* Iron the shirt! Better to wear an ironed, well-fitting polo shirt than a rumpled dress shirt (and don’t even get me started on khakis from the dryer!).

* Dress respectfully. This has far less to do with designer labels or formality, and much more to do with decency and common sense. For example, cover up the cleavage! And bosses, when you see this one being abused, it’s your job to politely (and privately) intervene. If you don’t, workplace morale will suffer – I’ve seen it happen.

* Dress for the occasion. Even though I work from a home office, I would never dream of showing up to a client lunch, for example, in anything but my best business/business casual attire. To do otherwise would show disrespect, and a lack of social sense.

I like what you said about not requiring candidates to wear a suit if they’re never going to need it again – on the other hand, I can tell you that after I got hired at my last job (before starting my own business), I was told that I was the only candidate who DID wear a suit.

While I’m sure the suit wasn’t the reason I got hired, I venture to say it confirmed whatever good hunches the interview panel already had about me. I was not told to wear a suit – I just did it.

This reminds me of when my oldest niece was looking at colleges – it came down to two places: one that offered daily chapel services, and one that required it. In the end, she chose the former, saying, “I don’t mind going to chapel – but I don’t want to be forced to go.” Amen, sister.

As you said, let’s rethink what really matters when it comes to dress.