A new YouGov survey on workplace attire finds that plenty of Americans don’t agree on what constitutes acceptable office outfits. While majorities of Americans say collared shirts and dress shirts are acceptable for men and women in the workplace, there’s less consensus on T-shirts, sandals, and shorts.
Vast majorities of Americans say it’s acceptable for men to wear a suit and tie (95%), collared shirts (95%), and dress shirts (93%) to the office. More controversial office wear choices for men include T-shirts (54% think they’re acceptable and 34% think they’re unacceptable), sandals (31% vs. 59%), and shorts (28% vs. 61%). Few Americans say it’s acceptable for men to wear pajamas (8%) or cropped tops (9%) to the office.
A YouGov UK poll found that Britons are much more accepting of men wearing shorts at work: 68% say it’s acceptable.
Men are more likely than women to say it’s acceptable for men to wear shorts (33% vs. 23%) and baseball caps (33% vs. 23%) to the office.
Adults under 45 are more likely than older Americans to say it’s acceptable for men in the office to wear jeans (81% vs. 65%), T-shirts (73% vs. 39%), and graphic T-shirts (43% vs. 17%). They’re also more likely to say it’s acceptable for men to wear shorts (37% vs. 21%) and sweatpants (27% vs. 11%).
Americans 45 and older are more likely than younger adults to say it’s acceptable for men in the office to wear slacks (98% vs. 75%), blazers (97% vs. 79%), and dress pants (97% vs. 82%).
Americans who work in offices are more likely than people who used to work in offices but no longer do, or people who have never worked in an office, to say a graphic T-shirt is acceptable office wear for men (40% vs. 20% vs. 34%). Current office workers also are more likely to say sandals (38% vs. 26% vs. 31%) and T-shirts (70% vs. 41% vs. 60%) are acceptable for men to wear to the office.
Vast majorities of Americans say it’s acceptable for a woman working in an office to wear dresses (94%), dress shirts (93%), and collared shirts (93%). There’s less consensus around sandals (54% say they’re acceptable; 33% say they are unacceptable), T-shirts (53% vs. 36%), sports bras (42% vs. 45%), and leggings (41% vs. 44%). Few Americans say it’s acceptable for a woman in the office to wear pajamas (9%), T-shirts with a political slogan (14%), or cropped tops (14%).
Women are more likely than men to say it’s acceptable for women in the office to wear sandals (60% vs. 47%) and underwire bras (79% vs. 62%). Men are more likely than women to say it’s acceptable for women in the office to wear shorts (35% vs. 23%), miniskirts (35% vs. 21%), and cropped tops (20% vs. 9%). Men are also more likely than women to say it’s acceptable for women to go bra-free at the office (28% vs. 16%).
Among Americans who work in offices, 42% say it’s acceptable for women to wear graphic T-shirts. Only 21% of those who used to work in offices but no longer do are in agreement, as are 31% of people who have never worked in an office. Similarly, people working in offices are more likely than people who used to work in offices or never have to say T-shirts are acceptable office apparel for women (68% vs. 40% vs. 58%).
People who work in offices and people who have never worked in offices are about as likely to say sweatpants are acceptable office attire for women (26% vs. 27%). Among people who used to work in an office, only 14% agree.
Adults under 45 are more likely than people 45 and older to say it’s acceptable for women in the office to wear graphic T-shirts (41% vs. 19%), ripped jeans (24% vs. 9%), and sweatpants (32% vs. 12%).
Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say it’s unacceptable for women to wear shorts (70% vs. 56%), T-shirts (49% vs. 32%), or no bra (77% vs. 59%) to the office.
Americans are far more likely to say it is acceptable for women to wear leggings to the office for work than to say it’s acceptable for men to do this (41% vs. 16%). 54% of Americans say it’s acceptable for women to wear sandals to the office; fewer (31%) say it’s acceptable for men to do so.
Americans are more likely to say it’s acceptable for men to wear a suit and tie to the office than to say it’s acceptable for women to do so, though large majorities consider both to be acceptable (95% vs. 81%).
Related:
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- Casual dress among passengers is at the bottom of Americans' air travel concerns
- Most American men own at least one suit, but 28% never wear one
See the results for this YouGov survey
— Carl Bialik and Taylor Orth contributed to this article
Methodology: This article includes results from an online survey conducted on July 22 - 24, 2026 among 1,088 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of adult U.S. citizens. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, U.S. region, 2024 presidential vote, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. 2024 presidential vote, at time of weighting, was estimated to be 48% Harris and 50% Trump. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given around November 8, 2024, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (31% Democratic, 33% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is 3.8 percentage points.
Image: Getty (Oscar Wong)
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