What not to wear in the office

Bespoke corporatewear supplier NKD Clothing has published a list of workwear faux pas that may leave some of you quaking in your all-too-casual Ugg boots….

• First up, cleavage and short skirts are a big no-no. Though they may attract a lot of attention, it is almost always for the wrong reasons. Likewise, keep your towering stilettos, lacy camisoles and fishnet tights for the weekend.
• At the other end of the scale, jeans, Ugg boots and that woolly jumper your grandma knitted you for Christmas may well be a little too casual for the workplace. The same applies to flip-flops and trainers, or anything that would not look out of place in a gym.
• Finally, clothes should always be clean and ironed and complemented with tasteful jewellery and neat hair. Over-the-top makeup should be avoided at all costs, as well as anything too outrageous or trendy.

But how seriously should we take these rules? A quick look around the office and I’ve already seen at least 8 violations of the NKD guidelines, but does that make us any less professional? I’d like to think not. In companies where there is little face-to-face contact with clients, comfort may well take precedence over formality. With such diversity in the expectations of individual workplaces, I would suggest that perhaps the only rules we should be following are those listed in the company dress code.

Your pants offend me

Do nudists hate pants? It's a serious question. The British Naturism society are having their annual meeting at Alton Towers (Where else?! - all those rides, the fresh air, the queues...eh?) but, bizarrely, the event is being sponsored by an underwear company called Kiniki. Unsurprisingly the naturists are up in arms.

John Walker of Kiniki doesn't understand what the fuss is about though: “We’re not trying to be cheeky or step on anyone’s toes here. We simply thought it was a great event to be a part of. I can see how people who don’t like wearing clothes could get shirty about us being their sponsor. You could say it’s the equivalent of a butcher sponsoring a vegetarian event." An interesting analogy.

Established in 1976, Kiniki has grown from a backroom business for mail order men’s underwear to a company with more than 30 million sales under its belt (if the naturists were offered belts a riot could break out).

Pants

What's a good way to get people to think about their health? Adverts? Leaflets? Pretty standard stuff like that at least right?

Not in China. Oh no. For them, to make men aware of the dangers of wearing pants that are too tight they hung a 12ft pair of pants from the front of a hospital in Changsha Bo Da Hospital in Changsha, southern China. Certainly an interesting marketing strategy. Although, it's clearly worked as even we are blogging about it, passing on their message. Perhaps not so pants after all!

Mayor steals undies?

A mayor has been charged with stealing underwear in Lancashire. This bizarre tale came to light after several female residents contacted the police about the missing underwear. The man, Ian Stafford, has been charged on three counts of burglary and has, reportedly, resigned his position as Mayor. Which makes sense.

Why he didn't just go to shops to buy the underwear isn't mentioned, but it seems an extreme length to go to in order to avoid having to buy underwear in public.

Summer breeze

So another washed out weekend comes and goes in the damp squib that is the British Summer. From Cornwall To Carlisle the rain comes pouring, ruining BBQs, crickets matches and picnics.

And for the organisers of a world record attempt, it somewhat hampered their efforts too - well, the 'most amount of women in bikini's photographed' was going to require good weather wasn't it? Why this qualifies as a world record we don't know - seems pointlessly random. However, it was for charity, so that's good and overrules concerns on the nature of 'what is a world record'.

How about you; any great summer plans washed out by the rain and wind?

Under the cover of darkness

Some Friday fun as it's Friday.

A powercut in Lincolnshire has been blamed on underwear that was carried into pylon's on helium balloons. The underwear - a thong if you want to be specific - was attached to the balloon and then must have floated up into the transformer. The local polo club's summer party is thought to be the most likely place of origin for the offending article. Polo players are always the ones to blame aren't they?!

What a bizarre story. Have a nice weekend.

Pants Man!

Ah Tuesday...lovely lovely Tuesd...what? It's Wednesday? That must mean we missed yesterday entirely and forgot to blog...oh dear, so we did, no blog. Doh.

Anyways...pants, they've been everywhere lately. Even the most ardent anti-Apprentice person surely heard about the infamous Pantsman - the world's worst idea - and now we hear that a footballer has been told by police not to run through a seaside resort in his underwear - after hearing he was planning to do so after losing a bet.

The footballer's defence is quite a good one actually. It's a seaside resort, people see that much all the time on the seafront...but the police are concerned it could lead to more trouble. We're surprised the footballer in question is so keen to go through with his bet. Surely any excuse to not have to humiliate yourself is a good thing?

Busted

Bras have been in the news quite a lot lately, what with the furore over M&S charging more for larger sizes, due to the increase material they require. They've backed down now.

Not only that, but female police officers are being told their bras could be potentially life threatening as the wire inside could cause injury if they were shot at. Ouch.

Julia Roper-Smith, the Sergeants' National Police Women's representative of the Police Federation, gave the warning in the organisation's magazine, called Police, saying 'there is no such thing as a bullet proof bra. Body armour has to be close fitting and you should wear a bra that does not contain metal objects.'

Quite. Although stories like this, in which the bra saves the life, add a certain confusion to the situation, wouldn't you agree?