Dressed in comfortable sneakers, shorts and a T-shirt last week, Parrilla Grill’s Brandon Chambers, 24, described his first job’s dress code – the Salem pizzeria required all white uniforms with tall, goofy-looking white hats.

The casual atmosphere at Bend’s Parrilla is more Chambers’ style – there is no dress code, other than requiring workers to abide by health-code guidelines.

”It’s cool because everybody can express themselves,” he said.

Tattoos, piercings and wild hairstyles are allowed at this popular burrito, taco and wrap eatery, which suits Alex Holman, 19, who stirred huge pots of homemade jambalaya and peanut sauce Friday wearing a black tank top, cotton pants falling midcalf and black sneakers.

Holman’s red hair is dyed into a trio of colors and is neatly pulled back. She has a few noticeable piercings and her tank top reveals a colorful arm tattoo.

”It’s definitely nice to wear whatever, and be able to have piercings,” she says over a Social Distortion album playing in the background.

Parrilla’s lack of a strict, professional dress code suits its customers and the restaurant’s atmosphere, manager Aaron Christenson said last week.

”People know when they come here, they can just kick back and relax,” said Christenson, who regularly wears shorts, T-shirts and Crocs to work in the summer. ”It’s nice when people can just wear what they want to wear and not feel like they have to dress a certain way to be who someone else feels they should be.”

While that works for Parrilla, other businesses in Central Oregon and the nation are trying to define ”business casual,” just as summertime summons flip-flops and tank tops, and younger generations begin to replace the baby boomers in the work force, bringing their own idea of professional attire. Most businesses say they want employees to dress similar to customers – which can mean anything from ripped jeans and athletic wear to tailored suits.

At Pro Air, partner Brandon Wilcox says employees working on the air charter service must look as nice as their wealthy clientele.

At We The People, workers in the legal document preparation service are asked to dress in a way that portrays a warm, friendly and relaxing atmosphere.

Ever since Silicon Valley made casual dress the new work norm in the dot-com world, seemingly too-casual textiles like denim have emerged in the workplace. Now, recent studies suggest a backlash is mounting against employees who show up to work in Bermuda shorts or sleeveless tanks – even on casual Fridays.

The number of employees allowed to dress in casual attire every day has declined from 53 percent in 2002 to 38 percent in 2006, according to a study from the Society for Human Resource Management. Still, six in 10 employers allowed at least one dress-down day per week, the 2006 study said.

Kipp Meleen, 37, remembers when he first started working for Unicel in Minnesota eight years ago. All managers were required to wear a white shirt and a tie, and any flashy colors were unacceptable.

”That’s really changed,” said Meleen, now sales director for Bend’s Unicel. By the late 1990s, Meleen watched the workplace dress code relax.

”I think it’s a generational thing, and I think wireless in general is becoming much more mainstream and retail oriented,” he said. ”We’re definitely seeing a kind of new look with the younger employees – a lot more capris … I’m not up on any fashion stuff, but we’re trying to work on what’s appropriate.”

Items that Unicel deems inappropriate are tube tops or any shirts that reveal a lot of skin, jeans and open-toed shoes. Most of Unicel’s employees wear black, khaki or gray pants with conservative tops, Meleen says, adding that Unicel’s dress policy primarily affects the retail outlets.

Capri controversy

Not surprisingly, businesses in customer service or financial fields require some of the most conservative dress codes.

”We deal with money, and that’s a very serious subject,” said Christi Kent-Adair, vice president-human resource manager at Bend’s Bank of the Cascades. ”It’s all about our customers, so we make sure (employees) they deal with are professional.”

For men, that means neckties, appropriately pressed suits and spotless shoes. No khakis or Dockers are allowed.

For women, defining professional attire is more complicated, Kent-Adair said.

”We’ve had a lot of controversy over capris,” Kent-Adair said with a chuckle. ”Capris that are tapered, more like a straight leg, are not allowed. We’re also particular about the fabric. They couldn’t wear capris that were denim because there’s no denim allowed.”

But if the midcalf pants are part of an ensemble that looks professional, Kent-Adair says it’s OK. Other clothing rules for the ladies: Hosiery is required, except in the summer; straight, wide-leg and billowy gaucho pants are viewed as a skirt and are OK; and tank tops by themselves are not allowed.

Flip-flops are another touchy issue, she said. Nice sandals with a heel are acceptable, but not the rubber thongs you’d take to the pool.

”We ask our employees to use their best judgment,” Kent-Adair said. ”We basically say, ‘If you look like you’re ready to go to a beach party, it’s not appropriate.’”

Dress codes

What if flip-flops are decorated with beads or glass jewels? What if tank tops are worn under a cardigan? Can’t dark jeans be dressed up with a smart pair of heels? Isn’t a slightly casual outfit made dressy with the proper accessories? Style interpretations like these can be the downfall of a dress code policy, human resources professionals say.

”The problem with setting out a formal dress code is that people’s interpretations are different, so you end up with problems,” said Carol Linstrum, human resources consultant with Jan Baker Facilitates in Bend. ”Somebody says, ‘My hair is clean,’ but it may be down to the shoulders, and the boss may think that’s unkempt.”

And then there’s the question of style and freedom of expression – employees may feel they’re being discriminated against if their employer reprimands them for a distinctive hairstyle.

”Employers who adopt dress codes need to be consistent but have flexibility,” said Linstrum. ”Dress code standards can’t be discriminatory based on race, sex, religion, etc., which would be a violation of Title VII (of the 1964 Civil Rights Act).”

Linstrum will advise clients on wording and requirements for dress codes, but if a client isn’t already planning on having a written dress code, she won’t advise them to adopt one.

None of the businesses questioned reported many problems enforcing their dress code policies – besides the occasional talking-to.

At Parrilla, manager Christenson says he’ll occasionally get a customer complaint about the message on a T-shirt.

”Sometimes, someone might wear a real liberal T-shirt. There’s one that says, ‘Winning the war on trees’ and has a bulldozer going against some trees,” Christenson said. ”Yeah, some people just don’t take it as a joke.”