The long and short of it: shorts in the workplace

Yesterday morning, I had one of those I-have-no-clue-what-to-wear-to-work days. You know, the ones where you stand in front of your closet for a good 10 minutes, mentally dressing yourself in every single outfit you own, and then mentally throwing them in a heap on the floor when you realize you don’t want to wear any of them. I hate those mornings.

In the midst of my mental dressing session, I actually did pluck a pair of cute white Bermuda shorts from a hanger and try them on. As I was pondering which shirt would work best with them, I stopped. Wait. Could I even wear shorts to work? And if so, how the heck could I make it look like I wasn’t about to stroll down to the beach to spend the day in the sun? (I wish…)

Hm. Lately my company has been cracking down on the dress code policy, and numerous emails have been flying around regarding appropriate summer wear. I recalled something about shorts and length above the knee, but I wasn’t about to kneel on the ground with a tape measure to make sure they weren’t too scandalous. After my crazy homeroom advisor made us do that all the time in high school with our uniform skirts, the thought makes me shudder.

So I deferred to this post on TheWorkingWardrobe.com about how to incorporate shorts into your working wardrobe. It includes some good rules of thumb and even includes a cute example of wear-to-work Bermuda-short style. The key? Closed-toed flats, a tailored top and cute accessories to elevate the look of the shorts. (Be sure to check out the rest of the site while you're at it—it's so helpful!)

To throw in my two cents on the matter, I personally like to live by the good old Balance Rule. As in, if you’re showing off some leg, then maybe show a little less arm. A tank top paired with Bermuda shorts might be a bit too beachy, but a ¾-length top would be the perfect complement to some bright Bermudas.

Luckily for me, I didn’t have to decide. My shorts were a bit too wrinkled and stretched out to wear to the office. No saggy bottom for me, thankyouverymuch.

So what do you Working Girls think? Are shorts appropriate for the workplace? And do you have any good rules of thumb for wearing them? Or any general wardrobe rules you like to follow? Let’s hear them!