The Swiss bank UBS has issued a new dress code for its employees. The document is 43 pages long and goes into exhaustive detail about how bank workers should present themselves to the public, including underwear colors and makeup application:
Link via Lowering the Bar | Photo via Flickr user twicepix used under Creative Commons license
The regulations designate a 1.5 millimeter maximum fingernail length for men, suggests that female bankers wear makeup and put on perfume directly after showering and not after lunch, advocates that shoes be changed daily to bring greater levels of “peace and serenity,” and mandates employee underwear that is skin-toned and “always made of superior quality textiles.”[...]
Men should don footgear with a shoehorn; women should not wear new shoes. Suits must not only be charcoal grey, black, or dark blue, but dress coats must always be buttoned when employees stand, and open when sitting. Skirts must reach the middle of the knee with a tolerance for extending 5 centimeters below the joint.
Stockings that are "opaque" are out. Socks? Always black. Women may wear no more than seven jewels, men three. Scarves are compulsory, and to be tied with “authorized knots.”
Link via Lowering the Bar | Photo via Flickr user twicepix used under Creative Commons license
So I went to the bookstore and found a book that gave me a series of rules to follow for selecting, wearing, and caring for my clothes. This appealed to my engineering mindset -- follow the formula.
It worked extremely well. Since I walked to work, it also made me extremely popular with the shoe repair shop, but that's another story. Worn-in leather soled shoes can be extremely comfortable and still look great.
So my reaction to this article has been "oh cool, they're Swiss, they're wanting to project an image of cool competence, and they've created a rulebook for how to do it! Where do I get it?"
Unfortunately, I've only been able to find the dresscode_f.pdf version of the file, not the dresscode_m.pdf.
I like the fact that the teller at my bank wears funky costume jewelry and does her hair and makeup like a 70s Bollywood star. I'd be really put off by a cold, regimented, corporate ambiance. I like to see more personality.
Where can I find the pdf of the male version of this? the "F" version is linked from LeTemps and other places, but the "H" version eludes my searching skills.
This is about a million lawsuits waiting to happen. How do they expect to have any workers? It's a like a mini North Korea.