For decades, American business has demanded that men wear a "uniform" consisting of suits and ties while women wear appropriate (whatever that means) clothing equivalent to a suit, all to present a professional business image.
In the past few years, American schools have started shifting to uniforms to get rid of clothing "competition" and one-upmanship, especially between kids who really can't afford that Dolce skirt. Those schools without uniforms are adopting stricter and tighter dress codes.
So with this history of, and continuing trend toward, uniformity, should you demand suits and ties in your business?
No. Unless you're a funeral home, that is.
People need to feel comfortable at work for you to get the best results from them. If they're looking forward to the time when they can get home and get out of these clothes then their mind will be on something other than producing and they're going to leave as soon as they can. So much for meeting deadlines.
When you've got creative people working for you, you need to get used to the idea that their creativity extends beyond making money for you. Creatives tend to want to express themselves in their clothes, their music, their hairstyle, their various bits of metal stuck into various parts of their bodies. If you try to limit their expression then they're liable to go work for someone else who doesn't do that. As far as creating a professional working environment goes (the biggest argument for imposing dress codes), consider that the "professional environment" you want is one where Creatives exercise their skills. In this case, a suit and tie, or even a polo shirt and khakis, would likely be inappropriate. When's the last time your hairstylist wore a suit?
So be careful about imposing dress codes on your Creatives, and consider just letting them wear what they're comfortable with. If it's inappropriate, peer pressure will often take care of it, and if not, then you can always discuss it with the individual in a way that doesn't embarrass them in front of others.
Some of your people will work closely with customers -- sales reps, for instance, or hairstylists -- and if they're good at their job they'll figure out pretty quickly what kind of attire will make the best impression on the client. And if they're not good at their job, they shouldn't be working for you in the first place.
My last government position was in a big cubicle farm with few windows. Most of the people there were research analysts of some variety who never saw the light of day or, for that matter, anyone from outside the organization. There they sat, huddled over their desks, in their coats and ties. Many of them came to work in casual clothes then changed once they were there. Who, exactly, were they supposed to be impressing? Each other? One suggestion that was offered was to let people dress casually but keep a suit in the office in case they had to suddenly go to an unexpected meeting, but that never went anywhere.
I used to get my hair cut at Toni&Guy. Their stylists had to wear all white or all black. I didn't like the assembly-line feeling that came with a bunch of people dressed alike. And ask yourself: should hairstylists, who often work with hair coloring, be wearing white? There were many reasons that salon had a high turnover rate, and according to the stylists I talked to before I left, the dress code was among the top three.
Part of what you pay Creatives for is their creative judgement, so let them exercise it. And if you discover that someone has crappy judgement when it comes to clothes, that might tell you something about their judgement when it comes to work, too. Drop a hint (and not necessarily a subtle one) if something seems amiss, and if they can't figure it out, then consider letting them go if the bad clothing choices outweigh their contribution to the company. But stifling everyone with a dress code just because one person's an idiot is a bad idea.
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