Investigating the ‘Professionally’ Dressed Bodies of Employees and Office Space: Interview Transcripts, 2020

de Paz, Maya (2022). Investigating the ‘Professionally’ Dressed Bodies of Employees and Office Space: Interview Transcripts, 2020. [Data Collection]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Service. 10.5255/UKDA-SN-855919

Data description (abstract)

This dataset consists of 17 transcripts of semi-structured, in-depth interviews with office workers in London, who are required to obey a dress code at work - ranging from ‘smart casual’ to ‘business professional’ attire. Fashion bloggers were also interviewed as they specialised in workwear style and gave the project a deeper understanding of the link between identity and appearance.

The research examines the highly political battleground that is the office space, whereby non-binary individuals, transgender folks, and cisgender women’s identities and bodies are often rejected from the space. The interviews cover employee experiences of office dress code discriminations, motivations surrounding choice of dress for different working days, as well as opinions surrounding the link between professionalism and dress.

The project sought to demonstrate how strict corporate dress codes, moreover ‘business professional’ dress codes, reinforce certain forms of oppression for those that do not identify as cisgender, masculine-presenting men. Whereas a ‘smart casual’ dress code, that allows for more flexibility in employee gender expression, may actually be supportive for individuals occupying historically marginalized identities.

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