Boss forbids female employee from wearing black slacks because they're too casual for the office: 'Nobody cares if a guy wears wrinkled khakis and a polo from 2007'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Sep 22, 2025 8:00 AM EDT

Not all rules and regulations are implemented equally. I learned that lesson well when I was dress coded in middle school for wearing shorts that were just as short as the shorts all the other girls were wearing. The only difference was that I was 5'9", and the other girls were significantly shorter, so my short shorts looked a lot shorter than theirs. I felt like I was being punished for having a different body than the average kid, and one could argue that my analysis of the situation was right on the money.

You would think you could expect to get that kind of unfair treatment from a crabby middle school gym teacher, but not from business professionals who are doing their best not to treat one employee differently from another. Unfortunately, you can't always expect bosses to treat all of their employees equally, even on matters as uniform as dress codes.

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  • The woman in this story is fed up with the unfair treatment she's getting at her job regarding her outfits. She's getting reprimanded for wearing plain black slacks that aren't leggings or ripped jeans or anything of the sort, but her male colleagues can wear literally whatever they want without pushback.

  • 75F offse Extreme Ownership nacity No BS L War
    via Kelly Huang

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • My boss just asked me not to wear my normal pants to work and I’ve never been angrier.

    Okay, so apparently my normal pants are "too casual" for the office. Like... sir, they're literally just black pants?? Not pajamas, not leggings, not ripped jeans. Just. Normal. Pants.
    via u/Nammmieee
  • Meanwhile, John from IT has worn the same cargo shorts three days in a row and nobody bats an eye. 6
    via u/Nammmieee
  • didas
    via Nikola

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Why is it always women's clothes that get policed? Nobody cares if a guy wears wrinkled khakis and a polo from 2007, but the second a girl isn't in full business chic it's suddenly "unprofessional."
    via u/Nammmieee
  • NNER 500 ON 800 px- CONTEN OCT
    via Christina @ wocintechchat.com

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • I swear office dress codes are just made up on the spot depending on who you are
    via u/Nammmieee
  • Twoheaven My wife has run into this SEVERAL times teaching. She isn't super girly, so she doesn't wear dresses or even blouses. She wears basically the same as the male teachers. Nice slacks and polo, a few button ups. Luckily, every time it comes up, she points out she's wearing the same as the men. And if it's not good enough for her, it isn't for them, and it magically gets dropped. It's such bulls.
    via u/Twoheaven
  • Puzzleheaded-Ad7606 OP should find matching outfits to each man in the office and wear them... when Boss complains OP should show a photo she took for reference of how to match the rest of the office.
    via u/Puzzleheaded-Ad7606
  • Nammmieee OP Wild how a polo is 'sharp' on a man but 'too casual' on a woman. Same fabric, same buttons, different judgment...... Oh god...
    via u/Nammmieee
  • YouHateTheMost Clever woman. Seriously, what are we expected to wear, pencil skirts and high heels? God forbid woman feels comfortable, men need to compensate through making women project Ultimate Femininity!
    via u/YouHateTheMost
  • fluckin_brilliant Yes, until you wear those things and it accentuates your curves a little too much, then it's 'distracting and unprofessional'. You can't win!
    via u/fluckin_brilliant
  • Longjumping-Panic-48 I was once reprimanded for wearing the exact same pair of pants a coworker also wore regularly, purchased in the office wear section at Old Navy. She was never reprimanded. When asked, it was because they didn't fit me appropriately. She wore a small, while I wore an XL. Apparently my bt was too big for slim fit pants and looked too much like leggings on me.
    via u/Longjumping-Panic-48
  • future_bog_witch We had to do a social experiment project as one of our senior projects. My friend decided to see if chest size influences dress code infractions. She was an F cup and was constantly written up for infractions despite wearing normal clothes. They had reduced her to only wearing baggy hoodies. For the experiment, we all took turns wearing the same code approved tank top (just in different sizes).
    via u/future_bog_witch
  • Wouldn't you know it, the A and B cuppers didn't get a single infraction! A teacher told one that the top was cute!! I wish we could figure out why the D cuppers were all immediately flagged by teachers. When my friend wore the tank she was told to go to the office during attendance and given a detention. Boy howdy did the school not like her presentation.
    via u/future_bog_witch
  • Nammmieee OP So basically....the dress code wasn't about distracting clothes, it was about distracted adults. Funny how the same shirt magically becomes a problem only when are involved 6
    via u/Nammmieee
  • Sensei Raheem Message to HR, CC your boss, BCC to your personal email. Hi HR, I have been informed by my supervisor that my black slacks are too casual for the office. Please help me locate in our employee guide where I can find an official breakdown of what is appropriate for our office. Thank you,
    via u/SenseiRaheem
  • Cindi-Jones Best answer. There is no sense in changing what you wear without knowing the rules. If buddy in IT is okay wearing cargo shorts, odds are there is no dress policy.
    via u/Cindi-Jones
  • Internal-Disaster-61 Everywhere I work, the IT team gets to wear whatever they want all the time. We had an all day, formal-ish, conference and the IT guys just showed up in Star Wars t shirts and jeans. Lucky
    via u/Internal-Disaster-61
  • jimmyb27 I don't trust an IT guy in a suit.
    via u/jimmyb27
  • Claymore209 Small nitpicking like that is less about the pants and more about control. He issued you an order and expects it followed through. Establishing or furthering his position of authority over you. I personally would ignore this.
    via u/Claymore209
  • tenebros42 He wants you to be attractive to him
    via u/tenebros42
  • Icy_Two_5092 Bingo. He hopes to buy her into wearing dresses. Im old and have seen and heard this a million times. The comment that has the letter to HR is the answer.
    via u/Icy_Two_5092
  • SoapyRiley I got told I didn't look professional at an annual review one year, looked down at myself, wearing a suit, like every day, and asked her to please point out how I'm not appropriately dressed or whatever. There was nothing. I said I wear basically the same 3 suits every week, just rotating through them with different shell tops under the blazer. My pants, skirts, and blazers are all wrinkle resistant materials, so I don't have to iron them. If there's nothing wrong today, then there ne
    via u/SoapyRiley
  • Extra-Walk-5513 I once got told I wore too much cotton for the workplace. Never would have happened to a man.
    via u/Extra-Walk-5513

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antiwork dress code men male employee workplace stories reddit pants working reddit story employees Office workplace female reddit thread Reddit women
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