Dressing for the job

11/6/2024

Work uniforms today come in a variety of fabrics and designs to meet the needs of an array of careers. From executives in suits to restaurant servers and bank employees in monogrammed polos, to police, mechanics, nurses, utility workers and so many others in their professions’ attire, what one wears often attests to what one does at work. And when it comes to designs, employers want a professional look that reflects well on their company. For many employees, however, comfort is just as important.

 

A shift from suits to polos 

Polo shirts are the the main component of the uniform for office and sales staff at Stivers Ford Lincoln in Waukee. All employees are expected to wear their Stivers polo with appropriate slacks. 

Scott Politte, president of Stivers Ford Lincoln, says the uniform has changed over the years. It used to be much more formal. 

“In 1991, almost every one of the dealerships required ties. For males and females, it was suit jacket, very formal business attire. No matter what, in all customer-facing capacities, almost everyone wore ties,” Politte said. 

The benefit of a uniform is for the consumer, he adds. It makes it easy for customers to quickly identify a team member if they need assistance. Name tags can also be used to identify employees, but they are not as popular among employees at Stivers. In terms of popularity, the winner is comfort. 

Besides the classic polo, employees enjoy wearing either quarter zips or sports leisure that have breathable fabric as one of their benefits.  

“Our attitudes toward uniforms have changed significantly toward the benefit of the employees,” Politte said. “We’ve allowed more flexibility, allowed them to be more comfortable.” 

 

In the kitchen 

When preparing meals in any type of kitchen, one is bound to encounter obstacles and find themselves maneuvering around people and objects in tight spaces. Throw in a lot of food moving from cooking stations to serving places, and you have a perfect scenario for getting stains on one’s clothing.

Due to that reality, John Andres, director of Culinary Arts at the Iowa Culinary Institute, said the majority of a chef’s uniform is designed to hide stains. 

“The chef jacket has a double breast, which has an interesting function. On one hand, it is functional. If a chef gets dirty in the front center of their jacket, they are able to flip the center breast portion of the jacket to look clean and have a professional look that continues,” Andres said. 

The jacket is also designed so it can be torn off or quickly removed in case a chef encounters a hot liquid and as a safety precaution in case of fire. 

Other parts of the uniform also help hide stains, such as the checkered pants students are required to wear in the kitchen. If a stain ever gets on the pants, the checkered pattern is designed to help hide the discoloration. 

Even with the challenges chefs encounter in the kitchen, it is important for them to keep a level of professionalism when it comes to their work. 

“Being that we are a professional individual in the operation, whether it be a fine dining Michelin star restaurant or a food service operation in a hospital or a grocery store, we run it this way in order to maintain the professional look and make sure that everybody has a consistency about them,” Andres said. 

 

Modern-day fabrics 

Besides comfort, it is important that employees in many jobs be able to move easily, so clothing must offer as much flexibility as possible. 

Kari Sullivan, co-owner of Valley West Uniforms, works with companies to provide the highest quality of uniforms for their employees. Sullivan said uniforms today can be easy to move in while also being professional in appearance. 

“Fabrics that these vendors are using are not only socially responsible — meaning that they’re using recycled materials — but they are also really comfortable, soft, stretchy materials that breathe well,” Sullivan said. 

Valley West Uniforms helps provide an executive flare with their in-house embroidery. They work with companies on stitching their logo on clothing to help make employees look sharp. 

Valley West Uniforms also provides clothing made with protective fabrics. For example, the company provides medical scrubs to local pharmacies at Hy-Vee made of fabric with a repellent barrier that won’t absorb fluids from sneezes or coughs, making them more hygienic. 

One of the biggest benefits of scrubs in general is that they are comfortable and provide ease of movement. More and more professions are seeking to use scrubs in the workplace, Sullivan said. 

“We see a lot of physical therapy departments that are switching to scrubs just because of the mobility and breathability. It’s better than khakis and a polo,” she added. “We have schoolteachers that are wearing scrubs now for the same reasons.”  

 

Supplying uniforms 

As exciting as it is to wear a new piece of comfortable clothing at work, it is often another cost for employees. However, some companies are adopting policies that benefit their employees. 

Although students at the Iowa Culinary Institute must purchase their own clothing, the institute works closely with Valley West Uniforms to produce what is best for its students. The company comes to the school every semester to fit students for their uniforms. 

The company also makes suggestions — “everything from recommending what will be more comfortable for our students to wear over time, and what looks the most professional. They put all the orders together,” Andres said.

Valley West Uniforms also works with Des Moines Area Community College’s financial aid department to help students cover the cost of uniforms and help supply students with the knife kits they need to purchase for their classes. 

Some companies help lift the financial burden of uniforms for their employees by covering at least a portion of the costs. 

“I say that it’s probably 40% (of employers who) pay and then the other 60% don’t,” Sullivan said. “Companies are having to do more to attract and to keep their employees. Offering them an allowance is something that many companies are doing.” 

Stivers Ford Lincoln is one of the 40% of companies that do provide the majority of uniforms to its employees. For customer-facing employees, each receives the company polo. Technicians at the dealership are provided with their full uniform. 

“Our technicians have always had uniforms that we provided because of the nature of the work they do,” Politte said. “We have uniform companies that supply our technicians because they get dirty, they get ripped.” 

Stivers employees are also able to rent clothing from their uniform vendor or order online what they want from select offerings.

“We have an agreement with a vendor that maintains a website where our employees could go, elect to buy what they want, and, depending on promotions or contests, we’ll give them allowances for clothing,” Politte said. 

 

Suiting the needs of the employee and the employer

Dressing for the job is nothing new. Employers have a stake in the impression staff members and their clothing have on the customers served. But many companies are working with employees to make sure that uniforms also suit their needs, with comfort and the ability to move freely for the job at hand often being priorities. 

“There are so many options out there that allow you to maintain a professional look where people feel like they’re coming into a place where people know what they’re doing,” Politte said. “We used to ban jeans, and now jeans are good in certain aspects of our dealership. It all depends on what the job is.” ♦