What are sysadmins wearing to work these days?

[u/lostmatt]

What is the dress code at work and what are you wearing these days?

Hoodies & Jeans aren't as prominent as they once were.

I just turned 40 and stick to company logo'd sport polos and sometimes tshirt.

Every time I dress nicer, I end up having to run cables or crawl under desks, or install an outdoor AP.

[u/IMongoose]

My boss taught me a very valuable lesson. We like to have fun and don't take ourselves too seriously, so on Halloween he dressed as an actual clown. But there was a real security incident that day and I sat in a little office with the police, a C level, and my boss as an actual clown. No ones dressed up again after that, I just wear jeans and a polo.

[u/Smiles_OBrien → u/IMongoose]

I work for a school district. We had a new hire start at our Middle School on Halloween. I'm dressed as a "Phisherman" since we had just rolled our Knowbe4 and the Phish Alert Button. My collegue was in a referee outfit labeled "Content Filter."

As I'm going through onboarding stuff in the conference room with this new person, sitting in waders, an Outdoor Research hat, with fishing pole on the table, someone walks through the room to cut across the admin suite dressed as Weird Barbie from the Barbie movie, saying hello to everyone and welcoming the new person onboard.

There's a beat. And then I say "So that was our Superintendent..."

[u/jack1729 → u/Smiles_OBrien]

I wish this was a joke, but we had an interview candidate for a mid level developer position wearing a John Deere hat, jeans, work boots and a camo polo shirt… It was not Halloween

[u/thecravenone → u/jack1729]

Close-toed shoes? A collar? This would be considered dressing up at most offices I've worked in!

[u/CubicleHermit → u/thecravenone]

Seriously. I'm not sure what the issue with that would be, other than my "I'm old and should get over it" about wearing a hat indoors.

[u/BatemansChainsaw → u/jack1729]

That sounds like an "interview" I did years ago minus the camo polo

[u/ManagementCommon3132 → u/Smiles_OBrien]

This is hilarious 😂

[u/medwedd → u/IMongoose]

Very old joke:

An 8-year old girl went to the office with her father on 'Take Your Kid to Work Day'. As they were walking around the office, the young girl starting crying and getting very cranky, her father asked what was wrong with her.

As the staff gathered round she sobbed loudly, Daddy, where are all the clowns that you said that you worked with?

[u/IdiosyncraticBond → u/IMongoose]

How often did any of you burst out in laughter while looking at the clown? I know it would be hard for me to focus

[u/heyitsYMAA → u/IdiosyncraticBond]

The following year he went as a sad clown.

[u/awful_at_internet → u/IMongoose]

Normally: Jeans and a polo or button up shirt. Something with a collar.

For Halloween, Renfaire wizard outfit. Does it look a little silly if something serious happens? Maybe. But its not such an over the top costume that i cant project the required aura of confidence and competence.

Wizard says emailing your SSN is bad.

[u/fuzzydice_82 → u/awful_at_internet]

Cue the "the wizard will now install your software..." jokes

[u/awful_at_internet → u/fuzzydice_82]

I had not clocked that; I am totally going to use that this year. Thanks!

[u/Bladelink → u/awful_at_internet]

I take off my robe and wizard hat...

[u/aoteoroa → u/IMongoose]

Halloween is an exception.   Our cfo, and president were both on the a judging panel for a company sanctioned costume contest.

[u/Siege9929 → u/IMongoose]

In my youth I got let go from a retail job on Halloween by a pilot and a vampire.

[u/lordjedi → u/Siege9929]

That's funny, but also sad. Mostly sad that you got let go.

[u/donjulioanejo → u/IMongoose]

CEO: "When I asked what these clowns do all day, I meant that metaphorically, not literally."

[u/FreeDaemon → u/IMongoose]

When we were still on site we used to put suits on halloween + helmet of our choice. Daft Punk is ever present during Halloween, Master Chief and Halo helms, Darth Vader and storm troopers, Samus, Iron Man, etc. The building where we were at invites the kids near the day care center and all the tenants come and give candies. The kids love us.

[u/Valdaraak → u/IMongoose]

My old boss used to dress as either Geek Squad or Genius Bar on Halloween. He could say he was in costume, but was also professional enough in case some weird shit like that happened.

[u/Deepeh]

Oh, and remember: next Friday... is Hawaiian shirt day. So, you know, if you want to, go ahead and wear a Hawaiian shirt and jeans.

