Cabbie Code
Somehow it never occurred to me that taxi drivers would have a dress code to follow. It seems like a pretty independent business, without a lot of rules to follow – cabbies decide what passengers they’ll take, the routes they’ll take, what music they’ll play, and (it generally seems) what speed they’ll drive.
So, I was surprised to see that today the taxi cab dress code is getting an overhaul.
Though, to be fair, it is the sort of dress code you’d expect from such an independent organization – the code is really only suggestions and reminders of what is appropriate to wear.
- Professional attire (with no hints as to what that might be…)
- No “short shorts” (is this really rampant problem among cab drivers?!)
- No open-toed shoes (you’d really have to try to see what shoes your driver was wearing from the back seat…)
But, all those folks who’ve complained to the Taxi and Limousine Commission about their driver’s dress can rest assured that they’ve been heard…
If only this many people would call their Representatives about something important!!
TSA Fashion Show
What will you wear to the airport?
- shear panties like Furrygirl?
- go commando in a skirt?
- pasties under your blouse (for a bonus body scan show)?
- a bikini like this gal?
Vodpod videos no longer available.
- or a speedo like this guy?
CODE BREAKERS: Furrygirl
Hats off (…and coats, shirts, pants, and shoes!) to Furrygirl! Earlier this week the “pornographer, sex worker, and sex blogger” took TSA very seriously and did her part to make sure she was thoroughly scanned before entering the airport by removing all of her clothing save her shear panties and bustier!
The best part of the video is at the beginning… the rest is mainly the camera being sent through the scanner and then carried around in by various TSA employees… but it is nice to know that even if you strip-down to your see-through underwear at airport security, you can still make it through in under 12 minutes!
…and the video probably is NSFW, but that all depends on where you work…
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Go to Furrygirl’s blog with more on the event…
CODE BREAKERS: Bernard Berrian
You have to respect someone who takes the time to express their individual style and doesn’t let it get in the way of their work.
Isn’t that usually the main issue (some) people have with stylish, good-looking people – assuming that inordinate effort is being taken to make them look so good, effort that could go towards the common good of society! (In reality, truly self-indulgent activity doesn’t do much for one’s physic… tv watching, pigging out on junk foods…)
So, it’s always nice to see the perfect mix of individual style choices and performance without any chance of accusations that one is getting in the way of the other!
Bernard Berrian, receiver for The Vikings, wore yellow cleats in a game rather than the approved black or purple shoes. …please… I mean, what’s the big deal! Yellow even matches his uniform!!
Plus, The Vikings won, with more than a little help from Berrian.
But whatever. He still has to pay the $5,000.00 fine. (Granted, for a football player that’s not much…)
The Daily Show’s Moment of Zen – John McCain Questions Homosexual Conduct & Clothing
In case you missed this clip from The Daily Show on Monday…
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Spirit Week ‘Gender Bender Day’ Violates School Dress Code?
…we all remember Spirit Week in high school… the week when anything goes and anything can be worn (or not worn)!
Or at least I thought that was the understanding… and obviously students at Seventy-First High School in Fayetteville, North Carolina thought the same.
But this year, one student pushed ‘Gender Bender Day’ too far, (at least in the eyes of the administration). Arryn Tyler, an openly lesbian student who normally wears typically “male” clothing, decided to participate in ‘Gender Bender Day’ by wearing feminine clothing. (Putting some real creativity, cultural insight, and humor into what would normally be just another lame Spirit Week day!)
…of course the administration didn’t appreciate her clothing “commentary” as much as we do. The Principal, Vanessa Alford, called an assembly and asked all the boys to go home and change because their girlish get-ups weren’t appropriate. Arryn got up to leave as well, since she was, of course, dressed like the boys were for ‘Gender Bender Day’…
As Arryn Tyler put it, “Technically, I’m wearing what they’re wearing today.”
As Arryn was leaving the auditorium, a male school administrator asked why she would even bother with ‘Gender Bender Day’. Naturally, as any self-respecting person would do, she swore at him. (Admittedly, not the least confrontational thing you can do in high school, but you have to stand up for yourself, right!?)
