As the summer comes to end, so does the threat of provocative clothing in the workplace. Or does it? A South Dakota teen recently learned the hard way about dress codes.
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The teen worked at a J.C. Penney® department store in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. One hot summer day, she showed up to work wearing red shorts, a blue sleeveless top, and sandals. Within 10 minutes of her arrival, she was immediately reprimanded about her attire. But here’s the kicker: she bought the outfit in the career section of the J.C. Penney store, where she worked!
Her boss asked her if anyone had talked to her about the dress code during orientation, and then asked her how long it would take for her to go home and change. The teen immediately quit. The shorts were a violation of Penney’s dress code policy, but the teen says she never learned this during orientation. She said, “I bought [the shorts] thinking they were pretty professional. They didn’t show anything other than my legs, which I don’t think is too provocative.”
The teen went to Twitter to rant about the shortcomings of her job. She agrees that dress codes shouldn’t be gender specific (for example no gang attire, no pajamas, etc.), but when it comes to women’s dress codes, they appear to get the short end of the stick. The teen also said, “I’m very satisfied that people are paying attention to the cause and starting a discussion on dress codes in the workplace and at schools, and how we view women.” Fortunately, fall is fast approaching, which means sweaters, long pants, and hopefully no more fashion faux pas!
She raises an interesting point. It does seem that the issue of appearing too provocative only applies to women.