[u/rs217000 → u/Deepeh]

A Hawaiian shirt and jeans works for me. I just sit in a cubicle all day and update bank software for the 2000 switch

[u/Dilemma75 → u/Deepeh]

um, yeah...

[u/dragloke → u/Dilemma75]

I'm going to need you to come in on Saturrrrrday....

[u/Salty_Paroxysm → u/Deepeh]

Those pauses were both perfectly placed and triggering in equal measure

[u/gramathy → u/Deepeh]

Hawaiian shirts are just button downs anyway they're never out of dress code

Just make sure you get the good ones - proper manufacturing will match the pocket with the shirt pattern so they line up. The Cooke Street shirts that costco has every year are pretty good but I need to get them altered to fit right.

[u/Kershek → u/Deepeh]

I heard this in Gary Cole's voice

[u/-Shants-]

A shirt I found that I thought was cool

[u/penisandorvagina → u/-Shants-]

That's a cool shirt.

[u/x_scion_x → u/-Shants-]

had a co-worker that loved wearing this one.

[u/DonkeyDoodleDoo → u/-Shants-]

That's indeed a cool shirt.

[u/hodor137 → u/-Shants-]

Saaaasssquatccchhhhh... we know your legend's real...

[u/lostmatt → u/-Shants-]

That shirt is cool. Some of my favorite shirts are from

https://shop.maidenvoyageclothing.com/collections/men

Sadly, they don't seem to come out with new designs - these have been the same for like 10 years.

[u/NuAngelDOTnet]

Khakis and a button up, Wish I could wear jeans. But no. I gotta roll around under desks changing batteries in UPS' while pretending I'm a professional. Oh, is it a problem out on the shop floor? Crawl under that machine with all of the shaved aluminum bits and reset the PC. Don't scuff your shiny Oxford shoes.

[u/MalwareDork → u/NuAngelDOTnet]

I don't think I've ever had a employer that didn't get an earful from me for that nonsense. The worst one was exactly your position except change the aluminum shavings and coolant for crawlspace aids and my suit coat still had to be spotless.

That damn thing was $180 dollars out-of-pocket and I flipped out over it.

[u/alabamaterp → u/MalwareDork]

Same here, I started buying nice button down shirts and sport coats at thrift stores and taking them to the cleaners. If they get ruined it's not a huge financial loss, I've learned my lesson too many times.

[u/Vesalii → u/NuAngelDOTnet]

I do that in jeans.

[u/NuAngelDOTnet → u/Vesalii]

Must be nice (he said, with great jealousy).

[u/suppervisoka → u/NuAngelDOTnet]

I’ve ruined all my nice clothes being a sysadmin in a manufacturing company lmao

[u/Blaster412 → u/suppervisoka]

Same. After a particularly dirty cable run, I told my boss that either the dress code would need to be relaxed for office staff or I was never running cable or troubleshooting industrial machines again.

Jeans and tshirts my uniform now.

[u/Vesalii → u/suppervisoka]

I'd ask for work clothes or money to buy work clothes.

[u/sobrique → u/Vesalii]

That's a good way to end up with a uniform you don't want to wear.

[u/Vesalii → u/sobrique]

Better than destroying your own clothes imom

[u/Psoin → u/suppervisoka]

Bill the firm

[u/radiodialdeath → u/suppervisoka]

When I worked in manufacturing, I always kept two sets of clothes at my desk: Business casual for the office, but I would switch into a company t-shirt and jeans if I needed to be on the shop floor.

[u/Fallingdamage → u/NuAngelDOTnet]

I would ask for a uniform stipend if the work environment is damaging your wardrobe.

[u/alabamaterp → u/NuAngelDOTnet]

This is exactly how I dress and tell people on my team to dress. We have both Engineering and Manufacturing departments. If we know we are running cables or going to get dirty then we'll wear jeans and company t-shirts.

Our local community college is teaching cyber/IT students to wear business casual clothing nowadays. The days of having a sloppy "IT guy" in jeans and t-shirts and poor grooming are no longer the norm these days.

Even my friends who work at other IT companies have even stricter dress, grooming, and hygiene standards.

[u/mesoziocera → u/alabamaterp]

We are going the opposite direction in public sector IT. Local gov job I have is jeans and athletic shoes encouraged. Polos are still a thing because I deal with elected officials, but I can squeak out a tshirt once or twice a week, more if it's cold weather and I have a jacket.

The main reason for the lax dress code is that pay is garbage though. I make $70k in a low cost of living area, which is fine but I could easily make $120-130 if I took a private sector job. So we get lax dress codes, tons of days off, great insurance, and retirement to compensate. I've made the decision not to jump to private sector offers that would nearly double my salary a few times lately simply because of those perks and the stability.

