"... into business-casual khakis and ties. Shorts may, in fact, represent one way to lure staff back into the office this summer.... ... Blake Markus, 38, the president of a small law firm in Jefferson City, Mo.... wears straight-fitting shorts in red or teal to compliment his red Chuck Taylor sneakers and maintains no actual dress code at his office, only asking staff to dress up if they're heading to court. He claims that wearing shorts also endears his staff to clients. 'It actually comes off as being extremely authentic and in some weird way helps build rapport with our clients and vendors,' he said.... 'Having my bottom half of my legs exposed at work feels somehow wrong unless I've been given explicit permission to do so,' said Pete Treigan, 27, who works in advertising in Durham, N.C. He was recently startled to spot his company's CFO in shorts: 'I was like, "Oh, didn't see this for you -- but all right."' Still, as a relatively new junior employee, absent a companywide 'shorts are good!' sign-off, Mr. Treigan plans to wear lightweight khaki trousers from Banana Republic."
From "Finally, We Can Wear Shorts in the Office. (Maybe)/Once-settled etiquette questions are open again, thanks to a return-to-office summer with fewer style rules and more casual norms" (Wall Street Journal).
Not mentioned in the article: Air conditioning. You don't need your legs exposed if you're sitting in an air conditioned office. I think Mr. Treigan has it right. Keep your pants on. But I must say, the notion that wearing shorts gives the impression of extreme authenticity is funny. Nudity is authentic too. How much "authenticity" do people want?
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Althouse hardest hit!
I don't have any problem with men wearing shorts. That said, other than a weekend trip to an otherwise closed office, I would wear pants. Jeans are casual and authentic enough for me.
On many summer mornings, as I put on my super comfortable summer shorts I make a silent apology to Professor Althouse. May I never have to do it in person.
Early in my career in tech, the culture was still ties to work. Then came casual Fridays, and then business casual every day. Later I worked for a little startup software company in Chicagoland in the mid-90s that was 100% business casual, even shorts in the summer IIRC. I had my ties from my prior work years that I rarely wore, so I invented "reverse casual day" on Wednesdays where I would wear a tie into work.
Some of my friends still honor reverse casual day and throw on a tie on Wednesdays. Some of my ties in the closet go back 30+ years, LOL. I can't remember the last time I bought a new tie. If I needed a "new" tie, I'd probably just go to a thrift shop. Many thrift shops around here have incredible tie selections.
No one wants to see my legs at the office. It's hubris to think your legs are all that.
Yeah, shorts on weekends when air conditioners off. Yet for so long women excoriated for wearing trousers.
Shorts, huh? For me, coming back to the office highlights a basic fact: I need my workspace to be more like a living room. I've gotten too accustomed to bouncing back and forth between desk and couch throughout the day.
Twenty years ago young female office workers invented the idea of wearing beach flip-flops (shoes) in the office. They also tried to show their bra straps. These both died quickly as sloppy.
Ten years ago young males invented the idea of wearing suit jackets with casual pants. Not blazers, not sport coats, but formal suit jackets. It looked awful to many, and died as looking sloppy.
Every generation must rediscover that dressing up is dressing up to put on a show. As long as the shorts are "dress shorts" it may stick -- kind of like Hawaiian / tropical formal dress.
Nudity is authentic too. How much "authenticity" do people want?
Not THAT Much!!
Back in the day, when our company First started to allow casual fridays (~1996), They gave us a list of NOT ALLOWED clothing; frayed jeans, miniskirts, capri pants, etc..
I bemoaned to my fellow (male) worker; "That SUX! i LIKE to see miniskirts, and capri pants!"
He explained, that it Did NOT Sux, and said:
"IF they allow miniskirts, and capri pants.. They'll have to allow EVERYONE* to wear them..
Do you WANT to see [and he named an OLD(30ish) and FAT (160lbs-ish) coworker] in a miniskirt??
And i realized, that Dress codes were GOOD!!! and that concealing clothing was GOOD!
I was assuming, that the only women that would show skin were those with skin i'd like to see.
How WRONG I WAS**
EVERYONE* which, meant Every Female.. This was the '90's
how WRONG I WAS** later, about 2010; the company allowed stretch pants and capri pants and such.
