I work at a London tech startup. 65-70℅ of my colleagues are male, which contrasts nicely with my previous industry: publishing. Either way, my office environment has always been casual: converse sneakers, jeans and t-shirts are perfectly fine. I do feel that at my current company things have changed re dress code (and everything else, really). I've seen this startup grow from 40 people to 120, and many of my colleagues were - still are - very young, but as new, older, more experienced people join us, we have all become a bit more conscious about our attire. There was a guy who used to come to work in a tracksuit sometimes - no kidding. I haven't seen that in a long time. But converse shoes and jeans are still perfectly acceptable. As for myself, I'm making the effort to dress nicer again and I'm more aware of what other female colleagues wear, we all admire each other's clothes and comment on them.

But, yeah, at my company anything goes regarding attire, which I don't mind. If it helps people focus on what really matters, who cares what they're wearing?

@Ummlila-yes, i agree, ponte pants are less business and more casual, and i'll be honest, that's why i wear them....i'm trying to find the magical line that strikes the perfect balance. i do think that the cut/silhouette of the pants makes a difference....
@Ginger...looking foward to seeing retro goes to work.
@psychedelicate--love.love.love the communal skirt suit!

Oops, I missed this and posted on our dress code in your WIW. I'm interested in the comments about gradual casualisation in younger people. We have a young staff member who will likely soon be out of a job based on cutbacks. She is a seriously talented and brilliant young woman. She's been interviewing with no callbacks and several of us worry it's because of the way she dresses. For example, she wears tunics as dresses, which often puts her knickers on full display (I don't think she réalisés this). It's not my place to say anything, but I feel sad for her as I think her dress might be negatively impacting her career.

I feel the need to address the opinion about ponte pants. I work in an office that has a "business casual" dress code. We are not to wear jeans unless they are dark denim. Most of the time, I wear NYDJ ponte Michelle trousers, which I think look professional. I also occasionally wear either white or very dark denim pants. No matter what pants I wear, I always make sure that the rest of my outfit is professional. The dress code came about because of people in other offices wearing really casual attire that is not at all appropriate for the office--flip flops, tank tops, etc. There obviously had to be some guidelines for people to follow. That said, it is a university ag extension office in a rural location, not a bank or attorney's office.

I would say my workplace is mostly business casual for the engineers. There's a another team that does environmental work (biologists, archeologists, ethnography) that dress very, very casually. However, generally the engineers wear what Angie states - chinos, polo shirts, buttons downs with no tie, etc. Jeans are not usually worn except on Fridays, although I'll wear colored denim (white, black, burgundy) during the week. There's no written dress code here. My previous job in the same industry had a written dress code that was enforced. It was similar to the unwritten code here so it's not an issue for me. One of our main clients has an enforced dress code of dress shirts, slacks and ties for the men (and the equivalent for women) so I feel like I need to dress, not to exactly the same standards, but be dressed up enough that I'm not uncomfortably under dressed when in meetings with them.

I'll admit that my version of business casual is definitely more casual than it was when I first started working. I'm still more dressed up than the majority of my co-workers though.

This is such a neat discussion. I work for a utility company and in our one city, we have facilities that range from a downtown highrise (corporate services, customer care call center) to field offices (treatment plants with office space), so there are a huge range of people and dress styles.

Generally, the more time you spend in the field, the more casual you are allowed to dress (and if you wear coveralls for your workday, no one cares what you are wearing underneath).

My team is located in an office building on one of the treatment plant sites and we split our time between the field and the office.

1. Yes we have a written dress code and it is selectively enforced. It's not very well-written or very clear and I get the impression it is mostly targeted at the staff at the call center. General instructions are that certain things are never allowed (flip flops, tank tops, leggings) and that you should dress at least business casual, unless you will be in the field that day.
2. The informal dress code is that you are neat and tidy and at least attempting business casual (or smart casual - there are lots of men with jeans and golf shirts / short sleeved dress shirts) at the field sites. The downtown office is more on the business side, with dress pants / jackets / suits.
3. My specific team is 2/3 men, mostly with a trade background.
4. I'd say that most of our days are about a 5 - not very casual, but not very dressy. I'll post some typical outfit photos later this week or early next week.

Charley, looking forward to seeing your WIWs.

I work for an estate planning firm in Denver. 20 employees, 12 women and 8 men. All but 2 of the men are in the very highest positions - co-owners, client advisor type roles. Average age is probably 55, only 3 or 4 employees are under age 40. The written dress code states "no extremes in fashion or grooming". The unwritten rule is jeans on Fridays only (which I honestly don't get as I've met with just as many clients on Fridays as on any other day). The men are practically in uniform - khakis and golf shirts in the warm weather; khakis and long sleeve button front shirts in cooler weather. About half of the women wear trouser pants all the time - with cardigans, button front shirts, blazers, pull over sweaters. The others (including me) wear skirts, dresses, "crazy pants" (brightly colored or patterned), ponte pants, corduroys (both skinny and trouser cut), tunics over leggings. Tights in the winter, bare legs in the summer. Sandals are allowed. I've seen sneakers from time to time too. Most of our clients would be similarly dressed or even more dressed down. The city as a whole is pretty casual.

@aliona, you need to bite the bullet and tell her how she is being perceived. she may not be happy with the message, but if she is not getting interviews, she needs to think about alternative reasons why.

related jezebel article from a recruitment specialist, based on the linkedin post --like it or not, people use all available data to make a first impression which is to say not a lot of hard info!

consider it your good deed for the month.