My job has a dress code provision that specifies both male and female employees wear “business shoes.” The term isn’t defined, however, and I was shocked when a supervisor announced a prohibition on toe-baring shoes. I thought I knew the difference between work-appropriate footwear and casual sandals. Who gets to define what a business shoe is, anyway? — Norinne, Manhattan
There are two ways to answer this question: one that looks at the official, legal response and one that takes a more metaphysical approach.
The first is the simplest. According to Susan Scafidi, the founder of the Fashion Law Institute at Fordham University, workplace dress codes are “up to the employers, so long as dress codes comply with the law and neither discrimination nor harassment is involved.”
As to what that means, she went on, “In 2015 the New York City Commission on Human Rights issued guidance indicating that gender differentiation in dress codes constitutes discrimination, making N.Y.C. the first jurisdiction to require gender-neutral dress codes.” Since then, other jurisdictions have followed suit. And therein may lie your problem.
After all, if your employer allowed you to wear open-toe shoes, it would have to allow everyone to wear open-toe shoes, and when it comes to toes, our ideas of what is acceptable tend to vary according to gender.
“Culturally we’re more accepting of women showing a bit of skin, whether cleavage on top or at the toes,” Ms. Scafidi said. “And ‘mandals’ have never read as business attire in the U.S.” Put another way: Your peep-toe pumps may be a casualty of his fisherman sandal.
Depending on the workplace, of course, they may also be a no-no for safety or hygiene reasons.
Those considerations aside, there is still a more abstract issue involved, which is the perennially complicated use of the word “appropriate” in the context of workplace dress codes. It has become the de facto fallback of most professions, and it is virtually meaningless, since as everyone knows, its interpretation is entirely in the context, and culture, of the individual. And every individual is different. (My children and I will forever be on opposite sides of the “Are leggings pants?” divide.)
This is especially true as the lines between in-office wear and out-of-office wear blur in an increasingly casual world.
That’s the annoying news. The good news is that despite open-toe shoes being off the table and “appropriate” being inappropriately vague as a guideline, there are still a lot of options to choose from.
“In my view, a ‘business shoe’ is defined less by strict rules and more by its ability to project polish and professionalism,” said Paul Andrew, the shoe designer behind his own label and Sergio Rossi. “Closed-toe silhouettes — pumps, loafers, oxfords or refined flats — in materials like calfskin or suede are generally office-appropriate. The key is striking a balance between elegance and comfort.”
Ikram Goldman, the owner of a namesake store in Chicago, suggested looking at “square-toe Mary Janes, chunky loafers” and one of the shoes of the moment, “the sling-back kitten heel.” Anna Wintour, Vogue’s global editorial director, has long been a proponent of sling-backs.
Though if exposed toes are not allowed, it’s possible that an exposed heel may also cause you to … well, step in it.
Your Style Questions, Answered
Every week on Open Thread, Vanessa will answer a reader’s fashion-related question, which you can send to her anytime via email or X. Questions are edited and condensed.
Vanessa Friedman has been the fashion director and chief fashion critic for The Times since 2014.
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