Ladies workwear might be affected by office rules and regulations but according to one American researcher politicians have laying down laws about the clothes we can and can’t wear since the Middle Ages. But what is the evidence as of all the freedoms we have in the Western World thee fact that we can wear almost anything we want to is a given isn’t it?

We are only limited in what we wear when we get up in the morning in what we have in our wardrobe, but research shows that are more restrictions than you might think. It all seems to date back to ‘sumptuary laws’ which have been in use since medieval times to keep the lower classes in their place, or to reinforce a national identity, by governing the style and quality of clothing that citizens could wear. For example, during the Scottish uprisings if you caught wearing a kilt, you were likely to be put on the next ship for the colonies, if you weren’t imprisoned first.

However, even if you were sent to America then the fashion police were still waiting for you. In 1732 the Hat Act was passed which banned those in the colonies from wearing American-made headgear, which made one Thomas Jefferson remark that it ‘rendered colonists of the New World worse off than slaves’. Although he was charged for various fashion crimes such as being too “foppish” and dressing like a Frenchman. The slaves were even banned from wearing good quality fabrics or even accepting hand-me-downs from their masters.

Once the revolution took place some of these legislative options were removed, but they still had an influence as a national dress code was almost included in the US Constitution as it was thought it would be good for the morals of the nation.

Even today the US courts see cases over what is considered to be proper sartorial wear. In 2013 a small seaside resort in New Jersey banned the wearing of trousers or swimming trunks that sank three inches below the hips, exposing bare skin or underwear. The Mayor of Wildwood told the press at the time that this sagging style glorifies the thug image popular in hip-hop culture. Introduced to make the seafront more family friendly, it even went further by banning bare feet and going shirtless after 8pm, all of which incurs fines of up to $200 and 40 hours of community service.

The modern influences in schools about length of skirts and in some cases sizes of tie knots is nothing new, with evidence showing that there were rules and regulations covering how big a ruff people wore around the neck

So even if you do have to measure up to rules and regulations in the workplace concerning your ladies workwear, here at Brookes you know you will fine the best quality, choice and prices. So check out the latest additions to our range on the website and start the New Year with a new outfit.