Do you dress better than your boss?

| Posted Jun 27th 2007 1:06PM by Anne Metz
Filed under: Style in the media, Casual wear, Whatever Style, Jeans and Denim

The workplace can be a real mine field when it comes to clothing etiquette: is it acceptable to wear t-shirts? Can you wear open-toed shoes? Does casual Friday mean jeans? Is it okay to dress better than your boss?

Huh? You've never thought about that last question, have you?

Unlike the pay scale or the benefits package, there is no established hierarchy when it comes to clothing. But what happens if you do actually have nicer clothes than your boss? Are you just asking for trouble?

My answer is that it probably depends on the boss. Some care, some don't, and the only way to know the difference is to see how it goes. (If it doesn't fly, you'll know soon enough!)

For instance, I once had a female boss with a serious emotional hang-up about women who were younger and better dressed than she. And she didn't just resent us or say belittling things, she actually paid us less! It was seriously messed up, yo, and might I add, probably illegal. (Don't feel too bad for us. In retaliation, we penned a well-circulated anonymous blog on her "Rodeo Clown Chic" fashion sensibility. Trust me, we got the last laugh.)

Granted not all bosses would behave this way, but the experience left me convinced that dressing down in the workplace was good for self-preservation.

What do you think?

Tags: boss, clothes, office, work-place