INDECENT DRESSING OR DRESS TO KILL IN THE WORK PLACE I walked into a youth gathering of about forty people a few weeks ago and about four of the young ladies there were dressed in a rather indecent manner. Everywhere you turn to nowadays, indecent dressing seems to be so rampant. It seems to be a cancer that has eaten deep into every nook and cranny of our society. I give talks on etiquette in schools across Nigeria and to my greatest shock, I found out even some school uniforms are indecently sewn. As such, it has become expedient to address this issue besetting us as a nation, especially as it concerns the work place. As subtle as it may seem, it is critical for people when to dress appropriately. Let me start by defining the meaning of indecent dressing. Dressing could be considered indecent once it reveals parts of the body that are usually covered. What are these parts that are usually covered? Six parts are usually expected in women. They are: Bra - Contrary to what many people think, exposure of bra straps is not a new fashion trend, in certain settings, showing of the straps of one’s bra could be classified as indecent dressing. Bust – in ensuring that cleavage is not exposed, women should make sure their tops are not too tight at the bust; wear the correct bra size; and never let the nipples show through your clothes (should employ the use of a padded bra or an underlay e.g. a camisole) Bellies – Because males find the bellies of women attractive, women should treat them like other private parts. Bottoms – Don’t wear anything with words written on your bottoms; don’t wear your trouser pants so low your underwear shows; Bubbling – This is what happens to trouser pants and jeans when they are too tight. Check your trouser fit by looking at the back of your thighs. If you have ridges and wrinkling in that area, this means your pants are too tight. Thighs – Don’t wear your shorts or skirts too short (anything higher than two inches above the knee is too short because when a woman sits down, it gets even shorter) Next I think I ought to explain why such form of dressing is improper and hence considered indecent. Psychologists say that women are principally moved by what they hear while men are principally moved by what they see. To a very large extent, many attest that this is true. Hence indecent dressing leaves little to the imagination, can be distractive and attract needless attention that leads to mischief at the expense of productivity. Several years ago, I walked into a bank and a female employee of the bank walked from one end of the banking hall to another. The heel of her shoe (I cannot remember how high it was) gave an unpleasant sound against the marble floor and as she walked, everybody seemed to notice and many were distracted. At least for a couple of seconds, if not minutes, few of the people in the banking hall were distracted on that day. If an item as simple as dress pumps could draw unnecessary attention, imagine what the cleavage of a voluptuous woman would do in the work place? Similarly, about four years ago, a woman told me about how a man had an accident with his car while carried away looking at an indecently dressed woman! That’s how tragic and painful indecent dressing can be. I call it the opportunity cost of indecent dressing. If women never dressed indecently, a lot of broken marriages today will still be intact, a lot of executives would have conceived great innovations. Many clueless students would be brimming with a passion for entrepreneurship, save for indecent dressing and the unworthy desires that follow suit. Research conducted a while ago showed that the most innovative companies, educational institutions and nations are those that have an aversion to indecent dressing and its related excesses. Someone commented to me a while ago about how Dubai seemed to change everytime she travelled there and I immediately asked her whether she had not noticed Dubai’s stickler for moral rectitude? I later convinced her that the city’s ingenuity was not unconnected with their zero tolerance for such indecent exposure. The tragedy of indecent dressing can be enormous. As a society, we cannot continue to be insensitive to such a malady. I therefore throw out a corporate challenge to all of us to stomp out indecent dressing. If you are a parent, enforce decency in your children. If you are a superior in any capacity with subordinates under you, start a ‘movement’ for decent dressing in your constituency. A managing director whose staff dress indecently to the office cannot lay claim to be unsupportive of indecent dressing. So do the parents who see their children dress indecently and say or do nothing about it.
Posted on: Wed, 02 Apr 2014 15:31:46 +0000
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