Kate Hackett
Workplace attire is something that can be fairly heavily policed. Although we definitely live in a more casual world than that of our parents, there remain certain expectations of decorum and it’s important to treat our style with some responsibility.
u/Thedilemma222 recently ran into an issue with some coworkers over her attire. She believed it was entirely appropriate, but her coworkers weren’t so sure.
Before I share Reddit’s verdict with you, here’s what OP had to say:
She works at a small firm and the entire company had a weekend retreat to a club. The firm is mostly men.
Hey y’all. I’m 31. This was 2 weekends ago. I work for a rather small firm. There’s 12 employees total. Since we exceeded our yearly goals for 2022, we were treated to a weekend stay at a golf resort. I don’t love golf but I can play. The owners are big fans. I’m also one of 3 women employed. I’m the youngest, the other 2 are a few years older than me.
One of the days, OP laid out by the pool and drank a little. She met her coworkers at the poolside restaurant.
They also had a pool, tennis, gym, all the fun things a resort needs. On Saturday, I took some me time to lay out by the pool and have some cocktails. I was told that we would all be eating a late lunch at the poolside restaurant. I met everyone there.
OP did not change out of her poolside attire: she was wearing a bikini when she approached the group for lunch.
The 2 other women told me it was “gutsy” to wear what I was wearing. I was wearing a rather athletic bikini. The bottom was full coverage and was almost like shorts, and the top resembled a sports bra more than anything else.
The other women at the firm told OP that that really wasn’t acceptable.
The other 2 women told me that I should be old enough to know that was stupid. And they even accused me of wanting to show off to the men. Now these other women are in good shape, so I can’t say they’re jealous. They definitely are able to rock bikinis.
OP had figured the suit was pretty tame, so she really wasn’t sure what the issue was.
Maybe I didn’t think this through. But I purposely bought this suit for this trip. I thought it was as plain Jane as can be. I mean.. is it very inappropriate to show my belly? Because that was pretty much all that was different between my swimsuit and theirs is that my stomach was showing.
Are they assholes or am I missing something here?
She also clarifies that the suit was not on during lunch – she wore a cover up. Nobody else was dressed up.
Edit: I was not wearing the swimsuit at lunch. I walked up the the place in it and put my coverup on as we sat down.
Edit2: the restaurant was outside and next to the pool. Nobody was “dressed up”
This seems pretty innocuous, doesn’t it?
One Redditor thought so too, “NTA. I personally couldn’t bring myself to wear a bathing suit on a work trip at all lol, but that doesn’t mean other people have to adhere to my boundaries. It’s silly in this day and age to be so uptight about it. They’re all adult coworkers, it shouldn’t be an issue.”
But another wondered, “Why the heck did you put clothes on at the table and not before? You draw a lot of attention getting dressed at the table than if you would have thrown the cover-up before meeting up with your colleagues.”
