# Why Your Company's Dress Code is Outdated [Other blogs of interest:](https://skillcoaching.bigcartel.com/blog) | [Further reading](https://angevinepromotions.com/blog) | [More insights](https://ducareerclub.net/blog) The year was 2019, and I was sitting in a boardroom at a major Melbourne firm watching a 22-year-old graduate get pulled aside because her ankle boots had a 3.2cm heel instead of the "maximum 3cm" specified in the employee handbook. Meanwhile, the bloke next to her was wearing a shirt so wrinkled it looked like he'd slept in it for a week, but apparently that was fine because it was the "correct" shade of blue. That moment crystallised everything wrong with modern corporate dress codes for me. I've spent the better part of fifteen years working with companies across Australia on their workplace policies, and I can tell you with absolute certainty: your dress code isn't protecting your brand image. It's destroying your talent pipeline and making you look like corporate dinosaurs to anyone under 35. ## The Death of Common Sense Here's what really gets me fired up - we've replaced common sense with bureaucratic nonsense. I worked with a tech startup last year (and I'm not naming names here, but let's just say they make software that half of Sydney uses daily) that had a "smart casual" dress code. Sounds reasonable, right? Wrong. Their HR department had created a [detailed 47-page document](https://last2u.com/why-professional-development-courses-are-essential-for-career-growth/) outlining exactly what "smart casual" meant. Forty-seven pages! They specified everything from sock colours to acceptable earring sizes. I've seen military manuals with less detail. The result? Their best developer - a woman who'd been with them for three years and had single-handedly built their core platform - left for a competitor that let her wear her favourite Doc Martens to work. The kicker? She was working remotely 80% of the time anyway. ## The Real Cost of Dress Code Obsession Let me share some numbers that'll make your finance team weep. According to recent workplace studies, 67% of top-tier graduates now consider dress code policies when choosing between job offers. In competitive industries like tech and creative services, that percentage jumps to 84%. But here's the bit that really stings - it's costing you money in ways you haven't even considered. Take recruitment costs. The average cost to replace a skilled employee in Australia ranges from $15,000 to $45,000. If your archaic dress code is contributing to even 10% of your turnover (and trust me, it probably is), you're haemorrhaging cash for absolutely no good reason. I recently worked with a [professional services firm](https://fairfishsa.com.au/why-companies-ought-to-invest-in-professional-development-courses-for-employees/) in Adelaide that was losing 23% of their graduate intake within the first year. When we dug into the exit interview data, guess what kept coming up? The dress code. Not the workload, not the pay, not the career prospects - the bloody dress code. ## The Generation Gap is Real (And It's Your Problem) Here's where older executives get it spectacularly wrong. They think loosening dress codes means accepting slovenly appearance. That's like saying if you don't force employees to wear ties, they'll show up in pyjamas. Generation Z and younger millennials have grown up in a world where Steve Jobs wore jeans and changed everything, where the founders of billion-dollar companies rock up to investor meetings in hoodies. They associate rigid dress codes with rigid thinking, and they're not entirely wrong. But here's what these generations understand that we often miss - personal style is a form of self-expression that directly impacts confidence and performance. When you force someone into clothes that don't reflect their personality, you're essentially asking them to perform as someone they're not for eight hours a day. I've seen the transformation firsthand. A marketing agency in Brisbane that I advised dropped their formal dress code in favour of "dress for your day" guidelines. Customer-facing meetings? Dress appropriately. Creative brainstorming sessions? Wear what makes you feel creative. Internal admin work? Wear what makes you comfortable. Productivity went up 12% in the first quarter. Staff satisfaction scores jumped 28%. Absenteeism dropped. ## The Client Excuse Needs to Die "But what will our clients think?" This is the cry I hear from every executive when we discuss modernising dress codes. And it drives me absolutely mental because it's based on assumptions that are often completely wrong. I'll give you a perfect example. An accounting firm in Perth was convinced their mining industry clients expected suits and ties. So they made their young accountants sweat through 40-degree summer days in full business attire during site visits. Then one of their biggest clients - a mining operations manager - mentioned during a casual conversation that he found the formal dress "intimidating and out of touch." He said he preferred working with consultants who dressed practically and seemed to understand the real world of his business. The client wasn't impressed by the suits. He was put off by them. Now, I'm not saying you should send someone in board shorts to meet with investment bankers. [Common sense still applies](https://www.globalwiseworld.com/why-professional-development-courses-are-essential-for-career-growth/). But most dress codes go so far beyond common sense they've lost all connection to actual business needs. ## What Actually Matters to Your Brand Your brand isn't protected by ensuring everyone's belt matches their shoes. Your brand is built by the quality of work you deliver, the way you treat people, and the value you create for clients. Some of the most successful companies I've worked with have thrown traditional dress codes out the window entirely. They focus on what they call "dress for success" principles: **Cleanliness matters.