# Dress Code



## tyler.martin (May 22, 2013)

Does anyone have an enforced and written dress code for your crew? We are looking to implement one as we do not have anything actually in place. However there is a very fine line between dress code and uniform in our province, so we have to be careful how we define things.


----------



## rochem (May 22, 2013)

What kind of venue/crew/event? 98% of the gigs I've worked or run have no dress code at all beyond being safe (closed-toed shoes, long pants required sometimes), but I've also worked corporate events where suit and tie was a written requirement,


----------



## tyler.martin (May 22, 2013)

House Running crew. There are three of us who are regular staff, one overhire, and two to three IA casuals. Various positions such as A1, Head LX, Flys, Deck and FS.


----------



## Cooperhodges (May 22, 2013)

I work at a number of venues, including a performing arts center. There, we have black polos with the center's logo on the back, and wear nice jeans or slacks. I also work at a church doing sound for different events, like funerals, and we wear a black, button up shirt with the church's logo on the chest, along with black slacks, belt, and shoes. Everyone we work with, in either venue, always tells us in some form of how they appreciate the professionalism. A good uniform is the first step to building a reputation, in my opinion. We usually tell our staff to wear the equivalent of what people attending the event would. If it is a more informal event, jeans and a polo are acceptable. If it is a larger, higher-profile event, however, we always wear our full uniform.


----------



## rochem (May 22, 2013)

Yeah, it's a bit of a delicate issue, especially under an IA contract because having a uniform requirement generally has contractual implications along with it. I love the idea of clothing with the venue logo when interacting with outside clients - it looks super professional, and also helps clients avoid the embarrassment of not knowing who is on venue staff. If that doesn't work, even just requiring clean jeans and collared shirts would seem to be enough - in black if that's something you require.


----------



## museav (May 23, 2013)

http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/stage-management-facility-operations/18801-dress-code-uniforms.html

http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/general-advice/7111-wearing-blacks-non-backstage.html

http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/stage-management-facility-operations/23557-high-school-stage-managers-quick-question.html

http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/general-advice/19806-unprofessional-get-creative-your-blacks.html


----------



## Jakepugh15 (Jun 3, 2013)

tyler.martin said:


> Does anyone have an enforced and written dress code for your crew? We are looking to implement one as we do not have anything actually in place. However there is a very fine line between dress code and uniform in our province, so we have to be careful how we define things.



We have to wear tennis shoe's, our crew shirts, and slacks.


----------



## shiben (Jun 3, 2013)

Black clothes during the gig, steel toes and safety glasses all the time, hard hats and long pants during the ins and outs? I mean in your case you probably want to have "employees should report to work in neat, dark (preferably black) clothing, jeans are not acceptable, and a collared shirt..." or something like that. I would probably include PPE at this point in my life with all of that, and provide logoed helmets and the like.


----------



## RickR (Jun 4, 2013)

Name tags with a logo are an alternative to the decorated shirt/uniform.


----------



## gafftaper (Jun 5, 2013)

shiben said:


> I mean in your case you probably want to have "employees should report to work in neat, dark (preferably black) clothing, jeans are not acceptable, and a collared shirt..." or something like that.



I don't know a lot about the contract issues. I do like where shiben was going but I think it would be more useful if it gave specific style examples... something like this:

Clothes need to be clean and professional looking. Please make sure the black is not extremely faded. 

Shirts should look similar to a Black Dickies button up work shirt or a Polo shirt. Black T-shirts are/are not acceptable. 

You should wear Black work pants that are similar in style to the Dickies Double Knee work pant. Black jeans are/are not acceptable. Black Cargo pants are/are not acceptable. 


If the policy was sent electronically you could even provide links to acceptable products as a style guide.


----------



## Footer (Jun 5, 2013)

Here is ours: 

> It is the responsibility of department supervisors to develop and implement appropriate dress codes for their employees. All employees should dress in a professional manner. In most cases this would exclude the wearing of shorts, sandals, flip-flops, hats, tee shirts, tank tops, and frayed or faded jeans. It is understood that working conditions, particularly for members of the stage crew, must allow for clothing that is appropriate for engaging in physical labor. Supervisors may approve dress code exceptions as appropriate due to work and weather conditions, provided that the overall goal of presenting the Center in a professional light is not dramatically compromised



With that, we issue everyone either a logoed polo or button down shirt. For "clean" events such as corporates or dance, everyone should where black pants or black jeans. For rock shows any type pants is fine as long as its not shorts. Beyond that, we don't really care. Just about everyone here does black jeans. If we had to wear slacks they would get destroyed by half of my guys in a day.


