Boss's Comment About 23-Year-Old's Bare Midsection Leaves Employee Asking About Office Dress Rules

When Work Clothing Rules Get Personal

According to Evil HR Lady: A 23-year-old working in a semi-creative field recently wrote to an HR advice column about a tense exchange with her boss. The supervisor, a woman around 50, told her that her outfit wasn't suitable for the office. On that day, the employee wore low-waisted trousers with a blouse that left part of her stomach visible. She says she doesn't remember any clause in her contract banning that kind of clothing. Yet older female colleagues often wear tops with cleavage without being reprimanded, and a male coworker even came to work in shorts recently with no one mentioning it. Dress codes at work are often subjective, and complaints like this show how easily standards can differ.

Style, Norms, and Double Standards

The letter writer admits she may have misjudged the dress code, saying,

“I truly believed the outfit looked trendy and was totally normal for women my age.”

She also asks how she can judge what is acceptable without giving up her personal style. The column points to shifts in women's fashion from the 1960s and 1970s, when miniskirts and even braless looks became ordinary, as a reminder that dress standards keep changing.

This episode highlights why office dress policies deserve closer attention, particularly around gender stereotypes and age-related assumptions. Since fashion norms evolve over time, companies may need to rethink their rules to make sure all employees are treated equally and fairly when it comes to what they wear.