Appropriate attire?

[ssc]

So this may be kind of a silly question, but I am curious what is considered appropriate attire in other planning offices. It seems to me that since we deal with the public on a daily basis, planning staff should dress somewhat professionally. Of course we also go out in the field, so clothing must be somewhat practical for what purpose as well.... Getting a handle on the balance between the two is tricky. But we now have staff showing up in hoodies and oversized "distressed" jeans. Would this be accepted in your office?

[SW MI Planner]

But we now have staff showing up in hoodies and oversized "distressed" jeans. Would this be accepted in your office?

Uh no. In my opinion, jeans, if worn by office staff should be a darker wash, dressy jean. Or at the very least no tears or super frayed edges. And they should fit so there would be no ass crack hanging out. Definately no sweatshirts.

Our City Hall is business casual five days a week. This means at the very least khakis and a button up. Some men wear dress pants and a nice shirt, some with a tie. Women wear slacks or skirts with nice shirts/sweaters. Rarely does anyone wear a suit.

[ssc]

SW MI Planner - does your city hall dress code happen to be in writing? I would love to see it!

[NHPlanner]

We have no formal policy, but it's business casual M-Th (no jeans), and casual Friday (jeans allowed).

My assistant generally wears golf shirts and khakis and substitutes jeans on Fridays. He'll wear a shirt and tie for night meetings.

As the department head, I wear a tie M-Th, but change to golf shirt and jeans for Fridays.

[Whose Yur Planner]

Some of it depends on where you are at. Where I'm at business casual is khakis and polo shirts because of the climate. Personally, I wear a polo and jeans one day a week. I never wear a shirt and tie. The only ones that do are the lawyers.

[Otis]

Neither hoodies nor distressed jeans would be OK. Fridays, jeans are OK, but they have to be in good shape. Some other days I wear jeans if I am going to be tromping around in the blackberries. Ties are for the city council meetings. Usually I wear a nice shirt (almost always button down) and chinos. Other dress comparably.

[Raf]

Business casual M-TH, which means collard shirt, slacks or nice jeans. Our office is closed to the public on fridays, so I have gone in with jeans and a t-shirt, sometimes a henley, hats (never a ball cap but nice "hipster" type hats). On the occasion flip flops during the summer. Hey might as well be comfortable if no one is going to be around.

[dw914er]

It's preferred to wear professional attire in the public eye, so I'll wear slacks, a dress shirt, and a tie. I'll remove the tie on hot days, and I'll add a sport coat or a suit if it is a cold day. Fridays are casual, but because the director doesn't like jeans. I wear colored pants instead and have a polo with the City logo.

[rcgplanner]

Our department is a mix of duties with the inspectors mostly wearing jeans and city polos. For office staff the men wear anything from chinos to dress slacks and polos or button down long sleeve dress shirts, while women usually wear pant suits or dress shirts and nice slacks. I usually wear a tie, dress pants and a dress shirt for meetings and alternate between polos and dress shirts other days. Friday is casual with jeans allowed. Some staff wear athletic shoes and untucked polos, but I tend to stick with a dark wash jean, my city polo and a dark pair of dress shoes as I tend to talk with citizens when I work the counter.