Dress free of fashion crimes

It's difficult to concentrate on a spreadsheet if your work colleague is wearing a mini and midriff top and her midriff is doing a little spreading of its own; or if your sales manager turns up to an important customer meeting wearing a bright pink shirt and an eyebrow-piercing.

Then there's the frustration of waiting for an urgent photocopy while your administrative assistant teeters up three flights of stairs wearing a tight skirt and platform heels; and the sheer incredulousness you feel when your insurance assessor turns up to a damaged dairy shed at milking time wearing white socks, Italian leather sandals and a whiter-than-white linen shirt.

Summer fashions are upon us, and the emphasis is on frilly, feminine, fun and fabulous. (Or should that be ab-ulous?) But are trendy fashions practical for work? In an age of individual expression, bling-bling and self-homage, is there such a thing as an unacceptable work outfit?

Absolutely, say personnel recruiters including Drake International and Hudson Recruitment.

"A number of our clients have said that they do not find the recent fashion of hipster pants and short tops with exposed bellies at all appropriate in the workplace," says Chris Hanford, Henderson branch manager for Drake International.

Jennifer Blight, HR manager for Hudson Recruiting, is amazed at the number of people who come in for job interviews with piercing in places other than their ears.

"Our first question is: will you be prepared to remove the piercing for employment? Nose, tongue, eyebrow piercing are simply not professional," she says.

Sandy Young, Auckland City branch manager for Drake, says young candidates cause the most issues.

"Our consultants are constantly discussing their [so-called] trendy clothing with them before they go out for an interview," she says.

Nor does "high fashion" necessarily impress.

"I don't think employers react well to pink shirts," says Angelina Long, Drake's Albany branch manager.

"New Zealanders are pretty conservative about what's appropriate in the workplace."

Long says common dress offences on Auckland's North Shore include frayed trousers; hipster pants with tattoos on display, exposed midriffs of the toned and untoned variety; see-through and low cut tops; and dyed blonde hair with dark roots showing.

"Young people are often not aware that their appearance is unacceptable for work and are usually grateful for advice on how to dress. But we train our consultants to relay that information with care - people should walk away with their dignity intact," she says.

Blight says one dress rule is all important for the corporate environment: avoid sexy.

"The less skin the better, and that goes for both men and women. Low-cut tops and short skirts are a no-no. In some organisations sandals must have a closed toe, a heel strap and be worn with stockings."

She says HR departments often receive internal complaints from employees upset about how other employees are dressed. And interestingly, women are more inclined to complain about each other - going so far as to instruct male colleagues to brush their hair, press their pants or straighten their ties.

"I can't imagine men making those suggestions to their female colleagues and getting a favourable response," observes Blight.

She advises people to think about three obvious but often overlooked considerations before dressing for work - the work environment, the company dress policy, and the nature of the role.

"Is it a corporate or creative environment? Will you be back office or front office? Are you client facing or lugging IT equipment? The main thing is to always be tidy and professional. Work is not the time to be expressing your personality."

But how fair is this? Surely employers should allow people some individuality in the way they dress?

Top designer Trelise Cooper agrees it is important for people to be able to show their personalities through clothing.

"But I say that with a definite proviso: if you are too waggsy at work you will have no credibility. And at work you need to be credible."

Cooper says it's possible to have a "twist" to work clothing that expresses individuality but doesn't scare people, and that women should be careful their tops are not too low or tops and skirts too short.

"While it's fantastic that young women today have enough self-confidence to show off a [flabby] midriff, it is inappropriate for work."

Jenny Clegg, a designer for the Federation label of clothing, says a clean look is best for work.

"Black is a safe colour and work clothes should be well cut and fit well."

Unlike former generations, Clegg says young people buy clothes according to personal style rather than figures or skin tones and this can cause problems in the workplace - happy but unsuitably dressed individuals are often blissfully unaware of what to wear to work.

"So you see minis and big wide stripes out there and men getting adventurous with pink T-shirts."

As for the "squashed muffin" look, mercifully Clegg says exposed midriffs are out and long tops back in.

Which means spreadsheet workers can get back to number crunching and the fashionable can get back to tummy crunching. 

HOT SUMMER WORK FASHION

Designer Trelise Cooper recommends:

For Women:

* Lots of colour and prints

* A feeling of the 1950s - feminine with full skirts and tight, fitted jackets

* Flattering man-style pants with a man-tailored silhouette; reworked Chanel jackets over a fuller skirt

* Tweeds

* 50S feeling high shoes with some colour

* Pointed high heel court shoes

* 40s round toe shoes with slightly thicker Mary-Jane heel

For men:

* Shirts with green printing

* Striped shirts in interesting colours

* Narrow silhouette pants, extra long so they bunch slightly

* Tousled hair that's not too stylised

Designer Jenny Clegg of label Federation recommends:

For women:

* More colour

* Dressed up shorts for work

* Long tops

* Pants of different heights

* Cute pointy shoes and rounded toe shoes with less heel

* Flat shoes

* Mini skirts still coming into their own for casual wear, but knee-length skirts for work.

For men:

* A backlash to more formal dressing is on its way