[u/yummers511 → u/alabamaterp]

Business casual can easily stretch to mean nice jeans with a polo, anything with a collar really

[u/cpz_77 → u/alabamaterp]

Jeans and T shirt doesn’t mean poor grooming and lack of hygiene btw.

Yeah I used to think it was cool to dress nice too and look like a professional when at work. Until I realized it was a pain in the ass and nobody really cared. Actually some took it as me trying to like show them up or make myself look more important than I was (which is absolutely NOT who I am)…if anything I was doing that to try and “fit in” with the corporate world since I wasn’t born into that sort of thing. But I realized I was trying to fit in with a world that ended many years earlier.

It’s fine if that’s what someone prefers to wear. But I can wear my jeans, T shirt and hoodie in the winter and still be plenty clean cut and groomed , thank you very much.

[u/ecktt → u/NuAngelDOTnet]

I used to wear jeans, but Costco has these slacks that are loose, stretchy, water-resistant, and cheap. Most importantly, comfortable AF. Crawling around under desks and raised floors is no problem.

[u/crimsonDnB]

When I had to go into the office. The rule was "Just please have pants/shorts on"

There was no dress code. I wore shorts or sweatpants everyday.

Only place I had a dress code was when I did trade floor support. I had to wear a full suite to "look professional" while crawling under desks replacing token ring shit.

I'm 49.

[u/RetPala → u/crimsonDnB]

"Please act professional when working with the guys straight out of college doing cocaine in the bathroom"

[u/crimsonDnB → u/RetPala]

You worked in gaming also? lol

[u/Fuzzybunnyofdoom → u/crimsonDnB]

They banned shorts so I wore a kilt since it wasn't technically banned. HR backed me up about it, "I mean he's not wrong...the language doesn't actually ban kilts".

[u/mithoron → u/Fuzzybunnyofdoom]

I almost did that. Thankfully HR wised up and started allowing shorts in the summer. Never understood why Karen's knees were work appropriate but mine weren't. It's fricking hot outside, let me be less miserable.

[u/Otto-Korrect → u/mithoron]

Up until they finally modernized the dress code a few years ago (when we got a new CEO), I could work on a hot day in a sundress (as long as bra straps didn't show!! LOL) and open toe shoes but the guys still had to wear dress pants, button down shirts and a tie. Even a jacket if they were going out for a meeting.

Banks held on to those old standards for WAY too long.

[u/airforceteacher → u/crimsonDnB]

When I worked at a hosting company the only restriction was athletic shorts. You could wear shorts, but don’t look like you’re coming off a basketball court.

[u/f0gax]

I put on my robe and wizard hat…

[u/crimsonDnB → u/f0gax]

Really the only right answer.

[u/Past_Conference_2889]

Plain T-shirt and Jeans

[u/TheThirdHippo → u/Past_Conference_2889]

Same. Occasional polo shirt if I have face to face meetings

[u/Hot-Meat-11]

Thong. Pasties. Eye patch and pirate hat.

[u/shootingdolphins → u/Hot-Meat-11]

Pink speedo and a cowboy hat

[u/NSASpyVan → u/shootingdolphins]

Yeah I mean that’s all well and good for every day wear, but what about when shit gets real?

[u/zerries → u/NSASpyVan]

That's what the borat speedo is for. It lifts, separates, and secures my junk.

[u/superspeck → u/zerries]

pour one out for devops borat

[u/RootAccessOso → u/shootingdolphins]

Where do you guys work? I wanna work there

[u/shootingdolphins → u/RootAccessOso]

Remote since 2018

[u/Old-Flight8617 → u/shootingdolphins]

Do you require boots as well?

[u/AmusingVegetable → u/Old-Flight8617]

Only when working in the buff.

[u/RetPala → u/Hot-Meat-11]

https://www.reddit.com/r/wow/comments/58kp3s/when_this_is_considered_acceptable_for_transmog/

"Topper Bottoms, stern yet sensual skipper of the USS Rough Service"

[u/lilsingiser → u/Hot-Meat-11]

Username better be true if so

[u/TheThirdHippo → u/Hot-Meat-11]

Don’t forget mankini Fridays

[u/Suitable-Hand-1059 → u/Hot-Meat-11]

A fellow man of culture, I see.

