.Before you read

Replace the words in bold in the article with the words in bold below. Then go to: These-men-in-skirts-and-dresses-protested-workplace-dress-codes-lo-and-behold-th.html , read the whole article and check your answers.

 

relax                  adhering           went viral        beat

reveal               authorized                     envision

It’s been the hottest June in 40 years in Europe. To 1. fight  the heat–and as a protest against dress codes that don’t apparently 2. imagine men wearing shorts–European men and boys have been wearing skirts and dresses to work and school.

All of this has resulted in three surprises: First that people cared, second that the stories 3. spread quickly on the internet–and finally, perhaps most surprising, that the protests have largely worked.

Here are several recent cases in which hairy-legged fashion statements led to the right to 4. expose  their knees at work.

The first of the protests that made news on this side of the Atlantic came last week at a school in Exeter, England, where British boys wore their female classmates’ school-5. approved skirts. As in the other protests, it was over the fact that boys weren’t allowed to wear shorts to school despite 86-degree weather. (…)

“Quite refreshing” was how one of the boys described the experience, pointing out that if even Royal Ascot had allowed racegoers in the royal enclosure to remove their jackets, then the school ought to 6. moderate its dress code. (..)

Another protest was a one-man show, staged by Twitter user and call center (sorry, centre) employee Joey Barge, who asked not-so-hypothetically on Twitter what would happen if he were to wear “smart shorts” to work, given that “women can wear skirts/dresses at work.”

I say not-so-hypothetically, because Barge was already wearing the shorts while driving to work in a photo he posted to Twitter. The answer came later the same day, in the form of another Tweet, after he’d been sent home for not 7. sticking to the office dress code.

 

 

 

Glossary

 

 

Practice Makes Perfect

Read the article (The-manager-in-red-sneakers) and decide if the setences below are True or False?

             

1. According to recent research people who wear unusual outfits in professional situations are thought of as less competent.

2. Some chief executives emanate confidence in spite of wearing unconventional clothes.

3. It’s also been noticed that less accomplished academics would dress down when attending conferences.

4. The observation that people who don’t conform to social expectations are perceived highly seems contrary to common-sense expectation.

5. A man wearing a red bowtie (on purpose) to a formal black-tie party at his golf club would be considered a more superior player than others.

6. Unless you follow a different direction than majority of people, you’ d appreciate a nonconformer quicker.

 

 

Key: 1.F; 2T; 3F; 4T; 5T; 6F

 

Discuss:

 

• What do you think of the Men in Skirts protests?
• Is there a dress code in your company?
• Have you ever been sent home for not adhering to you company’s dress code?
• Was there a dress code in the school you attended?
• Are school dress codes fair/sexist?

 

Explore it more to create your own teaching-learning experience!

 

A tailored history of who wears what and why

From puffy trousers to pantsuits and everything in between, law professor and author Richard Thompson Ford takes us on a fascinating tour through the history of fashion and the evolution of dress codes that still influence style today, tracing the real consequences people face for the way they dress. He offers an insightful and eye-opening explanation about why people care so much about what others wear — and explains why you should think twice before calling the fashion police.

 

Watch: 

 

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