“You don’t look like an accountant,” said another schoolyard dad to my husband. The comment wasn’t meant to be cruel or derogatory — my husband has a mohawk that he often wears in a topknot — it was simply a statement of fact from a stranger who, like everyone else, is used to most finance professionals fitting the traditional corporate mould: a suit and tie and a short, neat haircut.

Many of us are guilty of playing into these stereotypes. While the tech and creative industries often get away with a more informal, diversified approach to personal style, other sectors aren’t so liberated. Law, accounting, finance, education and politics come to mind, where I’m sure many a young intern or graduate has removed facial piercings and covered their tattoos to climb the ranks.

But after two years wearing sweatpants and Zoom-appropriate shirts, our attitudes to work and what it takes to be “professional” have changed. The growing remote work movement proves that employees are making their career work for them. Is it time, then, to re-think our approach to rigid office dress codes and image expectations too?

Go your own way

“The notion that professionalism relies on a good suit is such a surreal idea and suggests that professional success can be achieved with a costume,” says Alice Stephenson, founder and CEO of Stephenson Law. “It totally negates the hard work, integrity and knowledge required to really thrive in your field. For me, a professional is someone who dives headfirst into their industry and works hard to advance it, better it and own it.”

Alice doesn’t just speak from the privileged position of being her own boss. She’s worked her way up the ladder and experienced the stigma of non-conformity in the past. “When I first became a lawyer, I stuck out like a sore thumb. I was a tattooed single mother who didn’t fit the mould. And while I tried for a few short years to blend into the crowd, it just made me feel alien in my own skin. So when I founded my own law firm, I was determined to build a business that celebrated self-expression.” Alice certainly walks the talk. A quick look through her firm’s staff profiles reveals a diverse mix of professionals who clearly aren’t trying to fit the stereotype — there are leather jackets and casual tees alongside the more traditional blouses and pencil skirts.

Kay Szawlis is a paralegal with a taste for vibrant hair. She rocks a bright red and orange balayage in her profile shot, but when we speak, it has transitioned to a glorious purple. “I think diversity is an amazing value, and the way we dress is a part of that,” she says. “Very often uniform clothing indicates the expectation of uniform thinking. And I think it is valuable to have different points of view, different opinions and a team that isn’t afraid to voice them.”

Kay discusses her work wardrobe and how it evolved over the pandemic. “My wardrobe was full of black t-shirts and jeans or jeggings. During the lockdowns when working from home, I fully embraced athleisure wear. And currently I live in hoodies and leggings; usually very bright, patterned ones to match my ever-changing hair colour. Don’t get me wrong, I love and appreciate quirky designs and nice clothes, but I just put comfort above other factors now.”

More than just comfort

Comfort obviously plays an important role in our overall happiness and wellbeing at work, but openness to self-expression is about more than just providing physical comfort.

“Clothes, coloured hair, tattoos, piercings — these are all an outside expression of our inner selves. And while it’s nice to be able to have purple hair, as I currently do, it goes beyond that. At Stephenson Law, we are comfortable being our true selves in other aspects too,” Kay explains. “For example, we have staff members who are neurodiverse and openly talk about it. We have discussions about our mental health. We have ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity and people are happy to share their customs and background with the rest of the firm.”

HR consultant, Emily Maxwell, has also seen the benefits of this sort of cultural corporate change, having previously been part of a company that made the shift from not allowing facial piercings, coloured hair or exposed tattoos, to embracing them. In fact, she says it became their point of difference. For HR teams looking to boost employee engagement, morale and retention, liberal dress codes can go a long way.

Of course, as Emily points out, it can be a big change for some companies making the transition. “For some managers it’s a big shift to become more flexible and open to seeing past how someone presents to looking at what they bring to the table.”

Be the change

Kay’s advice to anyone worried they can’t be themselves and find the perfect job is to stay the path. “If you’re worried you may not fit, you might be right and that’s ok. There are plenty companies out there, take your time to find the right fit for you. And that may also change over time, so don’t be afraid to change jobs if you feel that the fit is not right. It took me five tries to find my work ‘home’.”

If you take your cues from Mad Men’s Don Draper and feel like the best version of yourself in formal attire, by all means, suit up. The important thing is to own who you are and dress the way that makes you feel good. But if you are feeling boxed in by rigid dress codes and industry stereotypes at work, maybe it’s time to take a stand. Maybe this is your chance to show your real leadership colours.

As CEO Alice points out, “The corporate world is often dominated by leaders and managers who uphold the idea that to succeed you need to blend in with the crowd. And that tells the next generation of hopefuls that they can’t climb the corporate ladder without sacrificing who they might be. It’s a self-fulfilling cycle that creates beige board rooms and carbon copies at an executive level.”

Her advice? Be the change you want to see. “This is why I believe it’s so important to show up and own who you are in a public way. You’re not just doing it for you, you’re also doing it for those trying, and failing, to blend in.”

Lauren Furey is a freelance writer who loves deep dives into tough topics on all things culture, society and the messiness of humanity.