If your VP is wearing shorts to work, you probably would be wasting time mentioning it - and he/she may find it offensive. However, look for articles that speak to the matter - how this may look to your clients and also how some manner of dress does affect productivity. There are many articles out there - just google some.

This really depends on the type of organization in which you are working as well.

If you want to offend the VP and possibly become known as the Dress Code Nazi (we have one of those here) then go for it! Otherwise, I say dress as professionally as you see fit and hope that others follow your example. If they do great! If they don't, that's their choice.
Bottom line there is no way for you to bring this up without a very real chance of it biting you in the bermudas!

Mary - I love your comment. Short and to the point. I agree. Thank you.

Ditto Mary!

Tara, I want to work at your company! Kentucky is boring.

I used to work for an attorney in a small town in Oregon. He always dressed professionally (to him it was casual to go without a vest & tie) because he'd been in corporate law most of his professional life.

But there was another firm that the attorney not only wore shorts to work, he also wore Hawaiian shirts and sandals to the office, most of the year, not just the summer. He didn't realize that his casual image was hurting his business, he was known as the "joke" attorney because of his casual attire.

It took having my attorney point this out to him to begin to see that he needed to change his image. Sometimes a colleague can get a point across that the staff never can. We were being swamped with new cases because people refused to pay the joke for representation.

We had another attorney who wore short-sleeved shirts with a clip-on tie, and usually had cow manure on his boots when he showed up in court. The JUDGE would refuse to hear the case until he presented himself in a professional manner in his courtroom - he finally got the point!

If the VP in charge of the office wears shorts, and you don't have a written dress code, there's not much you can do! No one is "violating the dress code" if you don't have one.

I'd suggest writing up a basic dress code defining what's acceptable (and what isn't). Then also discuss how you're going to enforce the dress code (deciding who's responsible for talking to people if they deviate from what's acceptable). We usually leave that up to the manager of the person.

Decide what the consequences will be if they dress inappropriately -- we try to give them a couple of warnings, and explain what they're doing wrong. If we have people who are "repeat offenders" and if they have been warned previously, we'll send them home to change (and not pay them for the time they're gone from the office!). That sends a strong message. We want to maintain a professional workplace, but some people push the limits about what's appropriate (or they truly don't understand that what they're doing doesn't meet the guidelines). Although we have a "no jeans" guideline, we've had people show up at work wearing black, five-pocket denim jeans (I guess because they're not "blue" they think they don't count as jeans!).

Our military office was authorizing civilian casual clothing on Fridays, however, it was abused by way of shorts and flip flops... grown men not understanding the meaning of casual... our commander reminded them that flip flops and shorts are not business casual... civilian clothing on Fridays has been cutback.... if you feel casual clothing is pushing the "what is appropriate" envelope, maybe a carefully worded suggestion may get your boss thinking...

If management doesn't mind, why do you? You're responsible for your way of dressing--no one else's. All you can do is set an example.

Five Stars for Patty -- I also have worked in an office environment for over 30 years and have been in upper management for 22 of those years. You can dress casual without appearing as if you are on your way to the beach or a cookout.

I find it insulting for a woman to wear tops so low that the men feel uncomfortable when they are sitting down and try look up at her and all they see are breasts showing. What happened to the modesty in our culture? There is a place for low cut tops and the office is definitely not it.

Very funny what my friend replied me when I mentioned your advice to her. She said that the job she wants is to be an astronaut, but she is an attorney, so can she dress like the job she wants? :)

I think Mary said it best. Let it go and wear what you feel is appropriate. I agree that when working with clients sales reps should be dressing professionally. However the bar is being changed because of the culture shift in Corporate America. I've worked for companies that have no dress code and I've worked for companies that do have dress codes. It comes down to what your company culture is. What you may see as a problem may not be a problem to someone else.

The differing opinions here on dress code are evidence of that but one thing most of us would agree is that if you do decide to take action and speak to the VP there will be consequences good or bad. Then you have to ask yourself given the current economic environment am I able to move on to another position if this doesn't turn out favorably? If not, is the way the VP and the rest of the staff dressing so offensive that I can't stand to work in this environment? Some times the best way to make a change is by doing nothing at all. Continue dressing professionally. More than anything you may find yourself moving into a promotion because you are dressed professionally while everyone else is wearing their Saturday best. Or you may be the stand out and the VP and other staff may ask you why you choose to dress professionally when everyone else is so casual. Then you can make your opinion known in a non-judgemental manner about professional dress in the work place.

I agree with Mary, dress as you feel is appropriate for you. That being said, there certainly are times when coworkers dress so unprofessionally as to be offensive. Can one be casual and trendy without looking trashy or slovenly? It's not so much a matter of antiquated ideals as having a sense of propriety that corresponds to your environment and being aware of your audience. I was taught that the way you dress shows your respect for others as well as your individuality. But then, I still say please, thank you and excuse me...

Is this something you can discuss carefully and confidentially with HR rather than directly with the VP?

The best advice I have seen in these messages is to watch your step, you do NOT want to find yourself looking for a new position right now.

I'm with Ruth. The boss is the boss, and if he wants to wear shorts in the summer, it's his issue, not yours. Our old-line public agency has casual Friday. Most of us wear nice jeans and comfortable (not revealing) tops as we deal with the public, and our public dresses a lot more casually than we do. Dress as you would like to be perceived by others higher on the food chain; if it's really hot, city shorts and a sleveless top, covered with a short-selved jacket and nice sandals. You'll look great!

Honestly, dress codes are simply outdated. The fact that men still have to wear ties with their suits while women can wear button-downs with 2-3 buttons unbuttoned is simply ridiculous and unfair. True, it's tradition, but if one group of people don't have to wear ties, the other shouldn't have to either. The sex of the person should not matter.

I also get mad that women may sandals to work, but when a man tries to get away with it, he is told to cover up his feet.

That's why casual attire in the workplace is simply the fairest way to make everyone on an equal playing field.