Midwest - upper management - educational setting

no, no and no - it just doesn't work at work for me

I have thought about this most of the day......remember, I am a SAHM, so I ponder deep, theoretical, questions that are paramount to our survival as a species when I do laundry and pick up dog poop.
; )

OK. I thought back to my job of 15 years. I could definitely do it with a vest over it or some sort of jacket. My employer was corporate with a dress code. My clients were very laid back, but I would not feel very credible. During the first 10 years of my job, there were very few women in the field. Though my customers were VERY casual ( often shorts and t shirts in the summer ), it would have been disastrous to show up in something sheer even with great underpinnings. Really anything beyond just sheer sleeves would have been detrimental. Plus I was kinda cute in my mid-20s !!! DISTRACTING !!!! LOL

I also think it depends on the work environment and the amount of sheer. For example, my black feather silk chiffon blouse (I think it's Hinge; several people here have it) is sheer and I wear a cami under it. I also have other sheer silk chiffon blouses I think are work appropriate. The key for me is they are not that sheer and not body con. I do have a tight black sheer woven tee that is definitely not work appropriate, no matter what you wear underneath or over

I don't work in a corporate environment the dress code is more casual so I would wear sheer - judiciously with no actual flesh or boob age showing.

Sheer hose: Totally professional.

Depending on the workplace, I second the suggestions for a substantial tank or cami with a higher neckline and wide shoulders that thoroughly cover bra straps. Then it becomes a layer for the tank. I do this with sheer linen over layers than with blouses. This is nice for my workplace come warmer spring weather because it's both cool in midday and still gives me coverage because it's not summer yet! I guess my rule is, if wearing that kind of tank is okay, then wearing it with an added layer over it is fine. But I have a workplace where, say, bare shoulders in warm weather would be no problem. As always, it depends on how you pull it all together and what you're wearing with it.

Interesting Isabel - for my casual office I've been doing plenty of sheer (with cami or tank under) lately. I don't feel self-concious about it, basically bought and worn without a second thought. But I also work in a male-dominated field and was the subject of way more attention that I wanted in my twenties. I might not have felt so comfortable with the look then, depending on how people reacted to it I guess.

I find that it's not always the sheerness itself that makes something appropriate or not. It's the suggestiveness (but I hesitate to use that word because it's so in the eye of the beholder, and no one can truly control others' reactions). An opaque blouse with strategically placed sheer cutouts somehow seems more daring than a thin white blouse over a cami. The other day I wore a long-sleeve, high-neck linen sweater... with "cold shoulder" cutouts. I was thinking it would be fine for my campus environment but I felt so self-conscious all day. My guy (who has excellent judgment) said it was fine but definitely did look more suggestive than if I just cut the sleeves off entirely and left a sleeveless turtleneck sweater...

Anyway, I'll wear semi-sheer tops to work (a thin cotton blouse, a black silk button-down with a sheer back panel that I didn't notice when I bought it) but I have a cami under and bring along a sweater in case I start feeling awkward. I still haven't ever been bold enough to follow the "visible bra under very sheer top" trend when I'm out partying at night, though!

No. It is not professional.