Newsroom dress codes

[Zoe Friloux]

A link on Romanesko today (http://themediamob.observer.com/2006/06/the-atlantics-dc-summer-hot-yes-sultry-no.html) reminded me of a much different memo that went out each summer I worked at the Arizona Republic, telling people that "summer attire" was allowed. Do a lot of newsrooms have dress codes these days? If so, are they relaxed during the summer?

[Jim Thomsen]

My newsroom has two codes: one for people who work daytime hours and are either visible to the public or deal directly with the public ... and another for anonymous nightcrawler scrubs like me.

The first group is counseled to dress "appropriately and professionally," without silly dictates about hair length, hem length, sleeveless clothing or the excruciating minutae of personal grooming. Most people liberally interpret those rules according to their own personal aesthetics — some dress in jeans and untucked shirts in adaptive subconscious homage to Hoffman and Redford in "All The President's Men." Most wear slacks and skirts, and tuck in their tops.

The other code, for folks like me, is: "Whatever." For instance, right now, I'm wearing jeans, black shoes, a black T-shirt and an unbuttoned, untucked dress shirt over it. That's pretty typical for me. The sports folks often come in wearing shorts, T-shirts and sandals on our rare 80-degree days. On weekends, I'll do the same. Part of what I love about my job is that I can dress conpletely for comfort and convenience.

And maybe it's just me, but I'm too modest to show off my midriff or cleavage. :)

[pdevlin]

In New Orleans, home of heat, humidity and hurricanes, we do have a dress code. Similar to Jim's newroom way up yonder in the northwest, copy editors tend to be more relaxed, and that's ok. The main idea is to always be neat, clean and presentable. We don't relax the dress code officially in the summer, but shorts do tend to show up on weekends only. And if we're evacuating the city in the backs of the newspaper trucks, all bets are off.

[Renee]

Both places I have copy edited at have had very relaxed, if any, standards for the desk. I haven't felt comfortable dressing as casually as some of my coworkers have, but to each his own. (Also, the weekend-shift transformation of some coworkers has been like night and day)

I run into two problems:
1) I have some great suits and other nicer items from jobs in DC and my past life as a reporter, and I never get to use them. If I dress up too much, people look at me funny.
2) When the rest of the world is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for Monday, I am on my fifth day of work and don't feel like looking nice. It's like my own little casual Friday. I wonder what the reporters think of how the desk dresses.

I have, however, always appreciated supervisors who dress well no matter what day it is. When these people tend represent the desk at larger meetings, they dress like the other editors they will be dealing with, which shows respect.

[Gerri Berendzen]

One day one of the new male copy editors wore leather sandals. The managing editor told me to tell him no sandals. (We have a no tennis shoe rule on weekdays, but I'd never heard of the no sandal rule.)
I pointed out that I would be telling the new worker that while I was wearing a pair of leather flip flops — and no one had ever told me they were inappropriate. There seems to be a double-standard when it comes to shoes.

[john.mcintyre]

If you are secure with yourself, a bow tie is nice.

[Zoe Friloux]

Renee's reply reminds me of a conversation I had with a reporter at the Houston Chronicle a few years ago when I was filling in for the news editor. I was kind of dressed up, and this person said to me, "I don't know why you dress so nice. You do realize you're on the copy desk, don't you?"

[Jim Thomsen]

Zoe and Renee touch on an interesting theme:

Many copy editors openly and perversely embrace their identity as slithery creatures of the night. Most of my acquaintance over 18 years in the business dress in willfully scrubby fashion ... lots of tennies, torn jeans, rock-concert T-shirts, baseball caps, etc.

A well-dressed night copy editor would definitely be seen as putting on needless airs.

[Zoe Friloux]

I think it depends on the newsroom. That reporter was the only person who ever said anything unkind about the way I dressed, and I usually was dressed up.
I did find it funny when I was a Dow Jones intern at a relatively small paper, though, and the news editor rated my dress less than professional (or something of the sort) on an end-of-the-summer evaluation. A couple of my co-workers comforted me by pointing out that I dressed much nicer than they did.

