The Mini-skirt Ban has now started...

[Gromit]

Southampton City Council bosses have banned staff from wearing mini-skirts and could send them home if they flout the rules.

Women staff received a memo telling them they needed to dress respectfully and wear skirts of 'reasonable' length.

The memo insists they dress in 'appropriate' clothing for their line of work, including trousers, informal dresses or skirts of 'reasonable' length - but 'not mini-skirts'.
Outraged Southampton City Council staff say they fear bosses may start prowling offices armed with a ruler or tape measure, while their union threatened to fight the ban.

The leaked email, which was sent to around 400 staff, advised men to wear collared or polo shirts, cotton trousers such as khakis or chinos with a belt, and 'dress shoes'.
It warned social workers, youth workers, educational welfare officers and others in the children's services department to 'carefully consider their work attire'.

http://www.dailymail....tml?ito=feeds-newsxml

Surely, people should be allowed to wear what they want?

[vulcan]

I don't remember them being banned in the sixties, could it be the Southampton City council bosses are getting too old and resent the young and their fashions ?

[woofgang]

Lottie I used to wear minis too but we were much more decorous in them than the females I see these days. My beef is the low cut tops that some women seem to think acceptable in the public workplace.

[woofgang]

PS in case anyone is wondering, I am female, hetero and the proud possessor of an impressive cleavage myself...the bum just isn't up to a mini any more though.

[Sqad]

woofgang.....no! no!...don´t worry about the bum, the cleavage will do nicely.

[LoftyLottie]

Absolutely agree Woofgang. We somehow managed to remain modest and feminine and also were much better in the deportment stakes. Nowadays they seem to stride along in an aggressive manner!! And I also agree about the low cut tops that seem to get lower and lower. It's not just a matter of showing just a hint of cleavage..................... they might as well not bother with a top at all.

[LoftyLottie]

That was my initial point Vulcan ;o)

[rowanwitch]

Nothing wrong with looking professional rather than like a professional...

I have worked with women who leave one too many button open on their top and wear skirts too short to sit properly in, then complain they don't get taken seriously when it comes to applying for promotion... me today, navy skirt suit, pale turquoise blouse, stockings and navy court shoes and bag...bit librarianish i suppose for some but at least I look like i know what I am doing

[LoftyLottie]

I bet you look very smart Rowan. I'm afraid I was always more of a flambouyant dresser when I was younger. I didn't do 'normal'. I have worn suits to work, but I never felt comfortable in them and I don't work well if I am uncomfortable.

[craft1948]

When I worked for BT I used to wear suits, I always had 3 winter ones and 3 summer ones. When I went to work in London for a year I'd never seen such scruffy people in an office, many of them wearing jeans and track suits.

[LoftyLottie]

The most important thing surely is whether they do there jobs well surely not what they look like.

[rowanwitch]

only in this job,,, when I worked in advertising/marketing I had a far more distintive style.... sort of Dallas meets adam and the ants....

[craft1948]

I think if you take pride in your appearance you're more likely to take a pride in your work.

[LoftyLottie]

People express themselves by the way they dress and it seems a shame to stifle it by imposing dress codes that are not necessary to the job. Variety is the spice of life. I would hate to go back to the days where men and women both wore dark suits and white shirts/blouses to work. Lots of little ants bustling about.

The nice thing about clothes these days is that people don't have to conform.

[craft1948]

lol Lottie I remember when minis first came out and mine were 13 inches long. The personnel officer tried to get me to wear longer skirts but I ignored her. In the end she marched me to see one of the directors so he'd tell me off...........his reply was that my skirts brightened up his otherwise dreary day.

[joannie10]

we have always had guidlelines about what to wear which included 'no obviously lack of underwear!' Have often worked in places that had a uniform and that made things alot easier but really you felt that people should know what was appropriate but I am not sure that is the case. My sister works in a college and she said over recent years it has been getting harder trying to get the young girls to turn up in 'appropriate ' clothing when going on their placements. They used to be able to say office attire.

[woofgang]

oh tell me about it. We used to send students on work experience guidance on what was expected working with patients in a hospital and they STILL used to turn up in flip flops and boob tubes...as for the girls........ ;-0

[snags]

I work in 'creative' environments: most of the people look like they've been dragged through a hedge backwards, even when going to meetings but somehow clients accept this from arty farty types. The work always gets done in a professional manner to very high standards, which at the end of the day is all that matters...

[snags]

I would just like to add, not once has anyone commented on my mini skirts being inappropriate...

[China Doll]

That's not entirely true snags... Mum did ask you to cross your legs and dad asked you to shave them... I've asked you several times to stop wearing my day glow yellow one as well. It does nothing for your eyes.

[joannie10]

ha ha woofgang!