Yes, dress codes in companies are important for several reasons. However, when making simple alterations, does it really matter?

For example, folding up your sleeves or cuffing your pants, will this be allowed or cause reprimanding?

Let’s read a story about how an employee got away with the company’s policy on dress code.

Boss didn’t follow his own dress code

I worked for a popular fast food company.

I won’t say the name, but it can be recognized by the sound of a single “Bong!” in its jingle.

Anyway, we are required to wear company brand shirts, and must display the company logo on our bodies somewhere.

Meet the boss.

Enter morning shift boss.

I almost never see anybody from morning shift as I’m either evening or closing.

But due to lay-offs, we needed a closing manger. He is incredibly nitpicky and hypocritical, and only invokes the rules when it’s convenient for him.

The boss said that OP was in violation of the dress code.

Anyway, my attire that never got any write-ups or talks was a company shirt, company hat, an apron, and jeans.

MS boss walks up to me, and talks to me about the dress code and my “violations”.

Apparently, the rim of the shirt was too low and my apron wasn’t allowed to have pockets. But the thing that really set him off was my jeans.

He said I can’t have them cuffed, and I either have to cut them to size, or get new jeans that fit.

OP tried to reason out but to no avail.

I tried to explain to him that I have very wide hips, and jeans of my waist size are usually meant for big and TALL people, and I couldn’t find any jeans anywhere that had my leg length.

He said, “Just cut them then.”

The boss wanted everyone to sign a policy for employee dress code.

Later that week, he made everyone sign a pamphlet that basically says, “I understand the dress code, and will follow it or face repercussions.”

Fortunately, this pamphlet had the company dress code written in the text.

Everyone else just signed their name and moved on, but I took the pamphlet into the back office, and took the time to read the WHOLE thing.

OP took the time to read the policy before signing.

My boss came in, and wondered why I wasn’t working.

I told him, “My father told me to never sign things without reading the terms first.”

“Just sign it,” he replied.

“I will. I just want to know what I’m signing my soul over for first is all.”

I’m guessing he thought what I said was funny, as he chuckled and walked away.

She made sure first that what she was wearing was not in violation.

But then I saw it, my saving grace, “Only dark blue denim, black jeans, or black pants, solid in color, are approved to wear as your [Company] uniform. Pants and jeans should not touch the ground, have holes, fading, embellishments, or light washes”

That’s everything the dress code said about jeans. It didn’t say that I wasn’t allowed to cuff them.

AND it did say that I HAVE to wear a company apron, too (which dont have pockets), but never said anything about not wearing more than one apron.

Then, she finally signed it.

I proudly signed the pamphlet, saying I fully understand the dress code, and I saw that my boss was the first person to sign it, too.

The next day, I came to work with my jeans cuffed, my company apron on, but I wore it backwards, and my usual apron on regularly, and I did tuck in my shirt as that was the dress code.

A few coworkers wondered why I had two aprons, and still cuffed my jeans.

I just told them, “Everything I’m wearing is to the letter, up to dress code”.

When the boss called her out about the clothes she was wearing, OP responded intelligently.

When my boss finally called me into the office and said I would receive a write up for insubordination and dress code violation, I told him, “Nuh-uh [cheeky finger wag]. Everything I am wearing is up to code.”

“I thought you knew that, you signed it too. I assume you took the time to read the terms of the dress code, too?”

He got the pamphlet out, and started reading the terms, and I could see him looking at my jeans, and back at the pamphlet, then back at me, then my apron, then the paper again.

“Is there anything that violates the dress code?”

“No,” he replied.

She then pointed out that it was the boss who was in violation of the dress code.

“Well, then a write up would be unnecessary then for me, but I would like to point out that the dress code specifically prohibits holes in attire.”

“And I think I see a hole right there on your shirt.”

“And also, it says pants cannot touch the floor, and your pants is down by your heels, sir. I can see some dirt and a stray piece of lettuce on the rim of your pant leg.”

He looked and saw, then he shimmied his pants higher, up to his belly button.

She had the wittiest response, too.

“You know, if they’re too long, you can just cuff them,” and then I promptly left.

Felt pretty proud of myself for that. My boss never came to me about dress code after that.

Let’s read the comments of other Reddit users on this story.

Here’s a smart from someone taking up law.

Here’s why you should read first before you sign anything.

Kudos to OP!

This user thinks the boss should have been reprimanded, too.

While this user shares a similar story.

Great job for reading the dress code first before signing it, OP!

If you liked that post, check out this one about an employee that got revenge on HR when they refused to reimburse his travel.