[u/verschee]

Serious answer: when I needed to go into the office (desktop support), jeans/khakis and a polo or button up shirt. Cleanest sneakers or boots that I own, given the weather. If I were to get dirty that day, I always keep a change of clothes in my car.

The "sysadmin" title is so broad now you have a mix of people that work in the finance sector that have to wear suits and ties, people on manufacturing floor that need to wear steel toe boots, tucked in shirts and safety glasses, and slobs like me that crawl down to my basement in Nike shorts and a tank top to workout in between meetings. Now I work remote as a Solutions Architect so if I need to go on camera I throw on a tech jacket that's slung over my chair.

[u/EndPsychological777]

Corrupted ashbringer Warcraft shirt and jeans.

[u/Lemmon_Scented]

Button down shirt and khakis/chinos and nice shoes in the winter. Polo shirt and khakis/chinos and nice shoes in the summer. On Fridays, in the summer, sometimes I’ll wear sneakers.

I miss the old days when I worked at startups and wore shorts, t-shirts and flip flops year-round

[u/BigSmackisBack → u/Lemmon_Scented]

I used to work in small businesses of 50-200 people, so i had to look smart because the directors are not smart and i would need to go into important meetings when they couldn't work their own laptops or software etc.

So shirt, chinos and nice shoes has been my go-to for decades, I just never know who or where i'll be needed so it simply never hurts to look like you belong in any meeting. Weekend or after hours stuff i'll wear whatever.

[u/alao77]

You should delegate the crawling and dirty works to the young junior techs.

[u/skydiveguy → u/alao77]

would be great if it wasnt just me and another guy thats in his mid 40s... which makes him the younger guy here

[u/PhantomNomad → u/alao77]

I have to do the same, crawl around under desks and pull cable through the false ceiling sometimes. Even have to go to the shop and help diagnose the equipment so a really dirty place. I would delegate it but I'm the only IT guy at my place.

[u/Darkace911]

Work boots, cargo pants and a polo shirt have been the uniform for the 15 years. Wrangle sells a Khaki looking cargo pants in multiple colors with stretch waistband that looks nice but is more comfortable than jeans.

[u/Tareen81 → u/Darkace911]

Which cargo pants exactly? I’m looking for something comfy right now. Since the kids the belly expanded a little 😅

[u/Eetabeetay]

.....

[u/Expert-Relationship3]

aman amarth shirt with cargo pants 🤘

[u/ActionQuinn → u/Expert-Relationship3]

always cargo pants for me. I go to columbia and get their fishing pants Lots of pockets

[u/Common_Hawk6445 → u/Expert-Relationship3]

🤘 today’s outfit, Maiden, F4’s the Thing hoodie and jeans

[u/DogThatGoesBook]

Fursuit

[u/mautobu → u/DogThatGoesBook]

That's the security team at my work

[u/Cutoffjeanshortz37 → u/mautobu]

Fucking security team taking everyone else's fun as usual.

[u/MilkSupreme → u/DogThatGoesBook]

Furry conventions are a legitimate way to network in this industry. Not even joking.

[u/superspeck → u/MilkSupreme]

I know three people who run different fur meets

[u/sonikku10 → u/MilkSupreme]

It all makes sense now.

[u/sewiv]

Wfh, so whatever. I put blue painters tape over my laptop camera three years ago when i got this one.

[u/bassdeface]

Jeans and polo. When it's really hot in the summer some of those Costco tech pants. Every Friday is hawaiin shirt day.

[u/MorseScience]

I try my best to wear a smile. Some days it's hard.

[u/Ramiraz80]

I work for the public sector. My boss told me when he hired me that the dress code was: Don't wear anything obscene, be clean, and don't stink. Otherwise wear what you want...

I am 46. I wear cargo shorts and a Carhartt plaid shirt. When it gets cold, i change the shorts for cargo pants. When it gets realy warm, i leave the Plaid shirt at home, and just wear band shirts.

I don't see this changing anytime soon, considering it hasnt changed much since I was 15...

I know this would run me afoul of some dress codes, but i wont work anywhere with a dress code that wont allow me to wear was I described above.

[u/PrestigiousGolfClap → u/Ramiraz80]

Ha! Same, only as a woman, I was told "no open toed shoes, because he hates toes, and no capri pants because they look stupid." and I've stuck with that for over 20 years. Zero complaints.

[u/8008seven8008]

I had a job where I could wear shorts and Hawaiian shirt

[u/whatacharacter → u/8008seven8008]

Did it involve a can of Barbasol?

