Updating Your Professional Wardrobe

A recent article in Bloomberg Businessweek addressed the decline of casual dress in the workplace, driven by a recent surge against it by bosses. Casual Friday used to be a "naughty thrill" that occurred once a month or less, allowing office employees to wear a pair of conservative jeans and a polo. According to a recent survey by the Society for Human Resource Management, only 34 percent of bosses officially permit casual dress among employees every day, a significant drop from the 53 percent in 2002.

American society still remains incredibly casual, according to Clinton Kelly of the Learning Channel's What Not To Wear. For some, the difficulty arises in the absence of clear definitions within corporate dress codes for terms such as "professional dress," "business casual," and and one-off "casual Friday" attire. As a CPA, your dress cues should be dictated by your clients when on site. I used to audit banks, and most banks still have a culture of wearing full suits every work day. While it seemed archaic, I could never go wrong following such a strict dress code. In other environments, it's a bit more difficult to judge.

If you're new to a firm, don't immediately assume you can wear jeans and sneakers on casual Friday. Wear your normal work attire on the first official casual day and take note of what is permissible. I used to work in Pittsburgh, a town notoriously loyal to their sports teams. Almost every weekend the Steelers were in a play-off game, all of the downtown professionals exchanged their suits and pantyhose for Steelers jerseys and face paint. This was completely acceptable, even when working at most client sites. In other cities, this would definitely not be tolerated.

Women seem to have a slightly greater challenge than men in navigating the vague "business casual" dress code. Are sleeveless shirts, open toed shoes, or dressy capri pants alright for the office? That depends on where you work and what your role is. While corporate dress codes officially apply to all employees, I've noticed an unofficial double standard in most workplaces depending upon the female employee's role. It was much more acceptable for administrative staff to wear sleeveless blouses or skirts without wearing pantyhose, simply because they served an internal role and rarely had contact with clients. Client service professionals, however, were unable to bend such roles. If you are unsure where to draw the line, look to your superiors for guidance on how to dress. More likely than not, if your boss shows off her toes in a pair of dressy open-toed shoes, it's okay for you to do the same.

Bloomberg Businessweek asked image consultants and office fashion experts for the most common workplace style sins. I'm sure you've seen them all before. Just make sure you're not the guilty party:

1. Hooker earrings-anything long and dangly that looks cheap should be put away until the weekend.
2. Chest plumes-fashion experts advise men to stop unbuttoning shirts when you begin seeing chest hair.
3. Exposed bra straps-these can be distracting and are generally considered unattractive.
4. Tattoos-people don't expect a CPA to have a dragon tattooed on their forearm. If you have tattoos, keep them covered to avoid snap judgements by colleagues or clients.
5. Toes-many workplaces require toes to be covered for safety reasons. A lot of people find toes to be disgusting. Play it safe and keep them covered.