[Renee]

It's clear that there are standards that vary across departments and day/nightside. Until recently, rules required that women in my paper's Classified department wear nylons. (Please note my location -- Florida.) I can't imagine being subjected to that, but it took years for people to speak up and have the rule changed.

[Jim Thomsen]

The funniest dress-code story I can remember comes from a few years back when I worked at a smaller daily with a preponderance of twentysomething females on the city desk. It was summer and a lot of the women favored sleeveless tops, and the publisher put out a memo that stated that anyone spotted with visible bra straps would be sent home immediately to change. On a second offense, they would be sent home for two days without pay.

[dangermike]

One of the managers where I work now said to me during my job interview, where I wore a dress shirt, slacks, matching shoes: You don't dress like this all the time, do you?

Of course not, I said. These are my job interview clothes.

Relief all the way around.

[Daniel Hunt]

I wear sandals to work everyday -- and today's my two-year anniversary. So long as I don't deal with the public, my eds are OK with my attire.

On my first two days, however, I wore a tie and my Executive News Editor said, "don't dress up, please." And I never did again!

[Pete Zicari]

At my first job, the path to the front desk from the parking lot led through the newsroom. The publisher might not want to paint the room, but he periodically demanded that the staff look spiffier. The old-timer at the next desk favored polo shirts, however -- shirts made lumpy by a complicated truss he wore underneath. After the boss told him to put on a tie, he showed up for several days with polo shirts and gaudy, 4-inch accessories that even the fashion-challenged could tell were horrible. There was eventually a compromise involving Western-style string ties, which eventually disappeared again.

I wore a tie for 15 years (it was none the better for the wearing) until I came to my present job, where it inspired unfavorable comments for several months, until I realized it was doing more harm than good and took it off forever.

I cannot bring myself to show up in shorts, but as a compromise, I grew a beard. No one seems to have noticed that, either. Maybe I'll try a Santa Claus suit next winter.

[Gerri Berendzen]

The public does sometimes come into our newsroom, which is one reason we have a no shorts, no jeans, no athletic shoes policy. However, I think outsiders are usually too shocked by the incredible stacks of paper on the reporters' desks to notice copy editors way on the other side of the room.

[john.mcintyre]

Dress codes are obnoxious. As in junior high schools, they obsess over petty details and inspire subversion (that wide polyester tie that looked garish even in the '70s).

At the same time, there is probably something to the point, even in newsrooms, that people who want to be treated like professionals ought to dress like professionals.

The counter-trend is the overwhelming casualness of dress, particularly by men who insist on looking like adolescent boys: Look around the airport the next time you travel at the 40-year-old men with caps, T-shirts straining over paunches, shorts displaying knobby knees, and those huge athletic shoes that make their feet look even bigger.

So, for men, the choice appears to be to wear a suit and look pretentious or to dress like a child.

The exception, in the workplace, is the way women dress. They know that the way they dress has an influence on whether they are taken seriously. Even when they dress casually, they tend to be less casual than the men.

For the record, there is no dress code on The Sun's copy desk. We do have an unstated principle, similar to that which governs the infield at the Preakness: Men should wear pants.

[john.mcintyre]

I should add that it has been an unfailing source of amusement over the years to read articles in which journalists -- journalists! -- characterize people by describing how they dress.

[pam robinson]

The funniest dress-code story I can remember comes from a few years back when I worked at a smaller daily with a preponderance of twentysomething females on the city desk. It was summer and a lot of the women favored sleeveless tops, and the publisher put out a memo that stated that anyone spotted with visible bra straps would be sent home immediately to change. On a second offense, they would be sent home for two days without pay.

Well, as long as the rule applies to the men, too.


:roll:

A few years ago, the female summer reporting interns seemed to all show up in skin-tight, midriff-baring clothes that covered very little and seemed to have been borrowed from their younger, skinnier sisters. The women on staff were incenses and berated them. The interns seem mystified but finally got the message. Oddly enough, the desk interns were much more professionally dressed.

