How messy is TOO messy of an office? I’ve worked with all sorts of people when it comes to this. There are the people with the super-bare office — completely clean desks with perhaps one photo on it. I’ve worked with folks where it was so messy that it seemed like they could film an episode of Hoarders in there. And I’ve worked with people where it was “controlled chaos” — one of my bosses memorably kept about 10 tall piles of manilla folders on her desk at all times and would have to go through each pile to find what she needed. Personally, I’ve always been on the messier side of the spectrum, but with the caveat that I can almost always find what I need in under ten minutes.

I suppose I’ve assumed something about each of these coworkers — it is, after all, a bit of a window into how the mind works. I always imagine the bare-office people sitting there grinding their teeth at the slightest noise outside their office that interrupts their concentration — the kind of people who, if their daily schedule gets off by five minutes, their day is irreparably ruined. On the converse, I’ve imagined the truly messy office people (the “how did they get that pile of papers so high?” people) always think a clean office is a good idea in theory… when they get around to it, right after they finish that novel and those other 3 ambitious projects that they never quite seem to start.  That said, for my $.02, the only people I viewed as “less professional” because of their office space had to do more with decor (a big sports-related beanbag chair, an overly pink, matchy-matchy desk set) and less to do with “mess.”

But as a junior employee, are you better advised to keep your office space orderly and neat — even if clients and superiors don’t visit your office frequently? When does a messy office cross the line?

Readers, what do your offices look like?  What do you wish they looked like? What assumptions do you make about other people based on their office space?

What nail polish colors are acceptable in a conservative office? It has been ages since we visited this subject, so I thought we should revisit. For my $.02, I really think your fingernails should be limited to the pinks and beiges… possibly entering the reds and purples family. If I were in a daring mood, I might try to get away with the “it” color of the season (which I believe, this season, is Chanel’s silvery-gray Graphite) — but I suspect any other color really is going to cause people to notice your fashion sense, and probably not in a good way. (Pictured: Colorful argyle nails, originally uploaded to Flickr by borispumps.)

But that’s just my $.02 — readers, let’s hear what you think…

Shorts suits (or: a suit with shorts) — can it be done in a professional way? I noticed that commenters were talking about this yesterday, and it also came up in the Facebook chat I did with Lucky, and then again on the Corporette Facebook page — so I thought we should talk about it more in the main body of the blog.

For those of you who didn’t see, the Wall Street Journal ran an article on the shorts suit over the weekend, recommending them as “summer’s most versatile combo,” going “from office to party without a hitch.”  Um… okay.  So far most of the comments I’ve seen on the blog are dead set against this, and for my $.02 I would agree — if I were, say, Lindsay Lohan going to court, or perhaps some other young starlet going to a charity luncheon, then I would totally invest in short suits.  (Like, totally.)  But for the office?  Where I’m trying to convey respect, and avoid having people think “WTF was she thinking when she got dressed today?”?  Um, no.  Oh, and incidentally, the shorts suit is not new:  Julia Roberts’s character wore one in Pretty Woman.  See, so professional working girls do wear them.

But these are just a few voices out of the many who read this blog, so let’s take a poll:

So I have been seeing the peep-toe bootie every.where this season, usually styled with skirts or cropped pants.  And I always think the same thing — “Cute!  But definitely in that ‘I’m-so-hip-I-don’t-need-to-wear-flattering-clothes way.’”  You know, like harem pants and those huuuge 80s-ish glasses that some kids wear.  The peep-toe bootie trend also strikes me as completely inappropriate for the conservative office, at least when worn with skirts.  (Pictured:  Sam Edelman ‘Wakefield’ Wedge Bootie, available at Nordstrom for $199.95.)

But then I started wondering — is my gut reaction shared by others? After all, peep toes have come a long way, baby…

Readers, what are your thoughts? Which newish trends will you be trying at the office this year?

