As somebody who loves clothes and doesn’t love arbitrary rule enforcement, one of many things I’m grateful for about my job is that I don’t really have to worry about any higher-ups disapproving of how I dress (thank you, working from home). 

However, it remains a fact that anybody who works a vaguely corporate or office-based role usually has to be mindful of appearances, especially if they’re a woman. Misjudge that cute skirt by an inch or two, and you could be seeing a one-way trip to HR. 

This is a topic that has been the subject of much discussion on a TikTok, where a Gen Z employee admitted that she had «learned the hard way» that day of what not to wear in a work environment. The comments were full of anecdotes of women making the same mistake, as well as advice of varying usefulness on how you should dress. The office siren trend has a lot to answer for.