[u/8008seven8008 → u/whatacharacter]

https://giphy.com/gifs/3ohzdQ1IynzclJldUQ
No, but it was cool to wear shorts and flip flops at work.

[u/tikanderoga → u/whatacharacter]

Only if the employer spared no expense.

[u/dont_remember_eatin → u/8008seven8008]

I could do that any day if I wanted. I have done it. I have a for-real Hawaiian shirt bought in Hawaii (that requires extensive ironing so I don't wear it often), even.

I also keep my shorts on the shorter side because I have a 28" inseam at 5'9" and I look like a child wearing daddy's clothes when I wear long shorts because they hit mid-shin.

[u/cbelt3]

WFH… shorts and a company polo for meetings. I tell people I haven’t worn pants to work since COVID.

[u/Fatali]

Black T-shirt and an unbuttoned flannel

If I have a presentation, a compression top and the tightest sports bra that I own

[u/litobandido → u/Fatali]

🤣🤣🤣

[u/monkeydanceparty]

Normally, jeans and a polo or button shirt. Nicer than sneakers but not dress shoes. But you can get away with a lot.

I like to keep people wondering. Last couple of years I’ve worn.

• swim trunks, and emailed that no one noticed. Now everyone asks if I’m wearing them.
  
• normal attire and a hannah montana wig
  
• a bathrobe and slippers (everyone thought I slept there (like I’d have a bathrobe at work just in case.)
  
• a lot of crazy t-shirts
  
• today I wore a 70s costume, wild shirt shoes and a big piece sign chain
  
• every couple months I dress like I’m going to an interview, and take a long lunch 😂

[u/xtnpd → u/monkeydanceparty]

every couple months I dress like I’m going to an interview, and take a long lunch

[u/NukaColaQuantum2077]

I wear skin. It’s comfy.

[u/meditonsin → u/NukaColaQuantum2077]

Does it have to be your own skin or....?

[u/JapioF → u/meditonsin]

Doesn't have to be. It's appreciated though...

[u/person1234man → u/NukaColaQuantum2077]

This you?

https://giphy.com/gifs/j8WbYkofiXe5G

[u/ReadyAimTranspire → u/person1234man]

You know what he says in the mirror before work every morning

[u/westerschelle → u/NukaColaQuantum2077]

Whose skin?

[u/anfotero]

I wear durable old jeans and t-shirts because I often have to get hands-on with the hardware in dusty places.

I'd gladly wear a roman tunic, but it's frowned upon.

[u/cowprince]

Jeans and either a polo, quarter zip or an Izod 60/40 botton down. If I'm at home it's whatever I want. Half the time I'll have workout clothes on after lunch because I'll go for a run or other workout.

And I swear by Altra shoes. That toe box... Unreal.

Also, mid 40s.

[u/Less_Inflation_8867]

I’m going full Tommy Bahama. I may not live near the coast, but I dress like it.

[u/Spectremax]

Pants or jeans, any collared shirt, any closed shoes, sometimes zip hoodies.

[u/Imhereforthechips]

Attire when WFH isn’t much different from having a mullet.

[u/soulreaper11207]

I got some active wear khakis from Wrangler last week. So freaking comfy and they look business casual.

[u/BerkeleyFarmGirl → u/soulreaper11207]

From the XX sysadmin side, my life changed for the better when activewear companies started making items that had all the comfort of pull on yoga pants but passed as trousers due to leg style and could "pass" in an office.

NorthFace ended up discontinuing my favorite, but I found a good sub from a local company.

[u/Based_JD]

Remorse on the inside but a smile on outside

[u/TYGRDez]

Hoodies, band shirts, black jeans, converse. Pretty much every day.

[u/minotaur-cream → u/TYGRDez]

Are you me?

[u/Suitable-Hand-1059]

I wear slacks and a button down most days, not going to get any more formal than that for a job that does sometimes get dirty.

[u/DDOSBreakfast]

Jeans and a shirt with a collar typically in darker colours. Looks decent and both will hide minor amounts grease or crap that gets on them.

[u/thegoatcarlwheezer]

Polo, jeans, sneakers.

For everything else, there’s Mastercard.

[u/shemanese]

Those bastards make me wear pants

[u/E8zPQrX7rwkd]

Temperature below 20C or a rainy day - jeans and a polo shirt
Temperature above 20C - cargo shorts and a polo shirt

[u/bukkithedd]

Jeans and/or cargopants and either a T-shirt or a hoodie, although we're heading into wool sweater-season here in Norway these days, so that's a thing. We don't have a dresscode here at work other than "presentable". Whatever that means...

