It’s the first question of the day when you awake with bleary eyes – what to wear?
Now workers in the Cabinet of Ministers building will have an easier time making their choice, after the government on Oct. 4 published a lengthy dress code urging them to maintain “a responsible appearance.”
The document, written in the style of an old-fashioned handbook for decorous living, is aimed at “securing society’s and citizens’ trust in the state service.”
The rules were immediately assailed by critics as unnecessary. Fashion-conscious opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko, the former prime minister known for her designer wardrobe, called them “laughable.”
The code, which runs to several pages, provides highly detailed and specific guidelines as to what is de rigeur this season in the government building. See-through dresses or large tie-knots get the thumbs down; subdued colors and matching socks and trousers are in favor.
The correct attire, the document assures, will increase self-confidence and even lead to career advancement.
Petro Ivanov, an official from the cabinet of ministers, said the code was only a list of recommendations, and that no fashion police would roam the building. Visitors, such as journalists, are also asked to stick to the guidelines.
“Some younger female workers looked like they were attending a party at the Playboy mansion.”
-former cabinet of ministers official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“All we ask for is that journalists respect the recommendations. The code concern only Secretariat staff and its task is to only provide suggestions,” said Ivanov.
According to officials, no particular case triggered the publication of the code. “I am convinced that all these rules have existed for a long time in the form of unwritten rules,” said Mykhailo Kukhar, spokesman for the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy. “During the six months I spent in the cabinet, 99 percent of the officials dressed in a way that would correspond to the current code.”
According to Kukhar, that remaining one percent were violators and they were men: “Women usually dress in a strict and modest manner.”
Other insiders disagreed. “Some younger female workers looked like they were attending a party at the Playboy mansion,” said a former cabinet of ministers official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The ex-official added that the guidelines would only be beneficial.
Tymoshenko, Ukraine’s most famous fashionista, mocked the rules. “The Queen of England and [Libyan leader Muammar] Gaddafi, for instance, for sure would not get into the cabinet building,” Tymoshenko said.
She put a political spin on the move: “When they don’t know how to carry out reforms, they start bringing in a dress code,” she said.
Tymoshenko’s long-time political foe Hanna Herman, deputy head of the presidential administration, also known for her snappy designer attire, agreed, calling the rules “archaic.”
“Every person should have a sense of moderation. If they don’t have it, it’s worth considering whether such a person should be employed in government service,” she told Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
Others said it would take much more than a dress code to lift government officials’ reputation.
“I support an idea of a dress code adoption,” said Nataliya Tymoshenko, a visiting professor of ethics at the Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine. “The only problem is that it is not enough to state those guidelines: Officials need to be given some training about etiquette, including not only clothing but manners as well.”
Government’s new recommendations for how public workers should dress:
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Kyiv Post staff writer Nataliya Horban can be reached at horban@kyivpost.com
