Dear Crabby, Should We Improve the Dress Code?

Dear Crabby,

It seems to me that people in the workplace are not dressing as nice as they used to. Do you think we should raise the dress code in the workplace?

Sincerely, Fred Formal

Dear Mr. Formal,

I have certainly seen the dress code fall a few notches in my recent decades of adulthood. When I was a young man making my way in the work-world, we were not only expected to wear ties, but jackets too. A so-called “corporate casual” day was one where we would take our jackets off and loosen our ties for the last hour of work. When my son finished college and interviewed for his first job in the workplace, I told him to wear a tie and jacket. When he came home, he told me that the boss who interviewed him asked if he was going to a funeral or something, and that he was only wearing a button-up shirt and casual khaki pants. He said I had embarrassed him and that no one was wearing ties anymore. I was shocked, so I called a few old coworkers and they all confirmed that the new corporate attire is really “corporate casual.” Not only are people wearing golf shirts and Hawaiian shirts to work, but they’re also leaving them untucked. As a joke I said, “Next, you’re going to tell me that people wear argyle sweater vests when they want to dress up.” To my dismay, they said that’s exactly what people do.

They even have “jeans day” a couple times a year where people can wear jeans if they donate a couple bucks to a charity. Simply criminal, I think. Take something like suspenders – they never go out of style. I wore those quite often as a young man and now, as an old man, I can’t go anywhere without them. I’ve got black and I’ve got blue; there isn’t an outfit made that I can’t match with those babies. My fear is more these young kids today. I see them walking around showing us all their undies, and I just wonder what the workplace will look like in 10 more years.

I imagine “corporate casual” will mean showing us the “Joe Boxer” tags on their briefs. Or maybe the jeans day for charity will warrant them allowing the jeans to sag down to their ankles. You even see the news anchors and the politicians going without jackets – and sometimes without ties – these days. Maybe in 10 more years, we will see the President of The United States giving us the State of The Union Address in a golf shirt and tight jeans. I tell you, I may be old and worn out, but my standards are not. I think the dress code should certainly be moved higher and it will be up to people who care, like yourself, to take that stand and fight that fight. I applaud you and I will support you anyway I can. Good luck and dress sharp.

Sincerely, Dear Crabby

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About Dear Crabby

Stuck in a rut? Need some biased advice from a crabby old baby-boomer? Read regularly by thousands and loved by some, Dear Crabby answers questions weekly to life's challenges. Send him a note at editor@rochestermedia.com.

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