It's the latest trend in fall fashion: Workers and students who dress down or show too much skin are being told to button up.

　　Tired of staff members they see as pushing the limits of professionalism and good taste, a growing number of employers are issuing lengthy dress codes, some with photos to illustrate the do's and don'ts. More schools also are getting stricter about student attire.

　　MJ Dean, who's starting his senior year at the private Cape Cod Academy in Osterville, Massachusetts, discovered new rules at his school when he received the updated student handbook this summer. Among the new guidelines: no pants with side pockets, including popular cargo pants, or T-shirts with writing on them - and no tight or excessively loose clothing.

　　"This very strict new dress code is, quite honestly, ridiculous," says the 17-year-old student body vice president. "You can't really represent yourself the way you'd like."

　　Many employees feel they too should have the right to dress as they wish.

　　Joe D'Adamo, associate creative director at Chicago ad agency LKH&S, usually wears jeans, a T-shirt and sneakers to work, and dresses up when he sees clients. He says a specific dress code would be "irritating."

　　Effective this week, Target Corp has a new, 20-page dress code for employees at its Minneapolis headquarters.

　　Men must now wear a sport coat or tie if they leave their usual work area. Women are required to wear a jacket over any sleeveless blouse; sweater sets are among the other options.

　　The staff at G.S. Schwartz & Co, a New York investor and public relations firm, received a recent e-mail memo asking them to bump up their apparel choices "at least one more notch."

　　The memo read: "We would prefer that properly fitting sweaters be worn with a collared shirt underneath. Certainly, khakis should be neat and clean. Shaving regularly also is a good idea."

　　Business owners in the service industry say customer complaints are driving them to put tougher dress codes in place.

　　That was the case for Erika Mangrum, owner of the Iatria Spa and Health Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. She recalls sending one employee home to change after she came to work wearing a cropped Playboy T-shirt that showed her stomach and a navel ring.

　　"This is really tough stuff," says Mangrum, who understands how frustrating dress codes can be for employees. Mangrum herself once got in trouble, more than a decade ago, for not wearing panty hose when she worked at a major telecommunications firm.

　　(The Associated Press)

　　编辑：趴趴