Ah, the fun of getting dressed for work first thing in the morning. Unless you work for UPS or in some kind of law enforcement, it can be a pain.

I don't know if it's our generation, or if dress codes aren't enforced as they used to be, but office wardrobe controversy seems to be a problem these days.

A friend of mine, a newspaper reporter, gave me the idea to write about this after seeing a TV reporter show up on scene to report a story wearing flip flops.

The scene was an archeological dig.

In her words,
"Flip flops are not about a generational difference. It's about safety on the job. You can quote me on that."

The thing is, I don't care if this young woman was reporting from the Beverly Hills Beach Club, pina colada in hand and surrounded by cabana boys. There is no room in the workplace for casual clothing. Especially for a young professional just starting out.

I'm sure most people have stories from their offices of people who have dressed inappropriately.

A Careerbuilder survey showed that 41 percent of U.S. employers said that people who dress better or more professionally tend to be promoted over other people in their organization.

As they always say, "dress for the job you want, not the job you have."

This, of course, depends on the industry in which you work, so you need to use your own common sense. Unless your common sense tells to to wear colorful plastic clogs to the office (assuming your office isn't a vegetable garden.)

For me, I moved from the Colorado mountains to Columbia, Missouri, followed by a brief stint in Eugene, Oregon. Not exactly the high power centers of the fashion universe.

But now I'm looking for work in San Francisco. This means I can kiss my cute short skirts and flat sandals goodbye, at least during the work week.

I'm not saying that nylons, turtlenecks and shoes that look like they serve an orthopedic function will grace my body for the rest of my life.

But I think that perhaps young people drastically underestimate the power that their clothing has on the way people perceive them.

As a side note, did you see the casual Friday episode of The Office? Meredith's outfit was priceless--makes me smile just thinking about it.