Just read a fascinating piece in Vogue about the evolution of office wear (if you’re curious, check out their recent article about office clothes for women). It got me thinking about a turning point in my own career – the day I decided to challenge our company’s rather outdated dress code.
Picture this: Middle of July, Chicago heat wave, and our office air conditioning is struggling to keep up. I’m sitting in my usual Monday morning management meeting, watching my team literally sweat through their mandatory blazers, while our male colleagues sit comfortably in their short-sleeved button-downs.
That afternoon, I walked into our HR director’s office with data, not just complaints. I had research on productivity in comfortable workplaces, statistics on gender-based dress code disparities, and yes, that Vogue article about how modern workplaces are evolving their dress codes to embrace both professionalism and practicality.
Two weeks and several heated discussions later, we unveiled our new “modern professional” dress code. The result? Productivity went up, turnover went down, and suddenly our office felt less like a stuffy corporate museum and more like a place where real work gets done.
The biggest surprise? Our clients actually responded positively. Turns out, they care more about our results than whether we’re wearing pantyhose in 90-degree weather.
Sometimes leadership isn’t about the big, dramatic changes – it’s about having the courage to question the small, uncomfortable things we’ve just accepted as “that’s how it’s always been.”
Until next time, Kay
P.S. Writing this while wearing a sleeveless blouse in my perfectly climate-controlled office. Progress feels (and looks) good!
