Forgive me, but museum work has now become very service oriented, and
whatever the customer says goes.  If you are at the front desk, people
coming to the museum certainly want to see a well groomed, bright eyed
person, not someone with chains hanging from their ears.  Of course I
exaggerate, but you know, each museum reflects a particular culture; an
art museum would probably have more leeway than a history museum or a
special collection library.  In the curatorial dept. here our designer
wears silver earrings designed by his girlfriend; they don't offend me
nor the director; but the designer isn't necessarily at the front desk
anyway, so down here in the "back office" areas it goes virtually
uncommented.

As the rest of us have pointed out, use common sense, test your audience,
and see what you can do for them or what you shouldn't be doing.  In the
end, we all want to offer a friendly atmosphere, and we want to be
comfortable doing our jobs; when I give a speech I wear a suit.  When I
accept artifacts at the loading dock  I wear jeans, go figure.

O
Olivia S. Anastasiadis, Curator
Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace
18001 Yorba Linda Boulevard
Yorba Linda, CA  92886
(714) 993-5075 ext. 224; fax (714) 528-0544; e-mail:  [log in to unmask]

On Wed, 26 May 1999 13:35:54 -0700 Suzanne Schroeder
<[log in to unmask]> writes:
>This is so frustrating, reading the posts about dress codes.   I work
>in a fairly formal setting in a rare books library, and always dress
>"appropriately", meaning a skirt, nice shoes, etc.   However, I also
>have piercings (none facial).   I would NEVER take a museum job that
>dictated the number of earrings that can be worn.   I am  not talking
>about living history settings.   Museum pay is low enough, without
>having such an absurd standard imposed.   If people are intimidated by
>multiple earrings-GET OVER IT, or stay home.    They go to a museum to
>enjoy the exhibits, and then end up bitching about an employee's
>piercings?  People can dress very nicely, and professionally without
>having to surrender every iota of their identity. A distinction
>certainly needs to be made between some type of historic costume,
>which
>is required, and more arbitrary rules which apply to staff at other
>types of museums.   Suzanne Schroeder
>
>--- Sarah Taft <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> >In response to some recent concerns, we have
>> decided
>> >to update our dress code policy.
>>
>> >Does anyone have a written dress code policy that
>> they
>> >feel covers all the bases?  Please email me off
>> list.
>>
>> Our museum is in the process of implementing a more
>> stringent dress code for
>> front-line staff. The new code applies not only to
>> clothing choices but to
>> haircuts and jewelry. Many of us feel that the new
>> code would be stifling
>> and very bad for morale in an area that already has
>> the lowest morale in the
>> museum. I would like to hear about other experiences
>> with the
>> success/failure of dress codes. For instance, Kara,
>> what prompted your
>> decision to update the dress code? Was it complaints
>> from visitors?
>> Trustees? Managers? I'd appreciate any feedback from
>> the list.
>>
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>
>
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