August 14, 2006
Hot weather dressing.
WaPo offers up advice about how to dress for the office when it's really hot out. Must a woman wear nylons? Must a man wear a tie? I don't understand the questions. Nylons and ties only seem required in the first place in the sort of office that is going to be very well air conditioned in the summer. Presumably, if you're driving in to work, your car is well air conditioned too. So what relevance is there to the weather? Let's assume you have to walk a substantial distance at some point or use some train or bus that isn't well air conditioned. Isn't it perfectly easy to carry your hosiery/tie and quickly put it on when you get to the office? Maybe my life is too easy out here in Madison, Wisconsin, but to me these seem like nonproblems.
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6 comments:
I live where it's 100 degrees early in the day... but I spend about 3 minutes in that weather and then 8 hours in an air conditioned office. Doesn't make sense to have bare arms and nekkid legs given that proportion of time. Course, that's why all the women here have cardigans stashed on the coatracks. Because they're dressed for the beach... that 3 minutes of walk time. Crazy. Besides, in this heat, you could come to work nude (theoretically) and still sweat. Clothing or lack thereof has nothing to do with the sweating.
I think it's a matter of ties simply going out of style. Everytime I stand in front of the mirror with my dress shirt and nice pants and prepare to wrap a tie around my neck I think...Why ruin a perfectly proper outfit? A fashion that lacks function is counting its days, and I think (read: hope) that the tie is preparing to die.
Ann's point is borne out by the little history I observed. When I was a young lawyer, men had heavy winter suits (wool) and lightweight summer suits (e.g., seersucker). At some point, people realized that we were always inside, where the climate was uniform (the office windows were fixed and couldn't open, lest you throw off the heating/cooling system of the building). In a few years, all the men switched to what were called medium weight suits.
God, this is interesting.
This article may have been stimulated by the need to turn up the thermostats during the recent heat wave on the East coast. Here in Texas, things are sometimes so over-airconditioned that the brief heating between office and car feels kind of nice.
Here in Texas, things are sometimes so over-airconditioned that the brief heating between office and car feels kind of nice.
Yeah. My one visit to Texas (SMU campus) was in July and about all I remember about it was being COLD. The lab I was in was so AC'd I darn near froze. I would go outside just to warm up a bit.
Hosiery is mostly out anyway, except for black or other non-Caucasian-flesh colors.
Hosiery is not out.
Women who want to be noticed never leave home without their nylons.
Nothing beats a great pair of Leggs.
Peace, Maxine
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