Imposing clothing codes is an insult to female and male professionals
As a homeworker, I’ve not done much work in offices. (Long story: words such as “disruptive” and “drunk” have been hurtfully bandied about.) Still, I find it amazing that any company would have the audacity to insist on an employee dress code, bar the obvious: “Cover yourself up in a half-smart way and give your clothes a generous squirt of Febreze when absolutely necessary.” Admittedly, for some journalists, my standards may be way too high.
Leading lawyer Ayesha Vardag’s 2019 email to employees at her legal firm, Vardags, has been leaked. At times, it’s less as though Vardag is addressing professionals and more that she’s remote-dressing Barbie and Ken dolls whose wages she happens to pay. No to jumpers, cardigans and woolly singlets. Yes to chignons, the “Savile Row look” and female trouser suits, the latter because her ex-husband didn’t like them. Hear that, female professionals: you must dress in a way that specifically annoys your boss’s ex.
