In the News: The Evolving Federal Dress Code

“Government dress codes? They’re old hat, federal workers say in survey”

The Federal Times
Molly Weisner
May 19, 2023

Excerpt from the story:

When fashion deviates from the muted norms, people take note…

Just this month, a Breitbart reporter tweeted criticism over a photo of Sen. John Fetterman wearing athletic clothes.

“We will always see Congress demanding a degree of formality,” said Michael Suchecki, a spokesperson for the Congressional Progressive Staff Association. “I think that’s appropriate; it’s just that as the times change, so must what that looks like.”

Many would agree that dress codes may serve a purpose. After all, as Robin Givhan, the award-winning fashion writer for The Washington Post, said: when it comes to politicians’ dress, the public expects a certain decorum.

“... Most people want their representative to represent them in a way that is very polished, that they walk into Congress with a certain amount of respect and perhaps even a little bit of awe,” Givhan told NPR in 2011. “And a lot of that comes through in what they choose to wear.”

Still, Suchecki said formality doesn’t have to mean uniformity. Embracing a more inclusive dress code would reduce the cost burden of an expensive wardrobe for low-income staff, establish less restrictive expectations for women and non-binary staff, and highlight the colors, patterns and styles of a cultured workforce instead of graying them out, he added.

“Assume the culture is less relaxed than you would hope it is,” he added when asked for wardrobe advice he would give to young people starting a job on the Hill. “Assume that you have less freedom there.”

And if employees do see an office choosing to be more accepting of the backgrounds and diversity of their staff, then maybe on day two, they can adjust for it, he said.

You can read the story in full online here.