Dress Code - Bare Legs OK or Not?

[SheFly]

Personally, I HATE hose. I am sitting at work today (and was on Tuesday) in a skirt with bare legs. I think it is ok and still professional.

For an interview, however, I always wear hose (whether I like it or not) - mostly because that's how I was brought up (I can't wear slacks to church either...), and because often we don't know the dress code where we are interviewing.

No impression either way for me if I go to the doctor's office and see someone without hose.

SheFly

[Zen]

DEFINITELY to an interview but in you work environment patients won't be too focused on your legs if they can see them at all.
If an employee is comfortable in her clothing she would be a more efficient worker.

[Triskeliongirl]

Would I wear hose to a job interview, yes, just to not offend others. I also wear hose if going to a professional event in a country where it is customary (i.e. Japan). But, I do not wear hose myself to work, or even to national professional meetings or events.

Would I be offended in any way to visit a doctors office and see the staff in bare legs? Not at all. Sure, I would want folks to look neat, clean, and well groomed, but I could care less if their legs are covered, and in fact I would probably not even notice this. In San Antonio it is very hot and folks rarely wear hose, which I think just encourages yeast infections and UTIs.

[SadieKate]

I love these threads because they highlight regional differences. I tried out a new primary care doctor a few months ago. She didn't pass the test due to her lack of knowledge but she also had on a top that barely met the top of her pants. Walking down the street, no one would have thought a thing, but in your doctor? I didn't need her to be distracted tugging down her top.

The dress code for male professionals around here is dockers and a polo shirt. The women are equally casual. Clean, neat, and all the important parts covered. On the left coast, pantyhose seems to be reserved for interviews and court dates. Maybe executives in the high powered financial district still wear them.

They're also not much healthier than wearing your bikes shorts around all the time.

[maillotpois]

It really depends on the suit for me. If the skirt is shortish, I will probably wear them. If I am in court, probably also. If the skirt is longer, then I might not. Or I might wear boots and wouldn't wear them under those (unless it is COLD in which case I'd wear thicker tights anyway).

I used to wear them ALL the time. I'm enjoying not having to spend all that $ on them these days.

I would not expect hose at my doctors office. I would also expect the dress code in general at a doctor's office to be much more casual than my attorney attire, court or otherwise.

[VeloVT]

This is an interesting thread... I was wondering about the pantyhose thing recently. 5-10 years ago, I would have definitely worn hose if I had chosen a skirt suit for an interview (although not for working necessarily). But people just don't really wear hose anymore -- it now looks dowdy and matronly. It would look strange to me to see someone under 50 wearing hose. So should I wear hose if I wear a skirt suit to an interview?

For those who need to wear hose but hate them, thigh highs (with silicone grippers, not the kind that require garter belts) are much more comfortable than pantyhose IMO.

[SheFly]

This is an interesting thread... I was wondering about the pantyhose thing recently. 5-10 years ago, I would have definitely worn hose if I had chosen a skirt suit for an interview (although not for working necessarily). But people just don't really wear hose anymore -- it now looks dowdy and matronly. It would look strange to me to see someone under 50 wearing hose. So should I wear hose if I wear a skirt suit to an interview?

For those who need to wear hose but hate them, thigh highs (with silicone grippers, not the kind that require garter belts) are much more comfortable than pantyhose IMO.

First - as I mentioned, I would wear hose with a skirt suit to an interview.

Second - a couple weeks ago , at a bike race no less, I saw a woman with the thigh highs on. How do I know? The tops of her thigh highs just barely met the BOTTOM of her skirt . AND, she had a huge run in those hose!

SheFly

[Crankin]

I was one of the last hold out as far as wearing hose. I noticed that in AZ, everyone wore hose, no matter how hot it was. When I moved back here, as soon as one warmish day came, the hose came off. Now people go bare-legged when it's 45-50.
I can't do that, so I pretty much go from tights, which I do wear with dresses and skirts to bare legs. But, there is a time, mostly in the spring and a bit in the fall, that hose meet my warmth requirements. It's only a few weeks. Mostly, I try and wear the tights.
Since I am not working now, I haven't worn skirts to class since the end of the winter, unless it was a warm enough day to go bare-legged. Wearing hose at a university would get me laughed outta there.
I also wear hose at more formal things in the evening, in the winter. For example, a wedding where I am really dressed up= no tights, but hose.

[Deborajen]

I saw a woman in town not long ago that was wearing a dress down to about her knees with knee highs - that didn't work either!

One thing I forgot to mention originally - One of the big reasons the panty hose issue is so touchy is that I have an employee that is petite and a very good dresser who never wears hose. She always looks nice and stylish and gets lots of compliments. Then last week I had another employee go hoseless. She's very pale skinned, etc. and turned a lot of heads as well (but not in the same way--). The other supervisors were complaining that I should "do something about it" - ? These supervisors and their staff (except their receptionists) wear uniforms or scrubs, yet they were quite vocal about this issue.

[VeloVT]

First - as I mentioned, I would wear hose with a skirt suit to an interview.

Second - a couple weeks ago , at a bike race no less, I saw a woman with the thigh highs on. How do I know? The tops of her thigh highs just barely met the BOTTOM of her skirt . AND, she had a huge run in those hose!

SheFly

Eek. That is tacky. Thigh highs should definitely go high enough (or the skirt should be long enough) that you can't tell they are thigh highs. I suppose one should try them on with the planned outfit and make sure the skirt's slit doesn't reveal them either.

[GLC1968]

I used to manage a retail clothing store where dress code was paramount. We had an 'image' to uphold. It was a pain.

Anyway, I used to allow my employees to have bare legs in the summer under two conditions....1) their skirts were to the tops of their knees (no minis) and 2) their legs were in good condition. If they had a thousand mosquito bites - wear hose. If they took a spill on their bike and had road rash - wear pants. No bare leg 'ickyness' was allowed. Everyone seemed happy with it. Oh, and this ONLY applied between Memorial Day and Labor Day (we were in the north). The rest of the year, hosiery was a requirement.

I think that for your office it partly depends on your location. If you live somewhere warm and casual (like FL) then no one will care if everyone has bare legs. If your office is down the street from the fincial district in some major city, pantyhose might be a good idea. Perosnally, I think it's pretty relative and it's hard for us to judge as 'outsiders', you know?

Luckily, I'm now an engineer and having any 'style' at all is clearly optional for my profession so I never have to worry about it again.

[pinkbikes]

Luckily, I'm now an engineer and having any 'style' at all is clearly optional for my profession so I never have to worry about it again.

Bahahahahah! As a fellow engineer that tickled my fancy bigtime!

I know just what you mean. Sometimes I think that a plastic pocket protector is the highest fashion item they own!

Mind you - when I started out as an engineer I was the only female there, so I pretty much got to set the dress code since nobody knew what a female engineer should wear. I upset my boss on the first day by listening to my mother (thanks Mum) and wearing a skirt (no hose by the way) because she insisted that no woman should ever start a new job in pants! He was apalled!

Since then the crimes against fashion that I have perpetrated are truly worthy of my profession. The denim shorts were probably the worst - patched them until all the patches damned near joined together! Sometimes I wish there was a giant trapdoor that could swallow the stupid moments of the past!