Women’s Clothes in the Workplace
Ms. Kriegl, rocking her cute but functional sweater
November 9, 2022
As many people are aware, it has always been a struggle to find equality and respect in the workplace. Women are met with questions like, “Why do you have your nails done?”, or “You can’t wear that outfit because it is too distracting.”. Men should have any say on what women are allowed to have on their nails or shirt. Most women express themselves in their clothes, and when that is taken away from them, it doesn’t feel the best. Men have always claimed dominance in the workplace about everything.
In an interview with Clear Creek Amana, Emily Kriegl, Kriegl shared about her experience as a woman in the workplace as it relates to fashion. Krigle explained, “Whatever I wear to work everyday varies. One day I might dress more casually because I literally teach science. I try to push it in the fact that I’m going to dress in the outfit that helps me do my job best.” I then asked her what she deemed appropriate work attire. She continued, ”It all just depends on the day. If in the spring we go hiking, I’m going to wear shorts to work. And if someone has a problem with it, I don’t care. It also goes the same for students. I get annoyed when I hear people do dress codes because every student has different needs in terms of their wardrobe. It could be as simple as this person wearing a tank top because that person gets really hot easily. So I just don’t like when people try to dictate what’s appropriate and what’s not.” It shouldn’t be up to everyone else to dictate what you wear.
The next interview was with Mary Hausler. Hausler is a Physical Therapist at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Here is what Hausler had to say about women’s fashion in the hospital setting. “When you think of a physical therapist, the first thing that comes to mind isn’t clothes.” “One might think, “The typical “uniform” of a physical therapist of all genders is khaki pants with a polo -gross.” Hausler said that one way that she changed workplace fashion was by “not giving up! It takes time, effort, and money to build a wardrobe worthy of an OOTD.”
Womens fashion is important to women, but it is important to Hausler because, “there are misogynistic roots to dressing ‘professionally’. When I was in college, every business student was required to purchase a pant suit for networking events and they all looked like black and navy robots with a white undershirt. It further promoted the idea that the more masculine you look, the more respect you earn and deserve. I will confidently choose a coral suit, a bold skirt, or Doc Martin boots to prove that I can still look professional and be the smartest person in the room but have a sense of fashion that reflects trends of the day.” Everyone should have that type of mindset when choosing an outfit for the day.
Fashion trends are changing and are always going to change. Women can still go to work, be successful, and be good at their job while also looking fabulous.