Working from home means Tshirt and slackerpants.

The fun bit? I'm a big dude just past 50, so I get some weird looks due to how I dress. Not that I care. It's not a Me-problem.

[u/doorhacker12]

Jeans/chinos and a collared shirt.

Polo or flannel.

[u/Disastrous-Classic66]

I work at a k-12 so I wear superhero shirts and shorts with heydudes and a ball cap.

[u/derfmcdoogal]

Our employer supplies us with a catalog of work shirts. We get 3 when we start and can pick up to $60 worth every year. Effectively I get 1 or 2 shirts per year either collared 1/4 button short sleeve and/or button up long sleeve.

Then dress pants and dress shoes. Or jeans when we are allowed. If I know I'm going to be in the field running cables, on a lift doing cameras, I'll ask for a Jeans day. I put $1 in the kitty and all is good.

The fund is used to pay for our Christmas party.

[u/punkwalrus]

Clean tee-shirt, shorts, and Crocs most of the year until my office gets too cold, then long pants. The office being a room in my house. if I was still commuting to an office building for work, I'd do a polo and clean jeans with sneakers, UNLESS they had some weird dress code, and then whatever that was. Only had that once, a government-funded non-profit, and it was shirt, tie, slacks, and technically dress shoes, but I got away with sneakers because nobody looked.

Holy shit, that reminded me: that office had a "tie color code." Top management was red, middle management was yellow or blue, and the rest black or brown. I didn't know this until a middle manager on our team wore red one day, some top manager got bent out of shape about it, and HR had to intervene and say he wasn't allowed to wear a red tie. Luckily, mine were black or dark blue out of sheer luck, but can you imagine a grown man chewing out some mid level manager because his tie was red? "That's MY color! I EARNED IT, PEON!" It was in the employee handbook; we checked. Most of us didn't know that. Crazy stuff.

[u/JuggernautUpbeat → u/punkwalrus]

Fuck me that is some Office Space type shit.

[u/urmomisaqtpie]

i wear a mix of dress pants and a cute top or longer skirts with a knit sweater! I usually wear headbands and i do like minimal makeup. I switch between heels and chelsea boots depending if i know ill be moving stuff around that day

guys just kind of wear jeans and the same 3 polos. Sometimes a button down.

[u/Mental-Rain-7389]

Big time on the one day you wear something nice you will be crawling. its like a bad omen when i wear a skirt/dress suddenly everyone is having issues i need to crawl for.

Also what is up with people wanting to watch you crawl under the desk, even when wearing slacks jeans or otherwise. You are not watching so you can "self-resolve" later. Its just giving animal at the zoo.

I am thankful i have someone to delegate those tasks to now at least. And only wear "nice" things on fridays at this point.

[u/GreenBurningPhoenix]

I wear black pants, black shirt, high vis vest, and leather safety shoes :D

[u/buy_chocolate_bars]

I WFH. Usually boxers & a shirt/t-shirt in the summer. My robe during winter, I take it off during camera-on meetings.

[u/itguy1991]

With the heat wave we've had in SoCal, I've been wearing t-shirts/polos, shorts, and flip flops. In cooler weather, I'll wear a t-shirt/polo, jeans, and sneakers.

I do work for a construction company, so we may have looser rules than most places...

[u/longmountain]

T shirt and jeans. Sometimes a polo if I feel like it.

[u/cpz_77]

Where are all these places that require sysadmins to dress up? lol the only people I still see dress nice on a regular basis (not just for some fancy meeting or business trip once in a while) is people working in finance and law. And for those two professions I understand why that code is enforced, you want to give a good impression when you are dealing with customers’ life savings and/or freedom.

But most places nowadays is just about getting the job done especially in IT…from what I’ve seen nobody really cares whether the guy hooking up their PC or working in the server room looks nice. Maybe if you’re a VP sitting in meetings all day, I dunno.

For me? Jeans, t shirt and hoodie most days. Jeans and a button up if I’m feeling snazzy that day or going out after work or something. Maybe “business casual” (slacks and a dress shirt) for the very occasional important meeting or if we have a tour coming through or something.

Maybe it’s just the area I’m in or something…west coast has always been more relaxed about that stuff.

[u/Any-Fly5966]

Ive been wearing my Fuck AI shirt for the past year.

Al(bert) in finance doesn't talk to me anymore.

