Actually yes, when I was an intern, I was pretty clueless as to how to dress.

Mind you this was when I was in high school. Button-down shirts were the order of the day for me in college.

But in high school, I was sort of in a punk rock phase. So my editor had to tell me that I was not allowed to wear spiked bracelets in the newsroom. ^_^

Once I got hired, I had nothing but ratty sneakers for a while and I was asked to invest in new shoes. Since then, I've constantly been the most overdressed male in the newsroom.

The dress code in my current newsroom is probably similar to a lot of others in smaller communities. Jeans are fine, however slippers or flip flops are completely out of the question.

No shorts allowed for reporters, although other staff that don't go out into the public's eye can wear shorts. Photographers pretty much wear whatever they damn well please. Whatever makes them the most comfortable.

When I started my first newspaper internship, I was still about three or four weeks away from graduating from high school. It wasn't until I caught someone leering at me that I realized the stuff I wore in high school was not going to fly in the "real world." I immediately starting rummaging through my mother's closet for work-appropriate outfits. I learned that lesson the hard way and 13 years later, I still cringe when I think about it. I'd like to save my interns that embarrassment.

I think I'm going to start giving them the dress code for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction:

"Inappropriate attire includes, but is not limited to:
a. See-through clothing of any kind.
b. Tops or dresses that expose the midriff or have open backs or open sides (such as any  sleeveless clothing such as halter tops, tube tops, cropped tops, tank tops, and muscle shirts).
c. Low-cut clothing cut in a manner that exposes the chest.
d. Any clothing that inappropriately exposes undergarments.
e. Skirts, dresses, shorts, skorts, or culottes with the hem or slit above the mid-knee.
f. Wrap-around skirts/dresses or break-away type pants.
g. Clothing with any gang related markings.
h. Clothing with obscene and/or offensive pictures, slogans, language and/or gestures.
i. Form-fitted clothing made from Spandex or Lycra or other similar knit material such  as leotards, unitards, bicycle shorts, tight jeans, or tight pants.
j. Clothing with inappropriate holes/rips, including shoulder cut-outs."

Some of these are over the top, but in my experience, others are right on the mark.

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