"Female Oxford Street workers purposely adopt 'high street' look in written dress code that scruffiness signals a lack of interest"

From The Daily Mail:

They are some of the hardest working women in the country. But Oxford Street's female shop assistants fear they will not be taken seriously if they don't look feminine, it has been claimed.

They are said to adopt a 'high street' approach to clothes because of a dress code which dictates that scruffiness is a sign of lack of interest in the type of clothes they want their customers to buy. Shenda Collins, an image consultant, heard the comments from Oxford Street employees while running a course there. She said she met "PhD students doing shift and weekend work who are scared about looking in any way unfeminine or unattractive.".

One told her: "If I wear Tesco T-shirts and jeans, then I just won't be taken seriously." Another wanted to know whether a pair of flat boots were 'not enough' for work. A third woman admitted she was 'comfortable' with the idea of wearing a jacket since that would make her 'look like a shop assistant' and easy for customers to recognise.

Mrs Collins told the Times Higher Education magazine that the women were highly intelligent but "did not feel free to choose how they dress". She added: "They are restricted by the dress code their employers have imposed. It is written clearly into their contracts and they hear it loudly."

Mrs Collins is the author of a previous study which revealed that serving soldiers have a tendency to wear green or khaki clothing and heavy boots when on duty and City workers tend to wear suits and ties.