[Mike O'Connell]

The funniest dress-code story I can remember comes from a few years back when I worked at a smaller daily with a preponderance of twentysomething females on the city desk. It was summer and a lot of the women favored sleeveless tops, and the publisher put out a memo that stated that anyone spotted with visible bra straps would be sent home immediately to change...[/quote.

...to braless?

[Jann Nyffeler]

Touché!
When I had a chat with one of our youngest staffers last summer about showing a little less strap, I said, "Just keep it covered."
That lasted about a week.
I fear we're fighting a losing battle.
Those of you who consider yourself young, what do you think? Are we a bunch of luddite managers who need to lighten up?
Or, why can't I get you kids to wear decent clothes?

[Jim Thomsen]

At that former paper I described, we had a wise female staffer in her mid-40s who had a good touch with the midriff-baring, thong-peeking, strap-slipping younger women at the newspaper. She eventually got them to modify their approach to workplace dress, and much later, I asked her how she managed that.

She said: "I made them understand that what's sexy is what's implied, not what's revealed."

Not entirely sure I follow the logic there, but it was unquestionably effective.

(And by the way, Mike, they were sent home to change into tops with sleeves.)

[Jim Thomsen]

A companywide e-mail from our HR folks today:

We have all looked forward to the end of the rainy weather, and - happily - the sun seems to be peeking through the clouds. With the advent of warmer weather, it is time to consider the impression we leave on our customers and the general public through the way we dress in the office, or out in the community.

Each member of our staff is an important representative of the Kitsap Sun while they are on duty inside or outside our offices. We ask that all of our employees use good judgment in determining their dress, appearance, and behavior while they are on the job. Casual Friday gives us all the opportunity to "loosen up," but we ask that everyone maintain an overall professional appearance. In particular, if you have business with outside clients on those days, or if you are inside serving customers, you should match your attire to your business needs.

We ask all employees to dress conservatively and professionally when they represent the Kitsap Sun. Clothes should be neat, clean, and in good repair. Inappropriate apparel in every instance includes casual shorts, revealing tank tops, tee-shirts with inappropriate logos or messages, shirts or blouses not long enough to cover the midriff, sweatpants or sweat suits. Beyond that, appropriate dress will vary by each department. We want to leave dress standards up to each department and supervisor, to enable you and your co-workers to determine how best to reflect your own professional standards.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

My question was: Is there a blouse long enough to cover up sweatpants?

[Jacksonville Lisa]

Our paper has a strange business casual policy. Jeans are deemed acceptable in the policy manual, but capri pants are not. I don't quite understand that one. I think most people here quietly ignore some of the dress code policies, but never in a situation where an employee will be out in front of the general public. Reporters and ad reps are always dressed in suits if they have appointments.

[LMichalski]

As the youngest person on the desk (and, perhaps, the newsroom, with the exception of interns), I make it a point to dress professionally during the workweek. I guess my fear, however unfounded it may be, is that someone would see me wearing really casual clothes and assume I don't know any better. I generally wear knee-length skirts, khakis, work-appropriate shirts, and the like. Weekends are a different story. Denim skirts or jeans are definitely OK.

I'm with Renee, though: Mondays are my Fridays, and I try to resist the urge to dress down!

[Offthegrid]

My first paper out of college had few rules for copy editors, but one of them was shorts only on weekends.

I don't remember any written rules at my last paper, but some dressed nicely (generally the desk managers), but others wore jeans, T-shirts and baseball hats on any night. I don't ever recall people wearing shorts. I generally tried to be a step above jeans, but I'd wear them on weekends.

[wordnerdy]

When I was hired eight months ago, I was told the dress code was business casual. Around the building, people dress to their level of outside contact or safety precautions: ad people and reporters dress a bit nicer, pressmen wear uniforms, mailroom folks wear shorts.

On the desk, some folks lean more to business and others toward casual. On weekdays, I wear skirts or pants with blouses, or dresses; on weekends, I wear jeans and T-shirts. Lately, I've taken to wearing closed-toe shoes. It's pretty cold in the office.