Swearing got her restrained and then arrested by a Sheriff’s Deputy, and charged with assault of a government official (even though she was the one taken to the hospital in an ambulance…)
While the real issue here is the homophobic comment made by a high school administrator, the school and Sheriff’s Department seem to want to bring the focus back on the student’s “inappropriate” clothing choice! (In a weird twist of ‘she’s-asking-for-it-by-wearing-that-outfit’.)
Even though Arryn consulted the school’s dress code before going to school that day, a Sheriff’s Department spokeswomen wanted to add that “she wasn’t covered well.”
…seems to me like someone else is trying to cover their ass…
Too Hot To Teach
There’s a new study from the Chronicle of Higher Education that shows that good-looking professors are less well-respected by their peers, the thought being that perhaps they were hired for their body – rather than their body of work…
“The feeling among professors was that if you looked like you spent too much time in the beauty parlour and not enough in the library, it was a problem,” says Chronicle senior writer Robin Wilson, who’s been covering faculty culture for 25 years. “It’s almost better to be a little crusty-looking so people will trust you and give you more respect.”
This is twice the problem for women.
“Men didn’t say it caused any trouble per se with their peers; they were just really embarrassed by it,” says Wilson. “But attractive women in science felt like their male colleagues took them less seriously because of (the chatter), and treated them like bimbos at conferences. They had to take extra measures to look serious.”
Due to our societies’ preconceived idea about gender roles and lookism… I doubt many people would be concerned that an attractive male professor was “spending too much time in a beauty parlor,” or for that matter, that he was spending any time at all at the parlor! But an attractive female professor would certainly have the worst of both worlds. She would indirectly be expected to both look attractive in socially acceptable ways, and at the same time couldn’t look too attractive.
So, it’s pretty amusing that they choose an attractive male professor to profile with the article. …once again academia is reinforced as a “masculine career.”
They Need Those Stinking Badges.
This sounds a little too crazy to be true… but the Milwaukee County Sheriff, David A. Clarke, got a 5-cornered star tattoo and then decided that the county’s Sheriff Office logo featuring a 7-cornered star had to go – replacing it with the 5-cornered star seen below…
Obviously, changing the logos on all of the vehicles, print materials, and uniforms was cheaper and more convenient that getting the tattoo altered. Right?
In all seriousness, it will cost Milwaukee taxpayers $37,000.00 just to replace all of the badges!
Vanity Sizing for Men
A little background before we jump in: I’m a costume designer and I spend a lot of time measuring men’s waists and inseams and then attempting to buy them pants that fit the way I want them to. And so, I find myself constantly trying to explain the convoluted “rules” to commercial garment sizing to men (especially when they are horrified that their pants-waist measured 35 inches “No, no! You measured that wrong. I’m a 32.”)
Ahh… finally, an article to back me up!
Esquire posted “Are Your Pants Lying To You? An Investigation” on their Style Blog. And in short, if you think that number is a measurement in inches… then, yes. Your pants are indeed lying to you. …or rather, their manufacturer is.
Image from Esquire:
Everyone knows that women’s commercial sizes have been, err…, shall we say…, adjusted for inflation. But for some reason, menswear thought it was exempt. Men now have their own Spanx and pantyhose, so why shouldn’t they have to debate whether they’re actually a 34 or a 38 at Old Navy just like everyone else.
No Shoes, No Shirt, …No Golfing?
In some circles, a man taking off his shirt during a sports game marks the height of really getting into the game. But not in Saskatoon, Canada! (and maybe not ever in golf…) But in either case, a shirtless golfer prompted a dress code to be written for the local course.
“I think it’s just a matter of being courteous to people. There’s appropriate clothes to wear for all seasons. . . . Right now, because we don’t have a dress code, staff can’t do anything about it,” said City Council Member Bev Dubois.
I’ve never felt personally affronted by how some one else adorns their body. (After all, they’re not dressing me.) But while we’re making laws that forced people to be ‘courteous’ to each other, I have a few that offend me more than shirt-wearing:
- holding the door for the person right behind you
- washing hands after sneezing and covering coughs
- letting someone know if you’re running late
…to name a few…
Dress Codes 