When I was growing up I had clothing in different categories: church dress, party dress, and house/play dress. Church dress could not be worn to parties and vice versa; each dress had its function, place and time and even the dresses knew what those were. Then I became a teenager and found myself a student at Hillcrest School, a missionary school in Jos, where there was a dress code under which hemlines could be no higher than six inches above the knees. Minis made a comeback sometime in the late eighties while I was there and on one or two occasions, I remember people being sent home to change when after kneeling for a dress code measurement their hemlines were found to be in violation of the regulations. Of course outside of class hours the dress code did not apply, so the spaghetti straps, spandex mini-skirts, cycling shorts, and bra tops came out for evening functions, school dances, house parties, etc.
You might have guessed by now where all of this is headed. This is not a subject that I am too keen on because more times than not only women come under attack when we talk about professional dressing, and it is said that the attack is mostly dished out by fellow women. You may recall that only a few years ago, it was the women in the National Assembly who felt strongly enough about female dressing that they introduced an Indecent Dressing Bill. I am by no means a proponent of legislating dressing in that manner; that is just absurd. I think that outside of parents, headmistresses and the mother superior in a convent no one should be policing what people wear so seriously that jail time is a possibility. I also believe that there is a place for any kind of dressing. Heck, I have had my days as a young twenty-something year old strutting in a micro-mini skirt, steeped in the confidence brought on by compliments to my nice legs. In fact, I suspect that the women in the National Assembly at that time had a few photographs of themselves from the early seventies where their dress, skirt or wrapper hung provocatively above exposed thighs.
Some professions have uniforms, and the legal profession is one of them. Apart from regulated courtroom attire, there is a uniform for lawyers in the sense that there is a standard appearance expected from all members of the profession who want to be recognised as being a part of the profession. Outside the courtroom is where there is a problem. Many lawyers, particularly of the older generation, just stick to basic business (formal or casual) attire – collared shirt and slacks for men, tie, blazer or jacket; and skirt and blouse/shirt or dress for women, usually in muted colours.
There are some people who like to express themselves in their dressing, and the preferred staid look of the legal profession is not their cup of tea. To those people, I say, express yourself through your accessories during the week, and go all out on your own time outside office hours and obligations. If you can’t bear that then maybe the legal profession is not for you. While we, women, may want to argue that what we wear should not be as important as what is in our brain, the truth is that we are dealing with other human beings who are affected by perceptions (and biology!).
Uniforms are in place for our own good, and should you refuse to adhere to the uniform prescribed for your profession, you do so at your own peril. It means that you are willing to assume the consequences of your self-expression, which could be ogling from men, scorn and resentment from other women, and not being taken seriously by both men and women. And the truth is that when you are out of uniform – bosoms spilling out of necklines, skirt so tight blood circulation is compromised, or tottering on stripper heels – you may also feel uncomfortable when you start getting the wrong attention. Why distract from what it is that you are there to offer – your intellect? Keep things simple and classy.
There is a place for peeping rumps and runaway boobs, and trust me, even if you were not paying attention when your grandmother was telling you, a law office is NOT the place to let out your inner wild child!
