Summer is usually associated with the guilt-free neglect of academics, with the closest thing to intellectual discussion being a heated debate about which couple should win this year’s Love Island. However, this time of year also marks the desperate scramble for a summer internship. Students are pruning their LinkedIn profile to perfection and reaching out to distant great uncles (with whom they haven’t spoken to since the age of seven) to secure a coveted spot on the corporate ladder. Still retaining my precious, silly-fresher status, I can compartmentalise this issue in the “things to worry about in second year” section of my brain, but not everyone is so lucky.

“A company’s dress code is far from a superficial formality; instead, it immediately reveals how inclusive and accommodating the work environment is”

It is an awkward time for the wardrobe of a summer intern. The hybridity of a post-pandemic era that left many reluctant to abandon the pyjamas from the waist down look, has dissolved much of the traditional standards for a formal dress code. Many of the most prestigious Silicon Valley CEOs will throw on casual t-shirt and trousers and call it a day, calling into question whether “dressing for success” is still relevant. If a professional dress code is no longer the unimaginative pencil skirt and high heels combination, is an intern’s only guidance the vague concept of adhering to the company’s image and ‘culture’? What does this even mean? Throwing around the benign term ‘business casual’ is an insufficient explanation.

Loosening the definition of professionalism to behaviours, interests and appearances that adhere to a ‘cultural fit’ is not as progressive as it seems, especially when white Western men overwhelmingly occupy leadership positions and set the standard for normalcy. If what is deemed acceptable now revolves around blindly following others, any inkling of diversity is inherently suppressed. Workplace culture aids in the institutional subjugation of minorities. The same culture forces someone to choose between authentic self-expression and straightening their hair, abandoning any cultural dress to align with the vagaries of ‘professionalism’. The same culture shuns one woman for ‘inappropriate dress’ and does not bat an eyelid at another: the only discrepancy being their body types. Workplace fashion culture gangs up on those that challenge it by merely existing as themselves.

“Donning a suit and tie is not enough when accepted markers of ‘professionalism’ are coded in favour of patriarchal, Western culture”

Dressing professionally has become devoid of objective meaning. Simply donning a suit and tie is not enough when accepted markers of ‘professionalism’ are coded in favour of patriarchal, Western culture. Employees changing their names, accent, and vocabulary are other sacrifices of personal identity that, among dress sense, draws them closer to conforming to a rigid social norm for which the term ‘professionalism’ is just a flimsy disguise.

As an intern, you occupy a unique vantage point that allows you to test a workplace’s culture without the fear of breaching a stifling, five-year contract. You can discover at an early stage whether a company prioritises the external appearance of professionalism over the intrinsic qualities that truly define competence and success. A company’s dress code is far from a superficial formality; instead, it immediately reveals how inclusive and accommodating the work environment is. This information becomes crucial when deciding to pursue long-term employment with an organisation or running like the wind at the mention of draconian standards of dress.