Confused on Dress Code

[paiger81]

Ok, during one of my interviews for the position I just accepted, I was told by the Director of Marketing that work attire was business professional & they prefer everyone to wear suits.

Just to make sure I'm wardrobe ready I emailed the Assistant Director-whom I will directly report to- and said I wanted to verify appropriate attire. Well, the response I got was just to wear nice slacks & blouses & none of the women really wear jackets.

:googly: :rolleyes: :googly: :rolleyes: :googly: :rolleyes:

So, what would you think of this? Wear a suit the first day or chance it with slacks & nice top?

[lonestar]

wear a suit the first day or so. If you are the best dressed person in the office, your superiors will notice that you take pride in your job (dress code counts!).

[MrNCG23]

You can always take your jacket off if it seems too dressy.

[azdiva]

Wear a suit and if you feel overdressed just take off your jacket. I always wear a suit just in case. Better to be overdressed than underdressed.

[yankeeyosh]

Wear the suit...although I would contact HR. There was a lot of miscommunication when I started my job here, as HR botched didnt' give me any information (and reading through a 200 page manual that they told me to read, I couldn't figure it out that way either). But I remembered from my interviews that everyone wore suits (even Friday...ugh), so after several e-mails to HR, they finally told me I had to wear suits Monday through Friday.

But I *pray* that you don't have to wear it daily. Suits suck. :mad:

[and1grad]

Personally, I only wear suits during interviews. I think wearing a suit on the first day would be similar to stamping "I'm the newb" on your forehead in permanent marker.

[allie1105]

I always wear a suit on my first day at a new job, even if I am told it is business casual. I think its important to let the employer know that you are happy to be there and respect the organization. After a few days, if you are overdressed, then start to dress accordingly.

[mishl982]

I agree with the wear a suit, take off your jacket idea.

I wouldn't count on HR to tell you exactly what the dress code is. Each group is so different. At my work next door is the more fancy businessy attire and in my group, I mean, some people wear jeans on a daily basis. Dress up extra nice until you get a feel of how everyone in your specific group dresses.

[spokes]

in my city/industry ties have pretty much gone the way of the dodo bird (on some level this is bad news for me as I have collected over 100 ties - and some of them are kind of expensive).

my work attire ranges from slacks & button down shirts to dockers & golf shirts.

i think i'd cry if i had to wear a suit 5 days/week......

anyways to answer your question, roll in with a pant suit, you can ditch the jacket at around 10 am, and put it back on for the inevitable first day lunch, ditch when you get back to your desk and observe what otehrs are wearing and on day two, push the dress code....... :huge:

[lonestar]

I wish my job required a suit everyday...then at least I would look important...j/k

[wordsmith]

It's better to start out overdressed and relax it as you get a feel for what most people wear than to start out too lax. Better to err on the side of "too" professional than not professional enough. You can always dial it down if need be.

[eastcoaster782]

Ditto. Wear the professional outfit the first day and then take note on how others dress. I remembering reading this quote (or some version of it) in a career magazine: "dress for the position you want, not for what you already have."

[thedave]

Ok, during one of my interviews for the position I just accepted, I was told by the Director of Marketing that work attire was business professional & they prefer everyone to wear suits.

Just to make sure I'm wardrobe ready I emailed the Assistant Director-whom I will directly report to- and said I wanted to verify appropriate attire. Well, the response I got was just to wear nice slacks & blouses & none of the women really wear jackets.

:googly: :rolleyes: :googly: :rolleyes: :googly: :rolleyes:

So, what would you think of this? Wear a suit the first day or chance it with slacks & nice top?

The fact that you had to email him to ask him/her about, of all things, the dress code is not a good first impression. As a rule, usually I show up the first day in a suit, and kind of get a good feel about what the dress code is like.
It's ok to be super-conservative, and most likely, the reaction will be a good one, as they will see you respect the job, and if anything, will joke and say "so formal..." and give you suggestions on the typical dress code. It's worse to show up underdressed. Very embarassing.
You do not want to be reprimanded on dress code at a professional job. It's very embarassing and cringe-worthy.

[Kitty]

I am a total dork and I always wear suits to my first few days on the job - even when I know no one else will be wearing them. I also wear my glasses like the first few months because i feel like they make me look more professional and serious, LOL.

[MollyMe]

My bf worked for a company that required suits/jackets. He never actually wore the jackets; no one did. He just hung it up and left it at work. The only time they did wear them was when they have special visitors.

[yankeeyosh]

My bf worked for a company that required suits/jackets. He never actually wore the jackets; no one did. He just hung it up and left it at work. The only time they did wear them was when they have special visitors.

Meh, I have to wear a suit every single day (even though all I do is sit at a cubicle and do busywork). I don't have to wear the suit jacket during the day, although every time I look around, there is someone walking around wearing the damn thing. Among other reasons, I consisitently feel like I'm in 1955.

[g8ergal83]

nice slacks and a blouse = suit without the blazer.. throw on a blazer and you've got a suit.. most people probably wear a suit or bring their blazer but leave it on their chair so they've got it when they meet a client.

[embrassezla]

Meh, I have to wear a suit every single day (even though all I do is sit at a cubicle and do busywork). I don't have to wear the suit jacket during the day, although every time I look around, there is someone walking around wearing the damn thing. Among other reasons, I consisitently feel like I'm in 1955.
What the hell? That is completely unreasonable.

[Kitty]

I didn't know you were going to have to be wearing a suit everyday Paige - that sucks!!

[yankeeyosh]

What the hell? That is completely unreasonable.

Thank you. At least I'm not the only person who thinks this dress code is Draconian.