How to avoid Halloween office horror: costume dos and don’ts
Posted Oct 29, 2015 7:33 am.
Last Updated Oct 30, 2015 3:01 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It’s a Halloween nightmare: showing up to the office in that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costume, only to find no one else has dressed up.
Joanne Blake, President of Style for Success, says you should always err on the side of conservative, especially if you’re new to a workplace.
“There’s nothing wrong with saying to HR, what is typically done around Halloween? Do people dress up? And then if everyone shows up wearing Disney characters and cute animals, then you’ve got a green light,” she said.
Blake says there are some common sense things to think about if you are donning a costume: don’t go for anything too revealing — and think about whether you might offend someone.
“So, I’m thinking about a certain British prince, who decided to wear a Nazi uniform to a friend’s costume party. That’s bad form, and it just speaks to a lack of common sense, and it really denigrated his brand,” she said.
It also depends on where you work.
“If you’re working in say a law or an accounting office, where say workplace decorum is standard operating practice, if one shows up with a superhero costume like Wonder Woman, where you’re revealing all your assets, in that kind of environment, maybe that’s going over the top.”
However, not taking part in a work sanctioned celebration could also put you in a bad light.
“You might come across as a stuffed shirt, and not be a team player,” Blake explained, “I think participating in some small way, just shows that you’ve got some personality, you just want to be part of something.”
Blake suggests you can always do something small.
“Guys can wear a themed tie, a little item that says, hey, I’m festive,” she said.
