A while ago, The Wall Street Journal ran an article about how dressing too provocatively at a company cocktail party was a bad idea. While a woman showing a little décolletage at a non-work party is no big deal, the image of said woman in a slinky dress is likely to be forever ingrained in the minds of her male co-workers, who aren't used to seeing bare skin south of her collar bones. Yes, men should be more decorous, but since they're incapable, chicks may as well cover up and avoid being the hot topic in the break room for the next six weeks. It wouldn't kill them. But apparently a lot of women don't think that way. Grazia reports that a third of us dress provocatively in the workplace in hopes of advancing our careers. That seems high. We thought more women than that would understand that provocative clothing is more likely to turn them into the "I Can't Believe She Wore That to Work Girl" than the next VP. Because honestly, outside of American Apparel, how far can it get you?
The survey also reveals that 48 percent of women get competitive, style-wise, with their female colleagues. Women in the marketing and advertising industries are most competitive in this regard, followed by chicks in media and retail. We put in our time at Condé Nast, and we can absolutely understand that. But what about doing surveys like these on men? Women aren't the only ones who care about what their clothes look like.
It's war in the office style-stakes! [Grazia]
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Filed Under: dress codes