** Personal hygiene is non-negotiable. **Context matters.** Court appearance? Dress for court. Team brainstorming? Dress for creativity. **Respect matters.** Don't wear anything that makes colleagues uncomfortable in a professional sense. **Confidence matters.** Wear what makes you feel capable and professional. That's it. Four principles instead of forty-seven pages. And you know what? Their employees look more professional, not less. Because when people feel comfortable and confident in what they're wearing, it shows in how they carry themselves. ## The Remote Work Reality Check Here's another thing that makes traditional dress codes look completely ridiculous in 2025 - most of your workforce is probably remote or hybrid anyway. I was consulting with a financial services company last month that still required full business attire for Zoom meetings. Picture this: people in their home offices, wearing business shirts and blazers on top, tracksuit pants on the bottom, sitting next to their washing machines. It's performance theatre. Nothing more. The companies that are winning the talent war have figured out that trust and results matter more than appearance. They've realised that if you can't trust an employee to dress appropriately for a video call, you probably shouldn't have hired them in the first place. ## The Australian Way Forward Look, I'm not advocating for anarchy. Some industries genuinely need certain dress standards for safety or regulatory reasons. If you're working in a lab, you need closed-toe shoes. If you're in food service, you need hair covered. If you're representing clients in court, you need to meet court standards. But for the vast majority of Australian businesses, current dress codes are solving problems that don't exist while creating problems that definitely do. The most successful approach I've seen is what I call "outcome-based dressing." Instead of mandating specific items of clothing, you set expectations for outcomes: - Dress in a way that shows respect for your colleagues and clients - Dress in a way that reflects positively on the company's values - Dress in a way that's appropriate for your specific role and activities - [Dress in a way that makes you feel confident and professional](https://croptech.com.sa/why-companies-ought-to-invest-in-professional-development-courses-for-employees/) Then you trust your employees to figure out what that means. And if they get it wrong? You have a conversation. Like adults. ## The Change Champions The companies getting this right aren't just tech startups and creative agencies anymore. I've worked with law firms, accounting practices, engineering companies, and even government departments that have successfully modernised their approach to workplace attire. What they all have in common is leadership that's willing to admit that maybe, just maybe, their grandfather's approach to office dress isn't the best fit for today's workforce. They've realised that in a competitive talent market, every outdated policy is a competitive disadvantage. Every time you make someone jump through arbitrary hoops, you're giving them a reason to look elsewhere. ## Making the Transition If you're ready to join the 21st century (and honestly, what are you waiting for?), here's how to do it without causing chaos: Start with a pilot program. Pick one department or team and trial a more flexible approach for three months. Measure the results - productivity, satisfaction, client feedback, whatever metrics matter to your business. Involve your people in creating new guidelines. They know what professional looks like in their roles better than anyone writing policy from an ivory tower. Focus on principles, not prescriptions. Give people the framework and trust them to apply it appropriately. And please, for the love of all that's holy, throw out those ridiculous measurement specifications. No one needs to know the exact heel height that separates professional from unprofessional. ## The Bottom Line Your dress code is probably costing you talent, money, and respect. The companies that are thriving in today's market have figured out that treating employees like responsible adults tends to result in more responsible, adult behaviour. The choice is yours: evolve or become irrelevant. But don't say I didn't warn you when your best people keep leaving for competitors who trust them to get dressed in the morning without a manual. After all, if someone needs a 47-page document to figure out how to dress professionally, maybe the problem isn't their wardrobe choices. --- *Want to discuss modernising your workplace policies? [Get in touch](https://mauiwear.com/why-professional-development-courses-are-essential-for-career-growth/) - I've helped over 200 Australian companies navigate these transitions successfully.*