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AAAAA said:

Expressing yourself falls into the social catagory, not school or work. Especially not work, as an employee you are representing the company you work for.

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Perhaps it is different growing up and working (and now living and working) in two major cities-- New York and Philadelphia.. I don't know... I have never heard of the things you are speaking about in terms of dress code at work.

I am a therapist, and I go to work everyday expressing myself right down to how I wear my eye makeup. I stick to the dress code, which is fairly loose (no jeans except on Fridays, obviously no promiscuous/offensive clothing).

I have one tattoo (a vine of flowers going around my wrist) and I have NEVER covered it for an interview. It has never been a problem. I used to have my nose pierced, and that was not a problem either. In fact, my former supervisor said that my self-expression in terms of dress could foster conversation amongst clients about their own ways of expressing themselves-- and it did.

Before I got into doing therapy, I taught private music lessons to kids at a music store. The teachers were allowed to wear whatever we wanted.

You wrote, "in the working world SOMEONE ELSE will tell you how to dress and wear your hair."

Aside from what I see an an obvious and necessary dress code to keep from people taking things to far (in terms of sloppiness, offensiveness, whatever), NO ONE will EVER tell me what to wear or how to wear my hair.

Getting dressed is something you have to do everyday. I see it as a form of art. I love being the one at work known for having the hot pink wedges, the gold flats, or the funky accessories.

Expressing yourself fall into EVERY category, in my opinion. It is ONE PART of you, and it is not to say that because someone dresses a certain way, that is a representation of the whole person. Yes, I'm known at work and school for being the only nut would carry a big purple purse and actually have the boots to match, lol... but I'm also known as being creative, a good student, and a good therapist.

People have always said that the way I dress matches my personality and that there are certain things I can "pull off" that other people can't. I like that. If anyone ever told me how to dress (being that I dress expressively, yet always appropriate for the situation), or how to wear my hair, I would literally laugh in their face. Luckily, I have never encountered that before. I would sooner quit a job before wearing a uniform. That is how strong my views on physical self expression are.