Dress Code

I’ve been following a post at Commute by Bike on Cycling Fashion, and it’s interesting to read about all of the different wardrobes and reasons for each. It seems to me that part of the decision of what to wear on the way to work depends on what one wears at work. One commenter mentions a dress code, so I thought I would present the dress code for my office.

Since I work at a university, I expect to see all manner of dress in the various departments, and I’m not dissapointed. The overarching theme is “business casual”, which could mean Haggar slacks and no tie, or cargo shorts and a Fall Out Boy t-shirt. However, my area expects a higher level of professional dress (imagine working at a bank in 1987), as outlined by this dress code:

OFFICE ATTIRE

1. Office attire for employess is business professional. All questions and concerns pertaining to appropriate office attire should be addressed with an employee’s immediate supervisor.
2. The following is a brief list of attire not acceptable during working hours.
   1. T-shirts, tank tops, halter tops, denim jeans, denim mini skirts, carpenter pants, shorts, flip-flop sandals, wind suits, jogging suits, and tennis shoes
3. Spirit Days have been suggested for all areas on home football or basketball Fridays. Spirit wear would consist of business casual attire in black and gold or Purdue logo. The following is a list of attire not acceptable during Spirit Days:
   1. Denim jeans, t-shirts, tank tops, halter tops, shorts, or flip-flop sandals.

The most interesting thing I find in the policy is the Spirit Days section. I can wear a wind suit (whatever that is) on a game Friday. I’m guessing that I can wear about anything, as long as features Purdue Pete or a train. Although, it says that these days have been suggested, but doesn’t indicate if the suggestion was approved.

Now, I’m lucky in that my normal uniform of Dockers and a button down is allowed on any day, although I sometimes need to pull out the coat and tie. Others in the building tried a “Jean Friday” revolt, but that was recently (and awkwardly) quashed by the upper administration. Myself, I don’t talk dress code with my staff. Section 1 talks about immediate supervisors handling dress code issues. That means that the upper administrators don’t want to get involved. I follow their lead and delegate those discussions to my reports.

I’ve biked to work wearing everything but a suit coat without incident, but that’s only because of my relatively short commute. I say if you want to go in full kit, that’s your call.