New office dress codes

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High street stores are great for achieving the smart yet fashionable look, like this retro coat from M&S

Office Memo. To all female staff. Please avoid wearing the following items of clothing to work this summer: revealing or suggestive dresses and skirts. Short skirts. Low-cut tops. Garments that expose the midriff. Tight trousers, skirts or blouses. Clothes that reveal flesh when bending or sitting. Anything sheer. Always wear a bra.

What would you do if that appeared on your desk? Comply happily? Ignore? Or go to court claiming sexual discrimination? Maxine Kelly, a 36-year-old lawyer, received a similarly worded memo last summer and was advised to take note. When she objected, she claims she was fired (though the firm says she was sacked for other reasons).

Now, Ms Kelly might have looked like an Essex girl on the pull. Equally, she may have looked like Gisele on the Marc Jacobs catwalk. The point is, where do you draw the line between suitable or not-for-the-office wear, especially when it's hot?

I pounded the streets of London this week in the name of research, and can report with authority that, with the exception of the stylish working women on these pages, most of us are either still wearing wintry items (understandable, given this week's changeable climate) or are attempting a warm-weather look with crumpled clothes, pale limbs and mottled upper arms. There was a distinct lack of style, which raises the question: could a dress code actually help? I think so.

For anyone who feels a twinge of recognition at this rather damning home truth, remember this - the high street stores Oasis, Zara, Next and even the troubled M&S are your best friends. They all employ clever designers whose job it is to design smart, fashionable clothes that are appropriate for work.

Nadia Jones, the design director of Oasis, is obsessed with getting the mix just right. "You wear your work clothes so much, you want to love them and for them to show you are both professional and know about fashion," she says. "We make our shirts and blouses pretty and trendy but also respectable. Our skirts and dresses are always the right length and we think about what jacket or cardigan will go with it all."

My advice: if in doubt, always wear a tailored jacket. Jackets confer instant professionalism, and pull together the most laid-back outfits into something fabulously selfassured (pop, without delay, to Zara, where the £99 candy-coloured jackets are selling out). Cardigans come a close second (Gap has lots in jewel colours for £29.50).

Who wants to worry about sweaty, or worse, unshaved armpits at work? Fortunately, jackets are the height of cool right now. Pick a shrunken blazer, something inspired by the 1950s with three-quarter sleeves, or a smart little pinstriped tuxedo.

Wear that jacket with a pretty, colourful skirt, one that hovers around the knee - the prom-style ones in the stores now are a perfect choice (Reiss will soon be stocking a gorgeous yellow one; tel 020 7473 9600). Wear these with a pair of low heels (exposing toe cleavage and toenails is fine, as long as your nails are polished), and a camisole or pretty blouse. Otherwise, choose a pretty dress to wear with the jacket and heels. This summer's frocks are the most beautiful and feminine in years, and crucially they, too, are the height of fashion.

The sexy secretary look has never been more stylish and gorgeous - both in and out of the office.

 

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