^^ it is interesting how things have changed. For instance, back in the 70s when I started work, it was fairly unusual to see women wearing trousers to work. Thank goodness that changed. I don’t even posses a skirt or dress nowadays. Our female tax partner unearthed an old dress code for our office and posted it for a laugh. It was both hilarious and rather horrifying. The wearing panty hose mandate would be a deal breaker for me if it was still in place! (At anytime of year but in our high 90s low 100s summer days - unimaginable)
I worked for a major mutual fund company and then at a large consulting firm in the 80s. Pants were strictly verboten (for women, I will clarify!). We also had a pantyhose rule, which was the bane of my existence!! I was lucky to get more than one wear out of a pair – I had a real knack for shredding them.
Used to work with someone who wore a work uniform at the consulting firm. She made the dress herself (I sew, so I could tell – I also made most of my work wardrobe then) and made it in three different colors. This generated a LOT of conversation (and not favorable) in the office.
Personally, I can get away with wearing pants twice before washing. After that, just no.
@swimcatsmom Your posts make me wonder if we were separated at birth. 
@ucbalumnus you are so right -My DH is NOT complaining. Loves not wearing a tie and tells the occasional patient that complains about the spread of disease. Even without the tie/disease transmission link the work places seems to be more casual than ever. I was a nurse a million years ago and I had a white dress with white hose and a little hat (never wore the hat except for the class picture) I don’t know if you can even still buy a white dress uniform for a nurse now. The little hats seem really foolish in retrospect -it isn’t like they were keeping your hair out of anything
I really enjoy my clothes- as do many of my co-workers. We talk to each other about our clothes, where we get them and what we like. I enjoy picking out my clothes every morning and have fun putting together outfits that are sometimes a little edgy but still work for work! We are also big on logo gear (our company’s logo) at work and sport it often. When I go to conferences or have a speaking engagement, I’ll try to wear something with the logo on it.
I could handle everything but the pantyhose mandates of decades past. I worked in a mandatory pantyhose environment until 2004. Fine in winter, but n one wants nylons on in the middle of summer. I, too, like have a work wardrobe although I can still get rid of the suits and some of the structured jackets…I never seem to wear them anymore. I’ve been given company logo wear through the years, but most of the time I give them to my boys (if they are manly like things) or just put them in the back of the closet if I’ve been forced to wear it for an event. I would not be the type of person that would be happy wearing scrubs everyday although my good friend who worked in healthcare “misses” being able to pull on scrubs and head out the door, she’s now in a position where that is frowned upon. I noticed even the patient registration folks at my physician’s office wear scrubs.
Teacher here…we had school logo ware. We were asked to wear on all jeans dress down days. Honestly it was hideous stuff. I had 12-15 various shirts, etc. The gal who replaced me wears the same size. I kept one sweatshirt I particularly liked…and one t shirt…and gave the rest to her.
Re: washing after each wearing? Well…I DO wash my underwear! But things like jeans get multiple wearing as do a lot of sweaters, and slacks.
Bad influence y’all… I just bought a business casual dress online.
I buy really nice Brooks Brothers shirts on sale and get the logo put on. I like the fit of the BB shirts on me better than the logo stuff we can get at work. Lots of our stuff is too mannish, too - heavy Carhartt jackets and the like. Good stuff, but not really my look.
Dresses are soooo easy. Underwear, dress, tights, shoes, jewelry or scarf and out the door. I find that just too easy. I’ve become a huge fan of the heavy weight ponte dresses. Those suckers never wrinkle. Wash when necessary and fit so well.
I am with you, @momofthreeboys - dresses are so much easier! Ponte or silk jersey are awesome.
@MomofWildChild - good strategy. Those Brooks Bros shirts are great. I would not be happy with Carhartt garb either. I wonder if you can put some logos on Lulu stuff?
With the exception of some formal occasions at a biglaw firm where I was mandated to wear a suit and tie, I usually just pick whatever random business casual shirt/pants I can scrounge up on the morning of and just go with it.
A bit more thought(no more than an extra minute) may be involved if I know the day’s work activities include working on larger computers/server machines and/or moving them around to be serviced(mainly ensuring I’m wearing rugged well-worn clothes which I’m not afraid of getting dirtied/scuffed up).
Never cared about whether I was repeating outfits every 2 weeks or even every week.
In most cases, no one cared as everyone else in my department/section was doing the same/worse.
Then again, I will concede I can get away with much more regarding ignoring fashion/dress code norms as a male than my female counterparts. And while it may sound bad, I’m so grateful for this.
I guess I do have a uniform look. In the summer I wear a sheath dress and a short jacket over it. In the winter I wear black/grey/blue pants with cashmere sweater and a blazer. I wear a lot of scarves to add color to my outfit. I could go for weeks without wearing same outfit.
I have worked at casual, business casual, business attire environments. I dress pretty much the same because I never knew if I had meet with a client. For me it is better to be over dressed than under dressed. The only time I ever feel out of place sometimes is when I go out to CA.
Oh, I gave up stockings 20 years ago. I only wear them in the winter to keep warm.
I am jealous of you that get to wear real clothes to work. I have never worked in a job where there wasn’t a uniform or sorts.
I love dresses. Love them! simple, comfortable, professional. And I am soooo thankful for the trend of leggings under skirts and dresses. I teach and have different duties where kids are frequently sitting on the floor. And frequently sprawl out lower as they work on projects or just relax. With substantial leggings, I don’t have to clutch my skirt to my legs as I circulate around the groups and talk to them.
For many years I had to dress business casual in a fairly low paying job with a less than model-like figure. Not easy. I’m petite, the job did require some labor that was fairly dirty (receiving and distributing packages) in a facility with old heat/ac so layering was always important. It took me about 10 years (of dressing badly lol) to convince my administrator to allow me to wear scrubs which was appropriate for a healthcare facility but not necessarily in my position. I LOVE SCRUBS. I’ve been in that same job now for 25 years and little has changed except that its not the low-paying job it was at entry level given my now seniority.
Fast forward to the several positions I hold in social work capacities. In the healthcare facility, I still wear the scrubs, I just switch out name badges according to what job I’m doing that day. In one part time job I wear the scrubs and the different companies badge/logo/id. If I have a meeting, I dress business casual, slacks and a blouse/blazer.
I work one full time, one part time, and one per diem job, thankfully I can wear scrubs 75% of the time.
@dragonmom - yes to leggings! They are so comfy I doubt the trend is going away any time soon.
Just ordered two pairs of LuLaRoe leggings – NOT in solid colors!
This thread has brought up a nagging question for me: How often do you change your [fill in the blank]?
For example: I’ll wear my long-sleeve T shirts twice before washing. I’ll wear my sweaters maybe six times before washing. I’ll wear my jeans maybe for 10 days before washing. I change my underpants every day. I wear my bra for a week before washing. I change my socks every day. For skirts and dresses, I might wear them 10 times before dry cleaning.
Am I an outlier with anything?
I never wear the same bra 2 days in a row. They say they need to air out between wearing. As far as washing, it depends. I wash more in the summer than winter.