Fairly typical office attire for me, shirt and tie.
The Wyoming Lawyer February 2014 issue just came out, and in it there's an interesting article by Cheyenne lawyer Jack Speight. Speight's article relates to the topic of this blog in more than one way, as he discusses his practice dating back to the 1960s. I'll probably come back to another topic discussed in his very short article, but what struck me (and apparently him, even in recollection) was this item:
With fond remembrance of the mid- 1960s,Cheyenne attorneys had a helpful little booklet consisting of about 30 pages in a 5 ½” x 8 ½” format with the relatively shocking title “Minimum Fee Schedule.” In addition to the obvious, the last page of this helpful little booklet spelled out a proper dress code for working in the office on Saturday mornings.Only on Saturday, ties were not required but a sports jacket or suit coat was still mandated. Naturally, the good ol’ boys who created the “Minimum Fee Schedule” and dress code did not give any direction on appropriate office attire for women, even though in the mid-1960s Cheyenne enjoyed the services of two outstanding women attorneys, Brooke Wunnicke and Ellen Crowley
This item is interesting for a variety of reasons (I wish somebody would publish a booklet of minimum fee schedules now). The reason I note it here is due to the dress code.
When I was in law school I remember learning in some class, probably trial practice, that dress in court was addressed by a rule, which it was. Shortly after I graduated a new rule on courtroom decorum came in, which was less specific, in part, because the drafter of the rules were having a hard time handling the topic of female dress. It isn't that female dress was inappropriate, its just hard to describe. When I first started practicing we were told, however, what the rules were, and that there was a "warm weather" exception that allowed lawyers to dispense, in courtroom hearings, with jackets.
In the office, there were no longer any formal rules for lawyers, but there were informal ones that were reluctantly dying. In our office, and older staffer informally enforced rules and what a person could and could not wear. Generally, if we weren't going to court, we could wear khakis and polo shirts. I often, even then, wore jeans but not blue jeans.
Over time, this has really changed. I can't say that there are any more real rules anymore, in any office, in so far as I can tell. Many lawyers still wear ties every day, or most days, but many do not. Some routinely wear jeans in about every office. It's been quite a change. In the courtroom the rules haven't really changed, of course, and there's even one judge who made it known that he doesn't appreciate khaki trousers in the courthouse.
The change clearly started coming in during the 1970s. I didn't have any experience with law offices at that time, but I do remember that doctors and dentist always wore ties. Dentists still seem to even now, but doctors often do not.
I can't say if this change is good or bad, but I do know that people expect members of various professions to have a certain look, even depicting them that way in popular media when it no longer reflects reality. Generals in the military are always depicted wearing their dress uniforms, policemen are always depicted in blue. Lawyers are depicted in suit and tie. While I violate this convention frequently myself, there's something to meeting these expectations.
5 comments:
Such an interesting topic generally; how has dress changed over time for various professions. Since teaching, especially for younger children, has been an occupation dominated by females, I don't think we can say that the changes in dress or the standards of dress for teachers are a result of the opening of the profession to women. However, there has clearly been a change, even over the 14 years I have been teaching. We do have a dress code, but it is more of a suggestion than it is actual policy or an enforceable rule. The idea is that we should appear "professional." But, that could be different depending on your definition versus mine, etc. There was one year, I wore jeans to work almost every day. Yet, now, I choose to wear more professional attire. If I want to be treated as a professional, I need to dress like one, in my opinion.
Teachers are another occupation I thought of in this context, but I didn't comment on it as I lack sufficient information really to do it.
But, if we look at annuals from prior to the 1970s, we'll note that teachers are invariably fairly formal in their dress. Basically, they're dressed the same way lawyers or other professionals were, daily, in the same eras. By the time I was in high school in the late 1970s and early 80s, that had started to change quite a bit, but they were usually dressed in at least what we'd call "business casual". My guess is that's still the case today.
Amongst the professionals it seems to me that lawyer dress and physician dress has changed the most. Not universally, but it's not nearly as formal as it used to be.
It's easy to think that these things don't matter, but they actually do, as people who meet us in this context have certain expectations, and if they're not met, it does create a mental image for them. In some ways, dress is more for the observer than the wearer.
On this, its a weird thing to think back and realize that I didn't know how to even tie a tie until basic training, and didn't get proficient at it until my first year of practicing law.
Indeed, I owned only two ties from a point in my undergrad years until then. I bought the first tie and suit I ever owned about 1986 when a good friend of mine was getting married. I didn't even own "formal" clothes until then, and I was in my last year of undergrad.
Funny story about not knowing how to tie a tie...My dad was in high school and had to wear a tie for some reason. My grandfather was trying to help him with it. My dad is 6 ft. 2 in. and my grandfather was slightly shorter than that. However, my grandfather just couldn't get it right after trying several times. So, he said to my dad, "Lay down." So, dad laid down on the couch, facing the ceiling. Then, my grandfather tied the tie, no problem! Why could he tie it when my dad was lying down and not when he was standing up? Well, my grandfather was an undertaker and was used to tying a tie on a deceased man!
Just ran across this again.
Wow, ten years later. . . and they haven't been so kind to my visage!
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