As I get ready for work in the morning, I think about the coming day. Goals, meetings and deadlines all run through my head and then it hits me - what am I going to wear?! The BLASTmedia staffers are oh-so-trendy, and I don't want to be the girl who might as well have shown up in a potato sack.

I realize I shouldn't stress out about it - we're very lucky in that, as long as we're maintaining a professional look, we're free to wear whatever we please. Since only a handful of our clients are in Indiana (the rest are worldwide), we rarely have in-person meetings. However, there are plenty of others who go to work every day abiding by very strict dress codes set by their employers. For example, the other tenants of our building have to pay a fee on special days to wear jeans and can't wear any open toed shoes.

This difference in dress codes from office to office made me wonder, do all PR agencies have similar clothing guidelines? Is it the nature of the business, or do other offices employ stricter rules? An interesting article from the October issue of PR Week observes the trend: "Dressing for success has a variety of permutations."

The article notes that "in an industry where presentation is key, dress code often reflects the nature of the industry the agency serves and its clients' corporate culture." This would explain how some agencies may have a more formal dress code and others have a more laid-back approach. Financial and IR firms may have a suit policy, where a sports PR firm may allow jeans.

Another article from MSNBC in 2007, "How to crack the corporate dress code," suggests that the majority of offices everywhere now tend to be more casual. The reporter also says that this may be to lure younger staff, as if the relaxed dress code will be seen as an additional benefit, like vacation and healthcare.

What do you think, do dress codes tend to be more free-spirited depending on the age of the employees, or does it really depend more on the offices clientèle?

One thing is for certain, you can't judge a book by its cover in this industry. Regardless of the clothes we wear to the office Monday through Friday, we're always hard at work securing media coverage for our clients. Of course, if you are lucky enough to meet us in person, feel free to compliment our great taste in shoes.