Today’s reader mail comes with a ton more of questions about interviewing…

I’m a 3L and have an interview next week with a panel of district court judges for a judicial clerkship. I have a few questions with regards to my upcoming interview:

1.) I (and the interview) are in the Midwest, so it’s cold and snowy outside. I am planning on wearing a black skirt suit and am wondering if it’s appropriate to wear black tights with my suit? Or would pantyhose (off-black) be more professional?

2.) What do I do about a coat? Is it ok to wear a wool coat over my suit? I’m not sure if there will be anywhere to hang it or leave it once I get to the courthouse. Or should I just leave it in the car and just suck it up during the walk to the courthouse from my car?

3.) What about a purse? All I’m planning on bringing with me are copies of my resume, writing sample, etc. so I don’t necessarily need a large bag, but I don’t know if it’s unprofessional to bring my purse and carry the paperwork in a leather portfolio.

Good luck on the interview!  We’ll go through all of your questions…

First, on tights — this keeps coming up, and so we’re going to run some polls today.  Our default answer, previously, was that off-black pantyhose should be worn with a dark skirt suit.  However, readers in the past have disagreed with us, saying nude/sheer is more appropriate (check out their suggestions for the best brands in the comments here). We’ve also heard of folks who hate tights with a suit (which we also disagree with — tights, to us, are fine for any day when you’re NOT interviewing or something similar).   So, without further ado:

In terms of the wool coat — it always pains us to see women wearing ski jackets or other short jackets over a suit. Maybe we’re old school, but a nice wool or cashmere overcoat — long enough to cover your thighs — will never go out of fashion. And of course you can wear it on top of your suit. For your interview, we would absolutely recommend wearing a coat — your common sense and judgment is a valid subject on the table, and if it’s cold out, common sense dictates you should wear a coat. You’re probably going to have to take the coat off to get through security, though, so we would just carry it, folded neatly, from that point forward. (Furthermore, there’s no real excuse for not having a proper wool coat right now, as tons of places have them on deep discount. Pictured above: Larry Levine Wool Coat with Camel Hair, part of the crazy sale that’s going on at Smart Bargains for today only. Was $279, now marked to $119, with an additional 40% off at checkout — comes to $71.)

Finally, as for the purse/portfolio issue — we’ve seen women do it both ways, and have never thought less of someone we interviewed because she carried a portfolio. (That’s what most of the guys do, isn’t it?) Personally we’re fans of carrying a nylon or leather tote bag, though, to hold both the portfolio or folder as well as the contents of our purse. We would suggest, however, that whatever you carry should be as professional and grown-up as possible — so leave the backpack with reflectors on it at home.

Readers, what say you?

Reader L wrote in to us with an interesting idea for a poll — how far in advance do you plan your outfits? This is particularly interesting given that we don’t think our personal system has been working. Long ago, in our early 20s, we decided to let the “mood” of the morning decide what to wear each day — it seemed true! and right! and a lot of other things that now sound somewhat naive and overemotional. Whatever the basis for the decision, though, the practical effect of each morning is that, oh drat, we’re-running-late-yet-AGAIN and quick-just-grab-the-suit-or-dress-and-jacket and run out the door. (This seems particularly sad given that, you know, we write a fashion blog.) So we’re rethinking. Photo credit: Closet, originally uploaded to Flickr by Becaberry.

Readers, how far in advance do you plan your wardrobe? We’ve tried to hit broad strokes in the poll, but please tell us in comments why you’ve taken that particular plan of attack. Obvious things factor into the decision — the weather, what’s clean, what fits — but what else?

We’ve been curious about this for a while — ever since we advised that a collared shirt should always stay IN if you’re wearing a suit, and numerous readers wrote to say that they had always been advised (by various career counselors) to wear their collars out. So we thought we’d take a poll.

