brooksville's new clothes.

more visible than the emperor's, with luck.

the city of brooksville is enforcing a new dress code, becoming one of three city outfits to do so. i like the idea, but they've stipulated such near-unenforceables as:

• deodorant;
• underwear;
• "clothing considered offensive, distracting, or revealing"; or
  
• "skirts worn below the waistline such that the abdomen or waistline is exposed"

note: even with the previous rule, low riding pants would still be acceptable.

i don't have a problem with telling people what to wear to work. in fact, i'm one of the biggest proponents for professional dress that you'll meet for my age. but i'm also a big believer in having reasonable rules. and some of these are not going to be able to be effectively enforced. who's going sniffing around for someone not wearing deodorant? similarly, if someone's wearing too much of a fragrance, is that equally noncompliant?

another iffy one for me? a proposed rule in 1996 asked for skirt splits to be limited to an inch in order to negotiate a step.

and maybe the most offensive part of the article? in which they imply that these rules are set up so that men in the office are not enticed by women. city manager Richard Anderson, who I quite frankly never want to work for, said this: "Men have it hard enough just to do a day's work and not be enticed by a woman who is not dressed properly," Staib said at the time. "If you have to bend over for the bottom file . . . that would entice any man, unless he is not completely a man."

i'm all about dressing appropriately, but not to calm down your libido. just so i can do my job!

so my bottom line is this: don't come to work looking like you should be at the beach, the club, at a sporting event, or a party. beyond that, the specifics just shouldn't be necessary!


so hooray for workplace wardrobe wardens, and HOORAY FLORIDA!