Weighing in on the "issues"

Bad at Life posted yesterday about an issue effect many Americans, minimum wage and Congress' refusal to increase pay from $5.15 to $7.25 and yet voted to raise their own wages by ~$3,000.

As a true blue, idealist liberal, this angers me. But as an honest realist, I can understand why the rate increase was not passed. Nearly 20% more over just a year (?). That's a lot for small business owners and nonprofits who rely on minimum wage employees to get by. I do not support huge companies and retail giants (ie Walmart, Target, et al) who are lacking in the benefits and fair pay department.

Anyway, on to bigger issues.

The DC area has been abuzz about one thing the last couple of days. And by abuzz I mean a few people are talking about it and a few are being quoted in the Express bloglines section regarding their thoughts on....

Open Toed Shoes in the Workplace.

Can they be worn at work? Should they be worn at work? What kinds of open toed shoes can be worn? etc etc etc

Let me just say, I love sandals. I LOVE THEM. If I could, I would wear flip flops every day of the year. With that said, I also have a low tolerance for inappropriate use of flip flops (and all open toed shoes in general).

Here are my two cents:

Can they be worn at work? Well, this is how I see it. For the most part, they shouldn't be worn at work, unless you have a casual office that allows such footwear. And if you do work in an office that does allow it, like mine, you must follow a few rules:

1. Your toes/feet must be in tip top shape. Not cracked or dry heels (ewwww) and polish on your, of normal length, toe nails.

2. What is on your feet must correspond with what is on your top. Wearing a suit-then no, you can not wear open toed shoes of ANY KIND. No, it's just not good. Wearing a summer dress or summery like pants, then yes, sandals are fine as long as they are a bit dressier than your 'run around in the front yard' flip flops. A coworker of mine is a very nice dresser. In the summer she wears a lot of summer like clothes (summer dresses and light fabric outfits). Her shoes always correspond to what she is wearing and is a always a sight to be seen. Women all over the DC area should learn from her.

Can they be worn to formal events? Again, it all depends on the dress code. Black tie event--no. Summer wedding during the day, ok, BUT only if they are heeled and/or are a more dresser than flip flops. DO NOT WEAR FLIP FLOPS TO ANY FORMAL EVENT. EVER. unless they are really cute, sparkly ones that no one would notice are flip flops and no one would hear your flopping and not ones that have black rubber soles. ever.

Ok, rant over. I feel much better.