You can be comfortable and still presentable.
6. brx said the following at 9:27 AM on Jan 30:
For the first couple years out of college, I always wore a collared, button-up shirt and clean, dark-blue, new-looking jeans. The suit was worn for the interviews but then stayed in the closet until the next wedding.
Polo style shirts and trade-show freebie t-shirts crept in as I saw the younger senior engineer start wearing them much of the time.
Now, since I interact with a variety of professional people, I'd say I'm going for a look that says I'm clean and respectful but ready to be active and not afraid to get my hands dirty - physically, not ethically of course!
Grace, peace & adventure!
7. Bethany said the following at 9:46 AM on Jan 30:
I work in a biological research lab, and the only dress code requirement is closed-toe shoes. It was a bit of a shock when I showed up to my job interview in "interview clothes" to meet my future boss, who was wearing jeans and a T-shirt! But when you're quite likely to get all sorts of gunk on you - lab coats only go so far - it makes more sense to be wearing something that you don't mind getting ruined.
8. brx said the following at 10:06 AM on Jan 30:
Caroline (#5) wrote:
"I can't imagine that anyone works better in jeans and flip-flops! You can be comfortable and still presentable."
In PR, what's presentable surely depends on your audience, correct? At a church I know, the staff PR gal showed up in jeans and sandy flip-flops to do her Sunday service announcement duties -- and consequently garnered a positively glowing review for the church in a very widely circulated liberal rag paper. That's a great PR accomplishment for a doctrinally sound Christian church!
So, even jeans and flip-flops can have a certain place at work. :)
Grace, peace & authenticity!
9. Caroline said the following at 10:12 AM on Jan 30:
Point taken, brx. : ) I'd admit that I'm not a big fan of flip-flops in general, which influenced my comment. It's always wonderful when the church can get good press (without compromising, of course) in liberal publications.
10. Dani said the following at 11:47 AM on Jan 30:
Kellie (#4), it's funny that you should say that.
A couple of weeks ago, I visited a couple and their new little boy at the women's hospital near my house. By the elevators on the ground floor was a mannequin wearing the original nurses' uniform from the mid-1950s. A knee-length dress and a cape/jacket with St.V.H. (for St. Vincent's Hospital) embroidered on the collar. It was such a stylish look!
I know that it's a little silly to think of now; I'm sure that scrubs and athletic shoes are much more comfortable and easier to work in. But it's fun to think of a time when women wanted to look especially feminine, even at work.
On a different note, all of the female nurses and doctors my family knows (a lot!) swear by Dansko shoes. Not quite as obviously comfortable as running shoes, but still kind to the feet!
11. P&P said the following at 11:51 AM on Jan 30:
Is anyone else having an "Office Space" moment right now?
I've worked on both ends of the dress spectrum and as I get older I definitely lean towards the professional look. It makes it easier for me to get dressed in the morning and I don't have to worry about being caught off guard if I get pulled into an impromptu meeting or appointment.
I enjoyed dressing like an aging rocker chick (ripped jeans, boots, suede jacket, long scarf) when I worked for a "less traditional" company but even that look got old after a while.
Now I wear skirts and blouses with the long scarf. It's actually a lot easier to pick out clothes and more affordable too.
Although there was that one day when I met with my publisher while wearing pink Chuck Taylors. Good thing he has a sense of humor.
12. Loris said the following at 11:51 AM on Jan 30:
I work for an engineering firm and our dresscode is closed-toed shoes, no sleeveless, and reserve the sports jerseys for Fridays.
13. DannieA said the following at 11:53 AM on Jan 30:
Caroline #5
I can't fathom flip-flops either because I work with kids...even nice sandals or peeptoed footwear will bite you in the rear when a preschooler or an autistic child steps on them (purposeful or not)...My dress code changes....I have my professional dress for the days where I'm working primarily with elementary students and have IEP meetings with parents and other professionals....I have my jeans and khaki pants when I'm in the Special Ed. preschool as I cannot tell you how much crawling under tables, running after, and gunk is involved...the same goes with the moderate-severe population. Take for example yesterday...went into the classroom with NICE jeans and professional top....yeah one autistic kid threw some frosting/icing thing out of excitement and I spent the rest of the day with splotches of white on me...you need to dress appropriately in all situations and some situations require the dreaded "jean, casual".
14. ptschett said the following at 12:13 PM on Jan 30:
I've come across different definitions of business casual. At my company's design centers the standard's minimum is a collared shirt and khakis. At one customer where I did some work, the standard is the same. But at the customer where I spent the most time, a collared shirt and jeans is the norm among anyone under 40. And it made sense there, we engineers didn't always know whether we'd be spending all day in the office or whether we'd be spending some time in the shop installing our creations on a prototype.