Was the sight of now 50 year old, now 240 lb coworkers in yoga pants One of things that made me seek early retirement?? Yes.. Yes it was
I’ve been wearing shorts at the office in the summer for 30 years. Some folks at the office even go barefoot. Tip: keep a nice pair of slacks, shirt, blazer, and tie at the office you can change into if you need to.
Lots of fishing magazine articles are coming out now, written last year; about how..
"Covid has PERMANENTLY changed our society FOREVER!!!"
It will be interesting to look back in 5 years, and see how many changes were permanent?
Shorts at Work (in the Air Conditioning) ???
Work from Home?
TRUST the Government! They're here to help!!! ???
Tenkara rods ??? Spey Rods for Brown trout?
one can Only Hope, that the world will come to its senses
Yes, there is a connection between such lax attitudes/practices and why the U.S. economy is going to hell.
When I work at home, as I generally do, I am naked. If I need to meet clients, I get dressed and go to their office(s).
There is nothing authentic about workplace behavior, absolutely nothing, except that one behaves in certain ways if one desires to remain employed. Same goes for clothing at work.
I recall my first ever "casual Friday" at my former employer back in the 1990s. I wore a Walmart polo shirt, Duckhead khakis and Payless shoes, total cost about $40. Our CEO wore a Ralph Lauren Polo shirt, Neiman Marcus khakis with an alligator skin belt, and color-matching Johnson & Murphy "Ambassador" penny loafers, total cost around $600 at the time. His casual outfit cost more than a week of my salary. The dress code was followed, and we each expressed our status to the workplace and the customers despite casual clothing.
Shorts? Wear 'em if ya got the legs for 'em!
Guess it depends on whether Gen Z views the Covidian Epoch as a Pause or a Reset? I'd say the latter.
Office hammocks are next!!
Sounds like kindergarten. Do they have mandatory recess and nap time? Probably not a bad idea.
Keep yer pants on!
Shorts used to be the way to avoid the Peter Principle (everybody is promoted to their level of incompetence). Fail to be prospective management material in a job you're good at.
Grow up and go back to work. Your free ride is over.
Respiratory viruses are not only viable but progressive risks. Will they be masked? Will they be subject to progressive non-sterilizing, mutagenic medical treatments? Aside from planned parent/hood in several Democrat districts (e.g. Whitmer/Michigan, Cuomo/New York), the excess deaths attributed to Covid-19, 20, 21, and 22, were not greater than other viral contagions in the same class.
"But I must say, the notion that wearing shorts gives the impression of extreme authenticity is funny. Nudity is authentic too. How much "authenticity" do people want?"
Jesus Christ, Althouse. That's the kind of extreme straw man the the other Althouse would pour lawyerly scorn on.
There is a lot of office space that needs to justify being leased so going back to the office it is.
If I needed a lawyer and I met them at the law office and they were wearing shorts, I'd be put off.
Just back from NYC where nearly zero businessmen wear ties. Now OK.
“ Not mentioned in the article: Air conditioning. You don't need your legs exposed if you're sitting in an air conditioned office.”
Not mentioned in your comment: energy costs. Earlier this week, my company sent out a memo saying that due to unprecedented energy costs, they will be significantly scaling back on air conditioning.
I don't care what they wear at their office.
It's when they show up at Ruth's Chris in that same getup that pisses me off.
If I need a lawyer I want them wearing an expensive suit and acting like an adult. This is just another way to degrade western culture. “All people must act like teenagers at all times!” No.
One of the things I enjoy about being a software developer is the lack of a dress code, beyond just 'cover the naughty bits'.
Before I was a software developer I was a career Air Force Officer. In the Air Force we said 'looking good is a full time job', and that's 100% true.
Even a tiny imperfection in a uniform, such as a ribbon out of order, could cause the offender to find themselves under a ton of bricks.
And heaven help the miscreant who lets a mustache grow larger than Hitler's.
I loved my time in the USAF, it was much less boring than software and you bond with your friends far tighter than in a civilian company.
But being able to go to work in a Texas summer in shorts, sandals, and a Hawaiian shirt was extremely liberating.
Your anti-shortishness is showing. Shorticism?
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