[blindlaw] 'If you can't dry clean it, don't wear it'; partner advises male lawyers on business casual, ABA Journal, June 18 2013

[Gerard Sadlier]

Is casual dress (or some variant of it) generally permissible in US law firms?

On 6/21/13, Russell J. Thomas <rthomas at emplmntattorney.com> wrote:
> Psychologically, casual dress may equal casual work. Somehow certain rules
> about dress and behavior in the office will convey a message of seriousness
> of purpose while people are at work in the office.
>
>
> Regards,
> RUSSELL J. THOMAS, JR.
> Principal Attorney
>
> Law Office of Russell J. Thomas, Jr.
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Dittman,
> Robert
> Sent: Friday, June 21, 2013 2:48 PM
> To: Blind Law Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] 'If you can't dry clean it, don't wear it'; partner
> advises male lawyers on business casual, ABA Journal, June 18 2013
>
> I completely agree.  There seems to be, In my personal impressions and
> observations, a degradation of dress, manner, and throughout society in
> general.
>
> It goes back to people not knowing how to dress, act, conduct themselves...
> There is always time to change.
>
> Robert D. Dittman, ESQ
> Attorney and Counselor at Law
> On Jun 21, 2013, at 4:23 PM, "Nightingale, Noel" <Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov>
>  wrote:
>
>>
>> Link:
>> http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/if_you_cant_dry_clean_it_dont_w
>> ear_it_partner_offers_business-casual_advice/?utm_source=maestro&utm_m
>> edium=email&utm_campaign=weekly_email
>>
>> Text:
>> 'If you can't dry clean it, don't wear it'; partner advises male
>> lawyers on business casual Posted June 18, 2013 By Debra Cassens Weiss
>>
>> Harrumph! After receiving several complaints, the office managing partner
> of a national law firm has decided the firm's poorly dressed male lawyers
> need some business-casual guidelines.
>>
>> No. 1 on the list: "If you cannot dry clean it, don't wear it." Above the
> Law published the entire memo from the unnamed partner who set out to help
> the "fashionably challenged." The advice includes:
>>
>> * Socks are required in a business environment no matter what Esquire
> says.
>>
>> * Polo-type shirts which look like they have been crumpled in the back
> corner floor of your closet do not count as acceptable business casual.
> This
> is true even when you attempt to smooth them out for 15 seconds before you
> put them on in the morning.
>>
>> * Slacks should be pressed and have a crease.
>>
>> * Shoes need polish ... like weekly. Ask your father if you are so lucky
> to have him living what civilized people used to say you could tell about a
> fella based on his shoes.
>>
>> * Shirts with ties that don't have button downs or collar stays make you
> look like the guy in the Three Stooges (or worse).
>>
>> * Most days you should wear a sport coat with the rest of what
>> constitutes
> your "casual dress." This is still a law office and coats are generally a
> part of the kind of casual business dress we allow/tolerate/reluctantly
> permit.
>>
>> * There are actually unofficial rules about appropriate combinations of
> brown/black shoes, brown/black socks belts, and brown/black belts based on
> the color of your clothes and the color of the belt/sock/shoe you are
> wearing. Typically, they should be the same color. This is a little
> complicated for some. If in doubt, wear the same color. Or, ask your
> spouse/significant other or purchase a book.
>>
>> Above the Law sees some "low grade sexism" in the guidelines. They
> contemplate "a time when men were men and somebody else did their laundry,"
> the blog says. But it judges the rules "pretty standard."
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