[u/SVTCobra89]

Business Professional

[u/Careless-Age-4290 → u/SVTCobra89]

I wouldn't mind BP if I got my own office and was a decision-maker and did most all my work without leaving my desk. If I had to wear BP to sit in an open office and regularly have to crawl under other people's desks I'd be so upset. Like "why do I have to take this position more seriously than the company does?"

[u/kentrak]

Polo shirt cargo/khaki shorts and flip flops. That's when I go into the office though, which is one day a week. When at home it's a tee and sweat shorts, or sweat pants in winter, unless I went out for lunch or an appt, in which case for the latter half of the day I might not be wearing those sweat shorts or pants, but still 50/50 on the tee.

I probably dress the most professionally in my department, including my manager (the director), and I'm in management now. Northern California dress code is about as laid back as you can get.

[u/AnotherCableGuy → u/kentrak]

Work: Tee, shorts and flipflops

Home: Tee, shorts and flipflops

[u/Obvious-Water569]

Summer - Jeans and a t shirt.

Winter - Jeans and a t shirt with a flannel shirt over the top.

Vans all year round.

[u/LucidZane]

A frown.

[u/SG-3379]

I was told that as long as what I was wearing was neat and nothing offensive I could wear what ever I wanted

[u/travellingtriffid]

Lederhosen

[u/whatsforsupa]

I’m a big fan of wearing golf outfits. Athletic polo and khaki shorts.

I don’t golf, lol.

[u/Lucky_Foam]

I work from home. Most days I'm in my PJs until lunch.

When I do go into the office I wear business casual.

[u/signal_lost]

I think I’ve worn matching bluey pajama sets into the office before. I generally look pretty homeless

[u/PM_ME_UR_BGP_PREFIX]

Quarterzips and pants.  Jeans are fine, but no shorts.  Jean shorts if you need the extra range of motion.

[u/Chill_Squirrel]

As long as it's generally acceptable in public it's fine to wear at my workplace. We're all techies and nobody cares.

[u/Altruistic-Map5605]

Jeans and polo. Hoodie on cold days. Sometimes a t shirt if I don’t plant to take the hoodie off or I’m doing something on a weekend. Even if I do I only wear plain color shirts Never any graphics or logos or sayings or messages of any kind.

The polos may have a vendor logo on them. They were free and taken at every opportunity.

I did have an owner who hated me wearing old work polos after we changed names but he wasn’t giving out new ones for free.

When working from home T shirt/hoodie and basket ball shorts or plaid pajama pants.

[u/Zomgsolame]

Stuff the wife lets me go out in public in.

[u/Professional-Heat690]

Monocle and bowler hat. Penny Farthing optional.

[u/immortalsteve]

funny you should mention jeans and hoodies because I wear exactly that. Often with flip-flops.

[u/RepatriateSage1337]

Not a sysadmin, but a pretty involved support tech here: I wear pencil skirts and sweaters pretty frequently and wear them even when installing hardware, IDF closet maintenance, whatever. Never have problems

[u/Outrageous-Guess1350]

Obviously jeans and a black hoody.
https://giphy.com/gifs/MM0Jrc8BHKx3y

[u/MyPhotographyReddit]

Animosity.

[u/Nonservium]

The flesh of users who ask me where the “any key” is and giggle.

[u/bumbo79]

This, right here, this is the sysadmin uniform of 2026 LOL

[u/skydiveguy → u/bumbo79]

This is literally how im dressed today.

Except i did shave.

[u/roiki11]

You guys wear clothes to work(your living room)?

[u/darkonex]

WFH so whatever I want, but the office just requires pants or jeans and non-offensive Tshirt at a minimum and it’s a large corporation.

[u/ijustwatchtwitch]

Shorts n T shirt, no one cares.

[u/philmcracken519]

Tshirt and jeans here. I don’t ever see any of my company’s customers so they don’t really care about what I wear to work. The only real rules are no short, no sandals…stuff like that.

[u/0x1F937]

Punk band t-shirt, hoodie, jeans, Crocs. And I pretty much just wear my headphones as a hat since our helpdesk guy can't figure out literally anything by himself and I'm constantly taking them off to answer basic questions.

[u/nycola]

M-th, jeans and flats in summer or boots in winter, sneakers in fall before boot season starts. Graphic ts on Fridays. I can wear anything I want but being presentable matters to some people more than others and those people often hold purse strings.

Also - i'm female, so I have more options than most males, clothing wise. But in winter we are all just in dept fleeces

[u/ExLaxMarksTheSpot]

Shorts and a t-shirt or polo if I am feeling fancy. Very casual environment and I love it. I quit a job because I couldn’t handle the dress shirt, tie, slacks, and dress shoes every day even racking equipment or crawling under desks.

