America Is Divided On What Is Appropriate Work Attire.

In Boston, a boss showed up for work sporting a Speedo. In Los Angeles, an employee made a statement by wearing nothing but a bra as a top. In New York, a worker arrived at the office wearing a tie with pigs having sex on it. In Dallas, a boss wore a flowered muumuu to work. With 88% of companies enjoying at least one day of business casual dress per week, the dress code still remains largely undefined. As a result, America is confused from the corner office to the cubicle about what is appropriate business casual attire, according to a recent 15-city survey conducted by Rowenta, the ironing and garment care experts.

The survey also showed that although there may be occasional lapses in judgment about dress codes, a neat appearance is a priority, illustrated by the increase in ironing throughout the country. Many Americans care for their casual clothes at home rather than dry cleaning them, pushing ironing duties to the top of the priority list. Almost every city surveyed showed a significant increase in ironing (8.8% overall; 2.4% for the first time.)

That said, there is still a portion of Americans (17.8%) who would consider wearing a wrinkled garment to work, even though 94.4% of respondents stated they respond more favorably to somebody who is neatly pressed, showing that there is room for improvement when it comes to “pressing before dressing.”

“We’re very pleased to see that most Americans take their work appearance so seriously – an 8.8% increase in ironing is quite impressive,” said Barbara Zagnoni, garment care expert and business casual “counselor” for Rowenta. “My message to the 17.8% minority that would wear a wrinkled garment to work is that if you’re armed with a high-performance iron and a few good tips, you’ll always leave the house neatly pressed because it’s so easy,” Zagnoni continued.

Most of America’s workforce is faced with the dilemma of defining business casual at least one day of the week. By answering a series of questions, survey respondents helped provide the foundation for establishing three different business casual categories:

— Corporate Casual – a mere jacket and tie away from traditional business attire, this style is characterized by dress pants and formal shirts or blouses;

— Classic Casual – a more relaxed dress code allows both men and women to straddle the fence by mixing dress pants or khakis with formal or casual shirts;

— Comfortable Casual – the ultimate in casual wear, employees of these corporations sport attire that goes comfortably from the office to the beach.

Fifteen major U.S. cities were surveyed about not only the definition of business casual but also a wider range of issues including inappropriate office attire, the effects of business casual and what is the worst thing their boss dared to wear.

Some of the results include:

Top three inappropriate items worn to work:Nationwide

— Jeans – 15.9%

— Tight/Revealing clothing – 12.5%

— Unkempt/Dirty clothing – 5.3%

Of workers that were spoken to regarding inappropriate workplace attire: Nationwide

12.7% Americans believe that there have been many benefits to switching away from the suit and tie corporate environment.

Overall, respondents feel the biggest benefits to business casual are: Nationwide

— Relaxed atmosphere – 34.0%

— Comfort – 21.9%

— Time and money savings – 16.3%

— Morale – 14.7%

Most respondents felt their bosses got a bit too comfortable at the office with 93% of the cities surveyed citing a boss who came to work in a Hawaiian shirt. Some other interesting outfits included “a ten-gallon hat with shades” in Miami, “a bright, fluorescent turtleneck with Caribbean shorts and sandals” in LA, “an Elvis outfit” in New Orleans, “a leisure suit from the seventies” in Atlanta, “a green camouflage mini-skirt with pink sneakers” in New York, “white boat shoes with big tassels and a pair of tight blue Dockers with a plaid pastel shirt” in Boston, and in Washington D.C. it was reported that a boss “wore black clothing that made him look like Johnny Cash.”

The fifteen cities surveyed include Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York City, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington D.C.

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