There are many stereotypes about workplace dress code—that every office makes you wear a pencil skirt and blazer every day, that wearing jeans is only acceptable on Casual Friday (if your office even has Casual Friday), and that, generally, we are all destined to be uncomfortable every moment we’re at our desks. LD asked 10 of its writers what they regularly wear to their day jobs, and the results varied greatly, from cute dresses to leggings and cardigans.
1. “Jeans, as long as they’re appropriate.”
“I work on the employee communications team at a Fortune 500 financial company. I write articles about employees and support different business units with their communications. My office just changed our dress code to more casual—we can wear jeans any day as long as they are nice/appropriate and we are still dressed up on top. Some people still dress super professional, though, if they meet with customers, since it’s a finance company.” —Allie
2. “Relatively casual.”
“I work as a communications associate at a health care center. Our dress code is relatively casual, because all of the health center staff wear scrubs (because, duh) and no one really sees us on the admin side. The official dress code is a little more casual than business casual. We do have casual Friday, but for me that usually means I just wear jeans and a slightly more casual top. Today, however, is a different story, because I am working from home. I’m currently wearing yoga pants, a t-shirt, and a sports bra.” —Emmy
3. “Pretty casual, but we aren’t allowed to wear jeans.”
“I woke up at 5:20 this morning and you can actually feel the bags under my eyes but I got this dress in Rome *hair flip.* I am the grants associate at a family foundation with only five other people. It’s pretty casual (Austin) but we’re not allowed to wear jeans. Had I taken this picture yesterday, I would have been wearing my yoga work pants since those are what I wear to console myself over the fact that it’s Monday.” —Erin
4. “I probably dress more casually than I should.”
“I’m the communications specialist for a major higher-ed institution in Alabama. Most people wear slacks and nice blouses or blazers, but I’ve found as long as I am dressed cleanly and in nice clothes, there’s never been any issue. If I have a meeting with lots of bigwigs, I usually opt for a pencil skirt or business casual dress.” —Haley
5. “Casual by my office standards.”
“I work as a paralegal full time. I’m casual by my offices standards. Im also the only one who doesn’t wear all black every day. (Forgive heinous after work selfie)” —Hope
6. “Some of the older men dress more business casual.”
“I’m a project coordinator and estimating assistant at a mechanical contractor. I’m one of the youngest people in my office and the dress code is casual. I generally wear dark jeans, a blouse/sweater/plaid flannel, and flats/boots/converse. 95 percent of my job is office work, 5 percent is running errands (i.e., dropping off and picking up paperwork at various city hall offices in the Chicagoland area).” —Kim
7. “I can basically wear what I want as long as I don’t look hella sloppy.”
“I work as the front desk/manager-in-training at a skin care salon in San Francisco. My dress code officially is described as ‘polished.’ This usually means leggings, flats, some kind of shirt and always a jacket or sweater because my building is freezing.” —Natalie
8. “No idea if this will actually count as office fashion.”
“#actorlife=wearing all of the clothes and all of the laundry.” —Rachel
8. “Blazers and slacks.”
“This wasn’t taken in the newsroom but I’m interning with Canada AM. (It’s Canada’s version of GMA or The Today Show). Today was my first day but it’s a lot of chase producing, pitching stories, doing pre-interviews and getting familiar with research pacs which are given to the hosts to brief them on the subject matter. So I do that from 9-5 and then I work my other job from 6-11 pm. Long days! But it will pay off soon. Shout out to all you beautiful millennials out there working hard!” —Stephanie
10. “I am literally wearing this cape from Topman today inside because it’s always subarctic temps in the office.”
“My job title is Senior Acquisitions Editor at a publishing company. Our dress code is business casual—we can wear jeans but can’t wear sneakers, flip-flops, inappropriate clothing, etc. You can’t see the rest of my outfit, but I’m wearing Topshop skinny black jeans, loafers, a J. Crew mock neck sweater and an open-faced cardigan over the sweater.” —Vanessa