15. Christina (in green) said the following at 12:39 PM on Jan 30:
I can't imagine that anyone works better in jeans and flip-flops! You can be comfortable and still presentable.
Lol.
Caroline, I hope how you dress isn't your version of "presentable".
Cuz if that were the case, i'd be able to say right now that that IS uncomfortable! I've seen the onesies in NY & Co for shirts that you wear with pencil-lined pants and nice skirts...
I've just never been able to dish out the money for that kind of stuff for a regular schedule and maintain comfort while sitting at my desk all day.
It doesn't feel justified. (And NY&Co is the cheapest I can get for the most comfort...only Target jeans fit my crazy hips right).
However, I do have to agree with you that it helps with motivation :) (Though I think the interaction with people that accompanies that kind of dress is more the cause of motivation). On the occasions that I've dressed like that, it does feel good. Not comfortable, but good. Still, I think it was people interaction that lent to the overall feeling of accomplishment than anything else - cuz I get that now when I interact with team members =p
16. Caroline said the following at 1:26 PM on Jan 30:
Christina (#15),
Oh, I know how the "blouse, pencil skirt, heels" combo may sound uncomfortable, but it's really not when the pieces all fit properly. I've found good blouses (not tight onesies, which sound horrible) at various places like Old Navy and Banana Republic.
There were many days last summer when I had *very* little people interaction (maybe walking past someone on the way to the copier) and I still dressed the same way, because it helped me get into work mode.
17. Tamara (from Canada) said the following at 1:59 PM on Jan 30:
I guess you could say that my current workplace can present a bit of a challenge in how to dress. I work for a homeless shelter, but I work more in the office.
When I know I'm just going to be in my office all day or when I have a meeting with someone from outside the organization I will go for more of the business look. But, I've found that the days that I'm interacting more with the clients that come through our doors they seem to be much less intimidated if I'm wearing jeans and a polo. Days when I have both happening can get challenging when I'm trying to decide what to wear.
Having said all that, I must say that quite often I see people taking a casual dress workplace (both at my current job and at other jobs I've had) to an extreme. You can dress casually and still have a clean, sharp appearance. Really, in most jobs there is no reason to wear ripped clothing or a t-shirt from the latest concert you went to. Even when I worked in a shop and jeans and t-shirts were the standard (and required) dress code, the jeans were still clean and not torn, and the t-shirt was also.
18. Leah said the following at 10:29 PM on Jan 30:
Christina (in green)- this article specified office dress-codes, not all work-places :)
Caroline (5) - jeans were a common item of clothing in the office I worked in last year. I worked at a university and we had no interaction with students. I was never told a dress-code, but my boss (female) commonly wore jeans and sneakers. (Or joggers as us Aussies call them). I often wore jeans (dark), sandals (not thongs/ flip-flops), and a smart-casual shirt.
My father, a sales manager for an electrical firm, usually wears black pants and often a polo shirt (he's been given about 20 since he started work there 2.5 years ago with various partners' logos on, etc).
Really, you get so many 'offices' around the place with different roles that you really can't say one specific dress code applies everywhere.
19. KJ said the following at 1:19 PM on Jan 31:
I am a teacher, and at my school no really specific dress code has been enforced for teachers - there are things from the student dress code that logically we ought to follow (we shouldn't be wearing miniskirts if students aren't allowed to, for example) but other things that shouldn't apply to adults (like the "no shoes with more than a one-inch heel.") However, I heard not too long ago about a school that had such a problem with teachers (young ones in particular) dressing immodestly/too casually/inappropriately that they slapped uniforms on the students and extended that rule to the teachers as well. I would have a real problem with this since (a) I think it's wrong a slap in the face to make teachers wear the same uniforms as the students, and(b) I don't think polo shirts and khakis are really that professional anyway (though they would be practical at the elementary level, for many reasons) but if some of my colleagues don't stop dressing in things like T-shirts, bermuda shorts, and flip-flops, I fear the same thing is going to happen at my school.
Aloha shirts are not part of the problem, however...
20. Alex C. said the following at 12:23 AM on Feb 1:
"Fifty percent of executives said employees push the boundaries of office dress codes by wearing jeans..."
Wha!? If you ask me, you're not really "casual" if you don't allow jeans.
21. Buzz said the following at 7:50 AM on Feb 5:
Any form of clothing that doesn't require a necktie and easily hides an sagging middle-age gut is okay with me.