Like LMichalski, I'm young and feel that sometimes I need to prove my professionalism and ability, even if it's through my fashion choices.

To quote Jann: Those of you who consider yourself young, what do you think? Are we a bunch of luddite managers who need to lighten up?
Or, why can't I get you kids to wear decent clothes?

I'm a bit old fashioned when it comes to dressing. I've recently thanked my mother for teaching me how to dress and telling me I couldn't get the latest short-short fashion or whatever hideous trend was of-the-moment. I do think fashion has become entirely too casual, and I'm tired of seeing what seems to be a cost = dressiness mentality (I spent $100 on a tube top and jeans so it must be nice). Sure, a skirt can be a way to dress up, but one that stops just below the buttocks is not work attire!

There are a few reporters here who are about my age and I'm amazed at what they wear. So often one will have a low neckline or a visible midriff. Nearly everything they wear is skin-tight and could easily be worn in a club. Seeing their attire is what has made me dress better during the week and start covering my toes. I still have a few items in my closet similar to what they wear, but I do my darndest to hide the skin by wearing an undershirt or a sweater, etc.

[JerseyJoe]

During the day, the few reporters we have left, generally dress nicely (Dockers or slacks, dress shirt, tie). The desk crews (what's left of us) come in late afternoon, we're usually dressed in jeans (or Dockers) and polos/collared shirts, although some of the older desk guys wear slacks and a dress shirt (but no tie). However there is one desk guy that takes the lack of dress code too far and for the last week has been showing up in gym shorts and t-shirts or gym shorts and a throwback NBA jersey (and nobody's said anything to him).
On the weekends its a different story and most of the desk wears t-shirts and jeans. Even the older guys will dress down to jeans and a polo.

[zammie]

I'm young and see no qualm with urging us kids to grow up a little, clothing-wise. It's just a pain to put a lot of money into a work wardrobe.

[Jim Sweeney]

One of our editors who used to work for me on the copy desk once told me he had been "written up" at his previous copy desk job for wearing a shirt without a collar. As he was telling me this, I glanced across the aisle and noticed one of our copy editors was wearing high-top basketball shoes, an NBA jersey, gym shorts and a baseball cap (and no, we don't have a sports section).
Our dress code is "business casual" but management has never defined this, other than to ban shorts in the office several years ago.
I think people should wear what they're comfortable with. I had a guy who worked for me who always wore a jacket and tie, even on casual Friday. I had another guy who worked for me who never wore a tie (not even for the job interview), and usually wore golf shirts.

[Neil Holdway]

My workplace's employee manual has a vague professional-attire kind of line, but most in the company have gotten to know that the chairman of the board-former CEO-former president-former editor is a stickler for business dress, meaning shirt and tie for men, no denim for anybody. If he sees you in casual, even if you're popping in on your day off, you'd notice his eyes giving you the disapproving once-over. This has applied to night copy editors as well as anyone else. It did apply to photographers for a while, too, and they fought that hard, arguing they're on the road climbing and crawling all over the place. It's been eased up on them since.

Once Editorial tried casual Fridays, but Advertising got wind of it and threw a fit, asking why couldn't they do it, too, so the whole thing was nixed.

Recently I was on a business trip to look at software at the New Haven, Conn., paper. I was flying out in the early morning, four hours of travel or so, and then would be meeting with people for lunch and then in the newsroom into the night. I went on the plane with khakis and a polo shirt, figuring I'd get into my hotel room, iron a business shirt and put on a tie. But the hotel room wasn't ready. I was perturbed, fearing I wouldn't be taken seriously. Turns out everyone at the paper but the editor and a VP was going business casual, and my polo worked fine. But it was good I went with the khakis. Interestingly, a suburban branch of the Conn. company was dressed more seriously; men mostly wore ties.

The following week I visited a N.C. paper, and it was the same thing. I had on a business shirt ready to put on a tie if needed, but I didn't need to.

I notice that on the Bravo reality show following the New York Daily News, men are wearing business shirts no ties, even the reporters on the streets. Though I haven't seen a courthouse or government reporter or anything like that yet.