At AIVIA, the dress code has never been well defined. I mean, sure, I can generally gather what’s acceptable and what’s not, just from observing (and that's what I have done). However, it would be convenient that have that kind of thing in writing.
For instance, as the weather here gets warmer, I was pondering whether I could wear shorts to work. I mean, coworkers and I already wear jeans, t-shirts, and sneakers, so I figured that shorts wouldn’t be too much of a stretch. All the same, I didn’t want to just try it and be on the wrong side of a guess ;).
Luckily, someone happened to answer my question today: Chris (an ASP developer here) wore shorts today. So, that's a good sign. And, if more people than just Chris wear shorts, then maybe I'll give it a try ;). After all, it can get up to 77-78 degrees at my desk in the afternoon (according to the digital thermometer on my desk), so it’d be rather nice to be able to code in shorts.
Also on the subject of shorts, we had some clients over in the office today for some all-day meetings. And, between meetings there were intermissions (is that the right term?), so I met some of them. And, one guy was wearing shorts but with a long-sleeved t-shirt. And.. it just looked odd to me. Of course, tradition is that the middle-step between long-sleeves-and-long-pants and short-sleeves-and-shorts is short-sleeves-and-long-pants. So, it just looked odd to me, as if someone chose to wear mittens on his feet, or something.
After some thought, though, I just couldn’t put my finger on what aspect of his attire was specifically out of place. I mean, from a physics point of view, it makes sense to insulate the vital organs (long sleeves) and go for less leg-clothing than to go straight to short-sleeves while retaining long pants. Still, though, other than the tradition-aspect of it, I can’t really give a rational reason as to why I don’t like long-sleeves-and-shorts. Hmm, maybe it's just me.
I’ll be sure to wear long sleeves and shorts then, just to annoy you. ;-)
I’d say shorts are definitely acceptable for our work environment. I haven’t worn them, as a habit, just because in prior summers the air conditioning has been cranked so high that I would freeze if I didn’t have leg-insulation. But the air conditioning doesn’t seem to be nearly as cold this year (yet), so I may give it another try.
Annoy him even more: wear two shirts :)
I work outside in summer, and I have no choice. I have to wear shorts, and a s/s polo shirt. That’s our company’s uniform.
I am a network engineer and rarley see customers, I wear shorts every day it is over 50. And today I am wearing a long sleeve shirt too. In other jobs where I’d have to go to customer sites though, a suit was usually required, which sucked!