The buzz on business casual | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: Please join me in welcoming our newest contributor to BCN, Kathy Manos Penn, a native of the "Big Apple", by way of the "Peach City" - Atlanta. Kathy, a former English teacher, authors The Ink Penn blog and is now happily retired from a corporate career in communications.

    I thought it must be a slow news day when I spotted an article about the increasing presence of casual attire in the workplace. I've been retired for less than a year after many years in corporate America, and I can't imagine things have changed all that much since I left. Business casual clothing has been acceptable for at least a decade.

    Yes, I did work in banking, where employees who were customer-facing had to continue to wear business suits or dresses, but the rest of us had begun to dress down. By around 2005, I was only buying pantsuits and soon after I gave up suits entirely. The issue years ago was the same as it is today: many employees struggle with the definition of business-casual and often cross the line to unacceptable attire.

    In the 80's, it was a spandex problem. Believe it or not, when we first instituted casual Fridays, way too many folks who had no business wearing spandex anywhere chose to wear it to work. Managers never wanted to touch that conversation, so it was always the Human Resources professional who was called in to address that thorny issue.

    Next came the era of bra straps as an accessory. Actually, what was once a trend seems now to be a fixture in the fashion universe. I recall one young lady venting to me fifteen years ago about it taking too long for her to get promoted to SVP, as she sat there in her spaghetti strap tank top with bra straps on display. Call me old-fashioned, but I felt compelled to have the "dress for the job you want to have" conversation. When I asked whether she had ever seen me or any other female SVP at the bank with bra straps hanging out, she stumbled over a response.

    I worked at home for the last half of my career but frequently traveled to corporate headquarters and still needed to dress appropriately. It never occurred to me to wear cropped pants, tank tops or flip-flops, though I saw others who did. Giving up suits didn't mean I gave up looking professional. I always had a few go-to dresses, skirts, and dress pants for a week away, and I considered it fun to find just the right combination of tops, jackets and jewelry to pull those outfits together.

    For years, I counted on Lord & Taylor for business and dressy wear, and I'm sure I'm not the only Atlanta woman who went into mourning when they closed all of their local stores. I soon became a regular at Chico's and Coldwater Creek, but it was Consigning Women that ultimately replaced Lord & Taylor for me. There, I continue to find plenty of stylish dresses, tops, and skirts; and I still wear a gray sweater dress I found there the first year they were open.

    The owner of my favorite consignment shop says that these days "most customers are looking for dresses or tailored separates to fill their business wardrobe needs rather than suits." That trend translates into Consigning Women "carrying only a very limited selection of suits."

    It's nice to know I'm not alone in my view of appropriate business attire. Still, when I read articles that quote managers as saying their employees dress "too casually" or show "too much skin," I'm convinced I'd be forever overdressed were I still working in today's business world.