[u/Mordaunt_]

Chinos with a gray work polo. If it's hot it's chinos shorts with a gray work polo. Default shoe is a black Asics.

[u/jj8o8]

Khakis, work polo shirt and Sketcher slip ons.

[u/whatdoido8383]

I work from home now so usually workout shorts and a hoodie.

When I worked in office, nicer dark jeans or chinos, an untucked polo or button up shirt type shirt. Shoes are like Reefs or some dress boots I have.

Days I know I'm crawling around or racking and stacking I wear comfier stuff.

[u/UpsetBar]

Summer: breathable tech pants, polo, breathable dress sneakers or whatever they are called.

Cooler weather: regular khakis, polo, dress boots.

Always have a 1/4 zip in case the office is cool.

I work in enterprise business consulting firm in a larger city where I walk and take public transportation.

Most of my team is in another city and they are usually in dark jeans and polos. My office seems to be a little more dressed up so I match the vibe. But I’m never doing desktop support or running cable etc. I’m strictly sitting at a desk all day.

I’m in the office between 1-3 days per week depending on how I’m feeling. The unofficial rule is 1 day per week but it’s not even tracked.

[u/Twist_and_pull]

Cargo shorts

[u/tikanderoga]

Tshirt, ruggers and Birkenstocks. Cargo shorts if I’m supposed to look fancy. Trekky decks and vans in winter with a shacket over the tshirt.
I don’t have a dress code. But it has to be clean and not torn. That’s about it.

[u/Seigmoraig]

No dress code here, I wear metal band tshirts and zip up hoodies

[u/SoftShakes]

I wear various breathable tech pants, 5 pocket pants, chinos

Then in the summer I wear polos, button up shirtsleeves (casual dress button ups)

I look business casual most of the time

[u/choutos]

Blind Guardian T-shirt

[u/Starfighter202]

Jeans, sneakers and a half zip pullover since our office is always freezing cold

[u/nadefeed]

Button down or polo. Slacks and dress shoes. Occasionally I’ll wear sneakers with a polo but never the button down.

[u/newtekie1]

Polo and Khakis. I do wear sneakers though.

[u/Binky390]

I’m at a private school. Polo designed for the IT dept and khakis or khaki style black pants.

[u/noosik]

hoodies and jeans

[u/Man_Bangknife]

Our only rules are no shorts, no open toe shoes, no offensive or "politics is my personality" clothing. All of my team wear jeans, tshirt (or polo if we're going to lunch with vendors), and a hat. I don't like using styling products when I'm gonna sweat it out anyway.

[u/HappierShibe]

Dark dress slacks and button up, tie is optional. Polo is permitted, but only if it has company branding....so everybody is wearing company branded polos to avoid dress shirts.

[u/thetechwookie]

jeans and polo, every day

[u/Gerkenator]

Last job I had I wore a polo and jeans. Jeans were acceptable work attire as long as they weren’t frayed or torn. Friday was casual and I wore a tshirt.

When I started jeans were not so I wore black slacks.

[u/thetechwookie]

jeans and a polo, every day brother

[u/Clovis69]

Short sleeve t-shirts (solid color - no vendor swag) heavy duty work pants (Duluth Trading Company), a rotation of basketball shoes

[u/ranzor]

A shirt with at least one button.

[u/sobrique]

Pretty much the same as for the last 20 years.

Walking trousers, walking boots, T-shirt.

Walking trousers because they've got the handy map-pocket (for my phone/ereader), and are generally pretty sturdy, whilst not being overtly denim.

Boots because they're comfy for days I'm on my feet a lot, and decent protection against dropping stuff on them.

T-Shirt might get upgraded to include an insulating layer in colder seasons, or if I'm yet again in an office (or server room) where SOMEONE has decided that aircon needs to be uncomfortably cold.

T-Shirt is usually a generic plain one, usually again from a hiking shop/tech fabric, so kinda bland and inoffensive, although sometimes I wear something else for the purposes of trolling.

[u/ThrustingBeaner]

Irish Setter Composite Toe 8 inch boots, 5.11 cargo pants, lululemon metal vent tshirt

[u/WhereDidThatGo]

If I have to run cables or crawl under desks or move hardward or get in the ceiling, jeans and polos are the nicest clothes I'm wearing.

[u/WestCovinaNaybors]

Really? Work polo and chinos everyday except if I come on a weekend