Thank you happy and Steve for the support. Steve, you can add the popular tv program What Not To Wear and it's many offshoots to the the list of those that say how you look is important.

My last comment on this subject is one I've alluded to in previous posts...
This is not a matter of age. It is a matter of respect . You either respect yourself and those you will come in contact with enough to dress neatly and unoffensively or you don't.

Why is it so important for some of you to beat the rest of us into submission? I already stated that I know what the societal norms are. I personally think too much emphasis is placed on how we look. I also believe as younger people move into positions of power you will see dress codes relaxing. It doesn't matter to me when I see someone with tattoos and multiple piercings and it doesn't matter to me what they are wearing. Those are my opinions, nothing more and nothing less. I suspect Stoked feels the same. I think the quik mart comment was a bit snotty for no real reason.

Sweetpeas, I'm not attempting to beat anyone into submission. I'm simply pointing out that many people do place an emphasis on what people look like and what they are wearing, particularly in a business situation, and even more particularly when you are handling their money. If everyone shared your view in this matter, then it probably would not matter what people wore, and dress codes might be very different.

There will always need to be some type of dress code. When you live and work in community, you must take into account others' habits, desires, and customs. Where we will probably always disagree is upon the degree of restrictiveness and specificity of the dress code.

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I also believe as younger people move into positions of power you will see dress codes relaxing. It doesn't matter to me when I see someone with tattoos and multiple piercings and it doesn't matter to me what they are wearing.

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Well, it matters to me - and I'm not even 30 yet. At the risk of sounding "snotty," I agree that you should dress as professionally as you wish to be treated. If I walk into a professional establishment (bank, dr's office, law office, etc) and see sloppily dressed, obviously tattooed, excessively pierced personnel staffing the place, not only am I leaving - I'm telling everyone I know about the place and NOT to go there because "the people who work there are scary." This is probably incredibly unfair, but quite frankly my first perception/impression of those people would not be favorable no matter what their actual skill may be.

Just out of curiosity - how did a thread about needing a "hat clause" in a company dress code get to this?

You and Joker didn't show me any respect and take your hats off, Becca, that's how the thread got here!

It's funny the things that trip people's triggers, mine included, isn't it?

Ya'll are cracking me up...but I agree with Becca...extremeness is SCARY to me toooooo!

But TR...when I get out of here today...the very first thing I probably will do...is put on my boots, jeans, maybe short and my HAT while I'm still in my HOUSE! Ya'll have a great weekend!!!!

The reason we have a dress code is image. We want to project a professional image. We came up with a written dress code to avoid arguments. We do not allow denim of any kind because there are so many degrees of denim, some acceptable, some not. While I may wear new dark jeans, the next person will come with distressed, torn jeans. Then if they are singled out, they would point to me and say "She's wearing jeans and you aren't picking on her." The written policy avoids those kind of situations.

Also, if we hire a young person, and they never had a person in their family working in an office, they have no examples of the accepted type of dress. So we spell it out. No spagetti straps, no mini skirts, no tee shirts, no dog collars, the only acceptable body piercings are ear lobes, etc.

I would love to go without stockings once in awhile, but this building is kept so cold, I would freeze!

We must work at the same place, Nanwa! LOL..sounds like a carbon copy of ours...Another problem we found with jeans (when we had dress down Friday's) was that some wore them entirely too tight. Believe it or not..it was male management that put a stop to it in customer contact areas...the ops center still does this...they pay $5 to wear them each Friday and the money collected goes to the current worthy charity.

SP and stoked - not being condescending, and certainly not trying to beat anyone into submission. I'm stating real world experience. The quik-mart comment was not snotty, it was based on reality. Walk into a bank, you generally see well dressed professionals, either in uniforms or in what is deemed as professional attire. Walk into a quik-mart, you see someone smoking a cigarette behind the register, often times pierced and tattooed, with multiple color hair to boot. I don't mind seeing this when stopping for a coke, after all, I only want a coke. I don't make the rules, but if I want to continue to work in banking, I'll sure follow them.

I work in a back office environment, and rarely, if ever, see customers. But I continue to dress in the manner that is expected of a VP. While it would be nice to not have to wear and coat and tie in 95 degree heat with 100% humidity (which is louisisna is about every month but January), I knew going in to this job what I would be required to wear. And in the banking sector, I don't see this changing.

There have been multiple studies done about casual attire versus not, and one comes to mind. About 5 years ago, several large regionals and super-regionals switched to casual attire. After 1-3 years, every one switched back. Customers did not like it, managers spent too much time deciphering the policy on what was appropriate, and HR spent too much time diffusing upset employees. It is easier to require professional attire, and much easier to enforce.

Sorry that both of you feel beat up about this, that was certainly not my intent.

For what it's worth, here is some more information on the history and etiquette on wearing hats. IMHO, they are out of place for employees of a bank, regardless of where the bank is located. So call me old fashioned.

Several years ago, the bank where I worked instituted "casual Fridays" for our branches. The employees migrated gradually from bank logo items to t-shirts with inappropriate messages and jeans. Several customers commented that they hated to come in the bank on those days, because if we looked that sloppy we must be handling their money in a sloppy manner as well. As bankers, I still believe we have to uphold conservative standards.

That said, people who have tattoos, multiple piercings, funky haircuts, etc. are not always as "scary" as they may appear. Most of them are wonderful, kind, and giving individuals who just like to "do their own thing" with their appearance. Nothing wrong with that. But still, I believe most bank customers (well, those who still come IN to the bank) expect to see someone who is conservatively dressed. This may not be true in some of the more rural areas, but I believe it to be so elsewhere.

Our biggest dress code issue seems to be women wearing open toe shoes and no nylons. The dress code says nylons are required, but many (especially those who are supposed to enforce the code) do not. I still feel a little "nekkid" not wearing nylons w/my sandals.

I'm relatively new to the world of pedicures so now I'm noticing the folks with "feet that should be covered at all times". I'm not talking about physically unattractive, I'm talking about jagged nails and crusty heels. Yuck!

Hose requirements have a whole new meaning now.

AMEN! I have a more than one new appreciation for the winter months