A corporate stylist advises Gen Z workers to ditch the crop tops and mini skirts in the office, and ensure that they’re covered “from nips to knees.”
Maree Ellard, head of brand development at Banquet and a corporate stylist based in Australia, told Business Insider that the biggest style mistake she sees Gen Z workers making is exposing more skin than is appropriate.
“From nips to knees, you are essentially making sure you are covered,” Ellard said.
“There should be no reason that you have your chest overly exposed. There should be no reason you have your thighs exposed. There’s no reason you have your belly button exposed,” she added.
Ellard, who helps clients balance alternative fashion aesthetics with corporate workwear, demonstrated in one TikTok video how, when wearing a mini skirt to work, she was unable to bend down or sit without showing too much.
“If you can’t functionally move, and you’re only basing your outfit on just standing straight — you need to cut that out,” Ellard told BI, adding that this rule applies to tops and pants, too.
Such outfits will only add to your everyday stress because it requires a lot of mental power to maneuver in them, she said.
Men should avoid wearing shorts to the office
Liz Teich, a New York-based stylist, said that this advice can apply to men as well. For example, shorts rarely look professional for men in the workplace, she said.
She explained that air conditioning in the office negates the fact that men need to wear shorts in this setting.
“If you must wear them while commuting, consider changing pants when you arrive,” she said.
She said that there are plenty of work-friendly, moisture-wicking, breathable pants for those who might get hot easily. She used Rhone’s Commuter Pants, Jack Archer’s Tech Pants, and Lululemon’s stretchy Warpstreme pants as examples.
Young professionals are still learning the ins and outs of office attire after working remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Teich said that Gen Z workers are “dressing down a little more than what we would deem, in the past, is appropriate for the office.”
She said they’re wearing things that you might consider more appropriate for going out in.
BI’s work advice column recently shared the experience of a senior leader in a midsize New York firm who was bemused after a junior worker showed up in a “full-on crop top” to the office.
“I was weirded out by it, and the people on my team were, too. I know because several people told me so,” they said.
“I’m not this young woman’s boss,” they vented, “but I feel like I should say something to her. I don’t want to crush her spirit or make her feel embarrassed. I also don’t want to provoke a lawsuit. What’s the tactful approach to this issue?”
Ultimately, poor office clothing choices could hurt younger workers’ career progression.
“If somebody’s dressed kind of sloppily, we might make the inference that they’re not all that conscientious,” Ryan Vogel, an associate professor at Fox School of Business at Temple University, told BI.
If they’re not going to take the time to put themselves together, their bosses might conclude that they also wouldn’t take the time to put a key piece of work together, he added.
