Clothing like other aspects of human physical appearance has a social significance, with different rules and expectations being valid depending on circumstance and occasion. Even within a single day an individual may need to navigate between two or more dress codes, at a minimum these are those that apply at their place of work and those at home, usually this ability is a result of cultural acclimatization. Different societies and cultures will have different dress norms although Western styles are commonly accepted as valid.
Dress codes are written and, more often, unwritten rules with regard to clothing.If the receiver's code of interpretation differs from the sender's code of communication, misinterpretation follows. In every culture, current fashion governs the manner of consciously constructing, assembling, and wearing clothing to convey a social message.
In many societies, particular clothing may be a status symbol, reserved or affordable to people of high rank. For example, in Ancient Rome only senators were permitted to wear garments dyed with Tyrian purple; and, in traditional Hawaiian society, only high-ranking chiefs could wear feather cloaks and palaoa or carved whale teeth. In China before the establishment of the republic, only the emperor could wear yellow.
Military, police, and fire fighters usually wear uniforms, as do workers in many industries. School children often wear school uniforms, while college and university students sometimes wear academic dress. Members of religious orders may wear uniforms known as habits. Sometimes a single item of clothing or a single accessory can declare one's occupation or rank within a profession. The rate of change of fashion varies, and so modifies the style in wearing clothes and its accessories within months or days, especially in small social groups or in communications media-influenced modern societies. More extensive changes, requiring more time, money, and effort to effect, may span generations. When fashion changes, the messages communicated by clothing change.
A Sikh or Muslim man may display his religious affiliation by wearing a turban and other traditional clothing. Traditionally, Hindu women wear sindoor, a red powder, in the parting of their hair to indicate their married status; if widowed, they abandon sindoor and jewelry and wear simple white clothing. However, this is not true of all Hindu women; in the modern world this is not a norm and women without sindoor may not necessarily be unmarried.
Employees are sometimes required to wear a uniform or certain standards of dress, such as a business suit or tie. This may depend on particular situations, for example if they are expected to interact with customers. (see also International standard business attire) These policies vary depending on the industry with lawyers, bankers, and executives often wearing suit and tie. Some work places require thattattoos be covered.
Dress codes usually set a lower limit on body covering. However, sometimes it can specify the opposite: for example, in UK gay jargon, dress code, means people who dress in a militaristic manner. Dress code nights in nightclubs, and elsewhere, are deemed to specifically target people who have militaristic fetishes (e.g. leather/skinhead men).
White collar work place clothing has changed significantly through the years. In a corporate office, appropriate clothes are clean, business casual clothes such as a dress shirt,polo shirt, and trousers, or other similar outfits. Suits, neckties, and other formal wear are usually only required in law offices and financial sector offices. Previous business dress code eras (the 1950s in the U.S.) featured standardized business clothes that strongly differentiated what was acceptable and unacceptable for men and women to wear while working. Today, the two styles have merged; women's work clothes expanded to include the suit (and its variants) in addition to the usual dresses, skirts, and blouses; men's clothes have expanded to include garments and bright colours.
Patrons of a disco or nightclub are sometimes expected to dress in a particular style, such as clubwear; and bouncers of a disco or nightclub at times refuse entrance to those whose clothing they consider not consistent with the atmosphere of the venue.
The organisers of some parties sometimes specify a costume or theme for the event, such as a naked party or toga party.
Patrons of a casino, shop, or restaurant are usually expected to dress to a minimum standard, such as smart casual.
Fetish clubs often require patrons to dress in fetish clothing or else all in black.
Business casual dress, also "smart casual", is a popular work place dress code that emerged in white-collar workplaces in Western countries in the 1990s, especially in the United States and Canada. Many information technology businesses in Silicon Valley were early adopters of this dress code. In contrast to formal business wear such as suits andneckties (the international standard business attire), the business casual dress code has no generally accepted definition; its interpretation differs widely among organizations and is often a cause of sartorial confusion among workers.
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