Work appropriate?

 Has anyone else noticed that dress in the workplace has gotten more casual lately?  I work at a high school and I’ve seen plenty of staff wearing leggings, really short skirts or dresses or even just a shirt for a dress and even crop tops. Not just on casual Fridays either. I’m not sure when Daisy Dukes became appropriate work attire but I’m sure we’ll be seeing those soon too. 

There is a big movement going on that every body is a bikini body and you should wear what you are comfortable in but should that apply to work too?  I had this conversation with my coworkers this week. One of the things brought up was is it acceptable but only for younger staff members?  I should note that this it isn’t just younger staff members wearing questionable attire. 

For an experiment, I decided that I was going to wear a crop top to work. This is significant for a number of reasons.  Even a year ago I would not have worn a crop top EVER.  Slowly, I started to wear one at home, then for a walk around the neighborhood and eventually for short trips out. I still am nowhere near comfortable in one. So all day at work was going to be a serious challenge.  In all fairness, I wore a zippered up hoodie over it but it was unzipped for a small amount of time. 

I may be old fashioned but I still feel that work place attire should be different than clothing that you would wear hanging out at home or to a club. I know that times are changing but I still want to feel professional at work and as a result I will continue to have separate wardrobes. I’m just not ready to wear a bikini to work.