----------



## JohnD (Jun 5, 2013)

RickR said:


> Name tags with a logo are an alternative to the decorated shirt/uniform.


Also, please use the name tags with the magnetic back, not the floppy safety pin thing.


----------



## Trickster (Jun 8, 2013)

At my venue we don't actually have any official dress code as such. We have a safety code regarding footwear - boots with reinforced toes* if you're working onstage or in any of the construction areas (however the flymen get away with sneakers on showcalls if they don't come down to stage level) - and an official policy about wearing hi-vis vests in the loading docks, but nothing specific about clothing. We don't have nametags, however everyone carries their venue photo ID with them (it's our access card to all lifts and doors), though very few production staff actually wear them openly - most of us just carry them in our pocket so they don't get lost or snagged on things. We do have basic guidelines for attire for certain show conditions:

"Full Blacks" - black pants or jeans, long-sleeved plain black shirts, black boots. Common for ballet, or any show with a high chance of being seen. We'll add gloves and balaclavas when required for ninja cues.

"Dress Blacks" - black pants (preferably slacks), long-sleeved button-up shirts, black boots. Common for live changes during orchestral gigs, or any other show where we need to present an especially smart appearance.

"Show Blacks" - black pants, black t-shirt with minimal print, black boots. Most staff tend to wear crew shirts from previous jobs, or the t-shirts given out by the venue - we get a couple of t-shirts when we start, a production shirt each year, and other events often have crew shirts, so everyone has plenty to choose from. The logo shirts are not a uniform as such, but on big gigs or with new clients it's useful for the client to be able to see who is in-house crew and who is touring/local hire. We also have a couple of unofficial crew shirts printed by one of the staff who has his own t-shirt business - they're popular with our resident companies as well. Only on certain gigs will we be specifically told to wear venue-logo shirts, and on some very sensitive gigs we'll actually have to display our IDs (eg: Oprah required logo show blacks, the APEC summit required visible ID and specific security passes in sight at all times - the diplomatic security guys were rather twitchy...), but the rest of the time its just common sense, and as long as the print on your shirt isn't outright offensive or inappropriate, you're good to go.

For general work calls we don't really have a guideline apart from the boot rule - most of us wear our grungiest work gear for in/out and build calls. Shorts are fine on non-showcalls, or if you're working outside - though you're risking sunburn in summer, so most of us opt for long pants outside regardless. The venue has a stock of t-shirts, button-up shirts, cargo pants and boots - so nobody is ever sent home for not having the right thing to wear, they're just sent down to the office to get kitted out (usually happens when someone gets moved to showcall at short notice and doesn't have the right gear with them).


*not necessarily safety toes - the ones provided by the venue are Redback brand with plastic reinforced toes, but we can buy our own and as long as they meet the safety standard the venue will reimburse up to $80 of the cost. Most of us who buy our own get steel or composite toe boots anyway.


----------



## Chris15 (Jun 9, 2013)

Trickster said:


> the diplomatic security guys were rather twitchy...)



They were much the same when the pope was in town too... Only people I've met who intricately examined IDs before letting you through.


----------



## LavaASU (Jun 9, 2013)

Yeah, most shows security is a joke. I've been known on occasion to waive whatever laminate I have in my bag when arriving to an out or such and don't yet have the correct one. Works 90% of the time.

One of my venues used to give out logo shirts then went to just name tags/ IDs. A few of us made our own venue shirts which they are fine with. I usually wear one of my logo polos.


----------



## techietim (Aug 4, 2013)

Our general dress code (although I've never seen a document as such, doesn't mean it doesn't exist..) is that all *crew* wear full blacks (obviously! ) and FoH are expected to wear something/anything fairly formal..
Most of FoH also wear our theatre's badge.


----------



## mstaylor (Aug 5, 2013)

Are you trying to get a certain look, or eliminate a certain look? I have seen codes that require no cut down musle shirts for guys or low cut tops first females. 

Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## gafftapegreenia (Mar 2, 2014)

What are people wearing for their "show blacks" in terms of pants? I've got dress blacks covered, but the new companies I'm working with all want me to have show blacks. They will let you wear black jeans, but its not preferred/ I've got the collared shirts covered, but in terms of pants, in Atlanta I always got away with either my black cargo pants from Kohls or blue jeans. My black cargos are ok, but the pockets are shallow and I want something a little more professional in appearance. I don't want to buy nice black dress pants just to get them all dusty and dirty on a gig. Are Dickies really that bad? I've heard from so many people that they fade fast and rip easily. Is it simply because they can be easily for little money?


----------



## josh88 (Mar 2, 2014)

I have a pair of black dickies that I got a couple years ago, they are still going stopping without any issues. Thatst just my experience


Via tapatalk


----------



## Footer (Mar 2, 2014)

Lee makes a black jean in their regular cut. 20 bucks at kohls. You do have to special order them in black. Kohl's Mobile

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk


----------



## derekleffew (Mar 2, 2014)

gafftapegreenia said:


> ... I've heard from so many people that they fade fast and rip easily. ...


That has not been my experience, and I suspect I have some that are almost as old as you.


----------



## gafftapegreenia (Mar 2, 2014)

derekleffew said:


> That has not been my experience, and I suspect I have some that are almost as old as you.



Well, you know I trust your opinion, so I'll give them a shot. Which kind do you have?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free


----------



## Jay Ashworth (Mar 2, 2014)

I don't have much to add here, except that I would say that if you are specifying long black pants, and you do *not* consider cargo pants or unfaded black jeans acceptable, I'd hope you'd say that explicitly in your policy.


----------



## MarshallPope (Mar 2, 2014)

Personally, I'm a fan of Levis black twill jeans. They hold up well, and I've found them to be quite colorfast, with the pants very slowly edging toward green rather than the knees going white. In a nice enough straight cut, I think that they look more like slacks than standard jeans.


----------



## derekleffew (Mar 2, 2014)

These, I think. Honestly they all look alike to me.


----------



## gafftapegreenia (Mar 2, 2014)

Jay Ashworth said:


> I don't have much to add here, except that I would say that if you are specifying long black pants, and you do *not* consider cargo pants or unfaded black jeans acceptable, I'd hope you'd say that explicitly in your policy.



I would say in my case it's more Dickies > cargos > jeans. It's not that you can't wear jeans, it's just they would prefer cargos or Dickies. Personally, I just want something in my wardrobe besides my cargos. 

Thanks for the opinions everyone, I just ran into a few people who were pretty strong in their feelings about Dickies, but I'm trusting of the experiences expressed here. 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free


----------



## TheaterEd (Mar 3, 2014)

derekleffew said:


> These, I think. Honestly they all look alike to me.


Just to add my two cents. I have a pair of these that I keep nicer looking for when I'm front of house, and a pair of 
Loose Fit Double Knee Work Pant | Men's Pants | Dickies.com
That I use as my every day work pants. I have to replace the work pants about once a year because my keys wear small holes near the pockets, other than that over the last four years that I have been doing this I have only gone through 3-4 pairs of pants. Not bad mileage in my experience.


----------



## Morte615 (Mar 3, 2014)

I wear a pair of Proper BDU pants as my everyday work pants. They have huge thigh pockets which is great for a headlamp and gloves but are pretty baggy and don't look "nice." When I need to dress up a bit I wear a pair of EMT pants, they still have all the pockets but the pockets are not baggy (they hug the leg) They are great for show runs but are a bit tighter and don't have nearly the amount of room so I perfer my BDU pants for setup and strike.

The BDU's last about 6-8 months but I am hard on pants, and they are cheap so if I rip them, get holes in my pocket from screws or whatever, I'm OK with that. The EMT pants last about a year but I don't wear them nearly as often either.


----------



## taptotweet (Mar 17, 2014)

As we're a theatre hooked on to a school, we have to follow the Technology department's dress requirements when doing anything physical (building sets ect ect) - long pants, steel toes and a long sleeve shirt. If we're doing FOH, we have to wear the school's embroidered black polo with black dress pants and leather shoes.


----------

