Office of Special Counsel tried to get a dress code - jeez

[donsu]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/06/AR2006090601771.html


A Published Dress Code Is Dressed Down in Furor
Office of Special Counsel Retreats From Sartorial Rules


For the U.S. Office of Special Counsel -- charged with protecting federal workers and whistle-blowers from illegal treatment -- it seemed an effort to protect its own employees from crimes of fashion.

Last month, the agency devoted part of its employee newsletter to "Business Casual" do's and don'ts. Tight pants, short skirts and long fingernails are out; khaki trousers -- for everyone! -- are in. Any among the 100-plus staff of lawyers and investigators who have spent their careers blind to the sartorial signals of official Washington were told: "You are not trying to stand out for the cutting edge look, but for your good judgment."

-snip-

Men: Avoid sneakers for receptions, leave earrings at home and strap on a "conservative watch."

Women: Wear the conservative watch, plus tailored pants, tailored shirts, tailored sweaters, and "a tailored purse . . . that hangs on your shoulder is often advantageous as it frees your hands for greetings (hand shakes) or holding a beverage." For those who cannot master this, "leaving your purse locked in the trunk is preferable." Also "make certain you can walk comfortably in your shoes."

-snip-

But what some employees found ironic, coming from an agency whose job includes fighting workplace sex discrimination, was the advice that women avoid tight pants and, "before choosing a skirt to wear, sit down in it facing a mirror."
-snip-
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"Bloch, a Kansas lawyer who was deputy director and counsel at the Justice Department's Task Force for Faith-based and Community Initiatives, was appointed by President Bush to be Special Counsel."

and you will love how he blamed others:


Bloch went on to explain that -- oops -- the business casual advice was copied (without attribution) from student Web sites at the University of Missouri and Virginia Tech.

The plagiarized dress code "was placed in the newsletter by employees," Bloch emphasized. "I understood it was offered as food for thought from the business and professional world, and not as anything required."


Bloch, another control freak who is afraid of women

read the whole thing and see what women had to say.