I always think it’s funny when people from outside of the Upper Midwest talk about how cold it is here. Yeah, for three months out of the year. How many months do the people in Phoenix or Dallas spend indoors with their air conditioning?

I call it a wash.

Sorry, had to get that off my chest.

A St Paul Pioneer Press writer added to an article Dress code back in style that originally appeared in the Wall Street Journal.

Banning the midriff? How dare they. Sorry, that’s the single guy and anti-corporate rule guy talking again. You should see how casual I am on phone days. A shower and a shave are optional but when people see me, I clean up good. I make momma proud.

Sorry, having a hard time focusing tonight…

To ensure that Carlson Cos. headquarters employees are properly dressed for clients, a memo on dress guidelines went out at the beginning of summer to the 4,000 employees in Minnetonka.

   

"We've taken a strong stance in that it is not acceptable at any time of the year to wear bare midriff, off the shoulder, see-through, (or) Spandex clothing," said Susan MacHolda, Carlson's senior director of work life and diversity.

   

Carlson established its dress code four years ago and frequently tweaks, revises and clarifies it. Also on its no-no list: flip-flops, thongs, sport sandals, T-shirts, tank tops, stretch pants, caps and sunglasses.

Whoa, no more see through clothing or thongs? I bet that means someone must have been a little too “hip”. Now for the serious part of this, if they had to write that in a policy I am going to assume that some of it was going on. I did not know Carlson Companies had been that casual.

Or maybe they added a beach in the complex I was not aware of.