<p>Moving on from wedding dresses…I am back from my 40th high school reunion trip. I wore my sleeveless flowered sundress (just below knee length, simple ribbon tie belt) with my flat silvery-gold sandals. It was only 85 degrees and cloudy so I didn’t melt. </p>
<p>However, I was the ONLY woman there in a short skirt. Everyone else wore capris or shorts; one friend had a floor-length skirt; one caftan-type dress. I was fine with that and liked how I looked, but was surprised no dresses or shorter skirts. I’m on the west coast, this is in the midwest. Seems to be much less dressing up back there to me.</p>
<p>Was this during the day? What was it a casual menu?</p>
<p>My 40th is coming up in the fall. One night is just for classmates and the other is at a mediocre restaurant with an unappealing buffet menu. I don’t want to be critical. I think it is unbelievably generous of people to organize the event. I appreciate their consideration for those with limited budgets. I just like nice places (not necessarily fancy, just nicer) and well made food. Oh, well if I go, it will be to see people, not to have a memorable dining experience.</p>
<p>Depends on the venue whether shorts are appropriate although people have strange ideas about getting dressed these days. I would no more wear shorts to a restaurant with tablecloths and china than I would wear shorts in sub-zero weather…but people do it!</p>
<p>This reunion turned out to be a 12-hour event! First was a potluck picnic in a park, then a tour of the old high school, then buffet dinner at “a mediocre restaurant with an unappealing buffet menu” (and it was pretty bad), then drinks and chatting at a nice sports bar. I tried to dress for the entire day, as I didn’t go back to my hotel to change.</p>
<p>I am much cooler in a dress or skirt in high temperatures and high humidity.</p>
<p>I just bet all the other women were looking at you and wishing they’d dressed as elegantly and appropriately for a meaningful event. Just because you’re the only one doesn’t mean you aren’t right!</p>
<p>Wow! That was a long day. I think you were dressed perfectly for the occasion. I think the dress coupled with the sandals was just the right spot!</p>
<p>I usually skip the science fiction page when I read Nature - IMO, most of the short stories published there are so-so (compared to the cutting edge scientific articles), but this one caught my attention:</p>
<p>Just chatting with a friend who’s going back to teaching after taking a few years off. She’s just learned that her new school has a professional dress policy that bans open-toed shoes. I was surprised and she was incensed! Said she’ll have to hit the shoe store tomorrow! Does anybody know if such a policy is the current norm for teachers?</p>
<p>That’s an interesting policy for school teachers! Was it put in place because of safety concerns (every employer I worked for had a no open-toed shoes policy for lab personnel) or were peep-toe shoes banned because they were deemed too revealing and flashy (like low-cut necklines)?</p>
<p>Policy is to ensure teachers dress professionally. At least that’s her understanding. I get that they wouldn’t want teachers to wear flip-flops, but can’t imagine insisting on only closed-toed shoes!</p>
<p>A friend in our school district has taught kindergarten for many years. In the last three years she’s had a dislocated shoulder and a disc injury in her neck from dealing with the kids. They are getting rougher. She says she needs body armor.</p>
<p>The dressing professionally I get. But I must say that when we moved 12 years ago we enrolled oldest child in public school and I was very surprised at how casually the younger teachers were dressed including the piercings and tats.( D had previously attended a Christian school).</p>
<p>Can’t imagine having ground to ‘outlaw’ tats/piercings especially since they are becoming more and more common. Just never thought about open-toed shoes being unprofessional.
Are closed toe shoes expected in the corporate or legal worlds?</p>
<p>There are still a few companies that require closed toe shoes for women. Not many, though, especially since the advent of business casual. My boss (male) maintains that women can get away with just about anything and look OK (I disagree). In the south we wear open toed shoes and sandals a lot of the year. If I were going to court, I guess I would wear closed-toes shoes, but not much anyplace else.</p>
<p>^^^ yes, hospitals have this code for administrative staff. And, around here, retail banks too.
Got my Eddie Bauer cropped skinnies. They fit just fine on the waist and butt but the legs are quite skinny. Very skinny. Not sure yet if I’m OK with wearing jeans that are as tight as my yoga capris…but a bit longer. I need a second opinion but only have guys in the house…so no help there!</p>
<p>The bank where my mother used to work (Wachovia) had this closed-toe shoe policy too. Also the tellers could not have any visible tattoos–she worked with young women who had to wear long sleeves all summer long.</p>