Once upon a time, a lady did not leave her house without heels and pantihose, gloves and a hat – just ask your grandmother!

Thankfully, fashion standards have relaxed a lot over the decades and it is a common sight to see cheeky shorts at the mall and not just the beach, or tie dye in the city and not just at festivals.

Even at the office things are a lot more relaxed, particularly if you work in digital or creative industries – a graphic design or social media agency, or tech giant like Facebook, Google, Apple and the like.

And you will find that even more conservative workplaces such as government departments are embracing concepts such as casual Friday.

However, in the interests of good taste AND your career prospects, at Chic Living we have come up with a list of 7 things we think should NEVER be worn in a corporate environment …

Appropriate Office Attire does NOT include:

1 – Thongs: We’re talking about the footwear kind (flip-flops) – what you wear UNDER your clothes is your own affair! Apart from being a tad too far on the casual side, thongs are not likely to meet the health and safety standards of your workplace. If possible wear closed in shoes, not only do they protect your feet from injury, they will give your feet more stability than thongs ever will.

2 – Midriff Baring Tops: No matter how trim, taut and terrific your tum may be, the office is NOT the place to be showing it off.

3 – Strapless, Strappy or Off the Shoulder: Whether it’s a dress or a top, it’s too casual. Besides, most offices are air conditioned, so you’re going to want a bit more coverage over your shoulders no matter what the weather is doing outside.

4 – See Through Anything: The exception might be a blouse, but only IF you are wearing a plain tank/camisole underneath. Being able to see your underwear is not appropriate in a corporate environment.

5 – Yoga Pants: Unless you are working in a yoga studio.

6 – Bikinis and Beach Wear: A good rule of thumb is that if you would wear it to the beach, don’t wear it to the office.

8 – Roller Skates: But we’re sure you knew that already!

The exception would be if you work from home – for example, providing copywriting, ironing, financial planning, or data entry services – then you can pretty much wear whatever you like, unless you have client meetings planned for that day. Track pants and ugg boots anyone?

As society’s style code continues to evolve, you may just find that workplace dressing will relax so much that in decades to come, this list will no longer be needed! Not sure how much work would get done though …