Is the time for pantyhose running out?

If you were a female 20 or so years ago working at a professional firm, you would have most likely donned a skirted suit and (gasp!) panty hose five days a week. Today, many twentysomethings have never known the feel of nylon on their legs.

Lucky for some of us, many workplaces have adopted a more casual approach to office attire in recent years. A good indicator of this trend is recent media attention given to the question of whether bare legs are appropriate in a professional setting. Questions of professionalism, comfort, and trends each have their say in why or why not stockings; yet it seems that the generational differences is a major factor behind the debate.  

The Wall Street Journal recently took issue with the topic when Jim Holt, president of Mid America Credit Union in Wichita, Kansas contacted the paper and asked them to settle the debate within his office. Holt, 58, required his female employees to wear pantyhose year-round – even under pants. Shortly after human resources manager, Kristen Spear began working for Mid America, this dress code “constraint” was brought to her attention by several young, female workers.

Spear, a Gen X-er herself wanted to see if the policy couldn’t be updated; she polled well over a dozen local financial institutions and found that 75% don’t require stockings. This wasn’t enough to convince Holt, who didn’t change his mind until he learned that Wall Street Journal employees don’t have to wear hose.

It’s doubtful that many Young e-CPA readers find themselves hitching up their nylons before heading out the door every morning. And many men might not have to check to see that their tie is straight every time they start the work day. While pantyhose and ties were viewed as conveyers of a professional image – and even power, today they just seem more uncomfortable than anything. This shift in ideas has also lead to changes in many company’s dress code for the office. Codes now use the word “optional” or “encouraged” but not “required” as had been in the past.

Yet is there still a place for pantyhose and ties in the office. What to do if your dress code says no hose or tie required? Take a look at what your boss is wearing. If it’s khakis and polos on business meeting free days then you can step out in comfort too. If the boss is always buttoned, tied or hosed up, it’s best that you follow suit. 

The safest way to go? Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.

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