In the world according to At Ease Inc., common sense dictates that one should dress not for the position he or she has, but the job title one desires.

“That’s what we teach,” said Ann Marie Sabath, principal at the Cincinnati-based corporate consulting firm and the author of eight books on topics ranging from corporate etiquette to dressing for the job.

But not every worker possesses common sense—or the ambition to climb the corporate ladder—which has put the responsibility on the employer to set up and institute dress codes.

It’s a topic that requires some finesse and plenty of expertise to implement, human resource professionals say.

“You should have the same dress policies for all people,” said Deborah Keary, the human resources director for the Society for Human Resource Management. “Don’t make them so specific that men and women, for example, need separate rules.”

For example, employers can’t put in place a rule that prohibits ponytails and earrings for men, she says. Such a ruling would leave a business exposed to a discrimination lawsuit.

“Use words like neat and well-groomed rather than talking about specific styles of hair, makeup, or clothing, leaving personal choices with the persons,” Keary said.

Again, common sense should be the prevailing guideline.

Written dress codes are a departure from the past, Sabath says, when there was little room for speculation regarding what to wear to work.

“Somewhere along the line, employers didn’t want the responsibility of being the fashion police,” Sabath said. “The dress code was relaxed and business casual became "business sloppy." Nobody worried too much about it because of the strong economy, but people became business sloppy.”

Sabath says that’s one of the perks of the economic downturn. Corporate America is reverting back to a more traditional dress code in the workplace. It’s a way to endure, she says.

“It is a survival thing,” Sabath said. “People want to keep their jobs. They need to question what they should wear to work.”

And the first question regarding appropriate attire once again comes down to sensibility.

“What would a sensible person in the professions that you employee think it is good to wear to work?” Keary said.

In the end, that depends on the industry.

“It’s a matter of looking the part,” said Sabath, who wrote the book, Beyond Business Casual: What to Wear to Work if You Want to Get Ahead in 2004. “You want to be able to make sure you look appropriate for the product you are selling.”

That sounds simple enough—especially in the button-down, pin-stripe environment of professional services like accounting and law—but not all situations are so clear cut.

“What is the work environment like?” Keary asks. “A factory floor and an office have far different clothing needs.”

In other words, one size doesn’t fit all. There are several things to consider, including:

• Does a business have customers on the premises?
• What is the client expectation about professionalism of the staff, and how can you meet expectations?
• What is the company’s expectation of the professionalism of the staff?
• How does management want their environment to be for the employees? More formal, less formal?
• Is the comfort of employees important?

Keary says a company’s dress code seems to coincide well with the business climate. Some workplaces are casual most of the time, and that supports their environment and meets their needs. Others are more formal, and they like it that way. For example, staff will usually wear suits when meeting with clients, and they'll be more casual when they are not.

“The dress should support the business function while meeting the needs of the workplace,” she said.

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Pat Sangimino is a contributing writer to the Portland Business Journal.