August 6, 2014 - Written by: Beth Teverson

That Little Black Dress…

A few months ago, a friend and I both got jobs that required us to dress in the usual ‘office attire’. Having been students all our live long lives, we decided now was the time to invest in some new clothes: exciting, right?

Let’s go shopping!

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But it soon became a nightmare.

My friend had already started at her new job as a receptionist and had been told that her outfit choices weren’t ‘appropriate’ for the work place. Apparently that little black dress was a little too little and so we searched for something less… well… ‘alluring’. Our eyes glanced at hundreds of dresses, blouses and skirts. Our fingers clawed through railings until we glanced up at each other over the pile of hangers, defeat hanging in the air. My friend held up a blouse:

‘How am I supposed to be taken seriously in my job, if all the goddam blouses and shirts are see-through!’

And she was right. I mean, think about it. I guarantee that if you walk into any of the high street stores, the majority of the ‘women’s work wear’ section will consist of see-through blouses and body-con skirts. Even the blazer I bought buttoned up just above my stomach so that any Tom, Dick or Harry just simply has to look in my direction to witness my platformed, protruding bosoms.

But I don’t really know who’s in the wrong here. Is it the workplaces calling you a slut for wearing a tight skirt? Or is it the fashion industry for making our work wear ‘sexy’? In the same respect, I didn’t want to wear just any old shirt and shapeless trousers because, to me, that didn’t look smart. So, where is the line?

How, as a woman, can you dress smart and wear well-fitted clothes and not look ‘sexy’?

Some could argue: what’s wrong with looking sexy anyway?

We walked into the men’s section and there we found a variety of shirts, trousers, blazers, ties and co-ords. None of the shirts were transparent; none of the trousers accentuated the crotch area. The men’s work clothes weren’t ‘sexy’ or ‘alluring’ they were smart and well fitted.

What would a man have to wear to be told it wasn’t appropriate? That it was too alluring?

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The only thing I could think of was having his shirt too far undone – he hardly needs to go and buy another outfit, does he?

And does this problem lie solely in work wear?

A few years ago, my Mum, sister and I went to India. We needed to buy some slightly more ‘conservative’ summer wear: tops that have sleeves and aren’t too tight, trousers that are light but equally loose; it was really difficult. Yet, when my sister reminded me of it yesterday, I found myself, once again, not really concluding who was in the wrong: is it the fashion industry that endorses the teeny weeny polka dot bikinis or the culture that shames the women that wear them?

Perhaps it is more the lack of choice that makes me despair. Or maybe that it’s yet another issue we have to concern our minds with: a client might find us so alluring in our little black dresses that he forgets his business…

If you enjoyed this article, why not check out ‘The Blurred Lines… Of Gender Stereotypes‘?