For our $.02 — which purely comes from observation, as we have never heard a “rule” on it — a tucked-in collar looks better with a suit. More fashionable women tend to do it (Angelina, Madonna) when wearing a suit; and it gives them a neat, sharp look. It also puts the emphasis in the desired place, as our eyes are drawn to their face, not their clavicle or shoulders. We suppose it’s possible that there are greater rules here that we’re not aware of, for example dealing with fabric (cotton goes in, silk goes out) or the type of collar or lapel. Perhaps it’s a regional rule — e.g., in DC, collars go out with suits; in Hollywood, collars go in with suits. Either way, we thought we’d start a dialog…

Readers, what say you? Please comment, particularly if you choose #3…

A while back, someone commented that instead of nude hose they wore nude fishnets in the summer. This piqued our curiosity — we used to do this also, back in the days after college, but not in a long while — we stopped because it felt inappropriate. So we thought we’d take a poll… (Photo credit: Fishnets, originally uploaded to Flickr by candinski.)

For our $.02, fishnet tights are generally inappropriate for the office environment. Let’s face it, they conjure up images of dancers (both professional and otherwise) and hookers — and that association is a little too much for bosses of either sex. Besides, the goal of a working wardrobe should be to avoid what we’ll call “the second look” — you don’t want any of your coworkers to look at you once casually in the hallway and then be forced to look a second time in order to answer the question, “Were my eyes deceiving me or is she really wearing that?” Even if they answer the question with a blase “ok, well, I guess that’s acceptable,” the second look in and of itself is something to be avoided. We would argue, though, that fishnet trouser socks could be appropriate as long as they’re in a neutral color. (Our reasoning here is that only perverts are staring at your ankles; otherwise, what you wear there is unlikely to elicit the dreaded second look.)

What are your thoughts, readers?

Last week, we were surprised to see comments saying that a t-shirt is not appropriate to be worn beneath a suit, and we thought, a) perhaps we’re talking about different things, or b) perhaps we’re terribly wrong. So we thought we’d explore.

For our $.02: Agreed, agreed, you can’t wear a Yeah Yeah Yeahs concert shirt beneath a suit, nor can you wear the kind of v-neck from the Gap that you would paint a garage in. And of course, a silk or cashmere sweater or button-down shirt is preferable. But, we would say that a “dressy” cotton t-shirt like the ones we linked to that day, or very classic tees in a thick cotton or machine-washable fabric (e.g., a crewneck without a ribbed neckline), are totally acceptable to wear beneath a suit, particularly in a solid color like white. Our reasoning here is that we’ve just never studied another woman’s clothing that closely beneath her suit. Is it too tight? Too sheer? Too old-school rayon shell-like? If it isn’t any of those things and the suit looks good, the top generally fades into the background. It’s there to provide the woman with an option to take off her jacket if she needs to, but — as we’ve said before — we generally think you should keep the jacket on if you’re roaming the halls or going to meetings. In addition to being acceptable, there’s a benefit — if it’s machine-washable, it makes a working woman’s life that much easier.

Above: Women: Satin-trim tee – Canary yellow, available at Banana Republic for $39 (which we’d wash on the delicate cycle)	Above: Three-Quarter Scoop Neck Knit, available at Brooks Brothers for $79	Above: Silk Trim U-Neck, available at Ann Taylor on sale for $30.80

But enough of our two cents — what do you guys think?

Some have raised doubts about our TPS reports that feature a silk dress. We think the concerns come from the fact that some cheaper silks can be almost sheer — they can show VPLs; they show sweat like nobody’s business; they wrinkle easily; there are static electricity problems if you’re wearing hose. (To which we say: avoid the cheapest silk — avoid buying clothes at stores that target teenagers and others who like disposable fashion (H&M, Forever 21, etc, etc).)  Even then, a lot of these problems can be solved with a slip and properly-fitting undergarments.  Picture at left:  silks, originally uploaded to Flickr by larry&flo.

But that’s just our $.02 — what do you think, guys?

Check out some silk dresses, below…

silk dresses with sleeves