What not to wear to work – are the Irish coping with the hot weather?

Drop them like they’re hot – what not to wear to work

Less is not necessarily more. “Summer is like a disaster zone,” heiress Ivanka Trump said recently. “Hemlines go up, and there are so many minefields for women.”

We never thought of Ivanka as our lifestyle guru of choice, but it is getting hot in here . . .

You may have to just suck up being hot as you photocopy. It will be good practice for later in your life.

So how short is too short?
As temperatures rise, so do hemlines. US Glamor magazine's Kate Davidson Hudson is your go-to girl here. She advocates a "sit test" in front of a mirror before leaving the house. "If the skin of your legs is hitting the chair, that's too short." You will also stick to the chair.Your call.

Don't bring the beach into the office
Unless you are a lifeguard or swimwear model (in which case, why not?), cut-offs, flip-flops, crop tops and anything you'd wear to a pool area is a no-no. Or maybe we're just jealous.

Shorts
Just don't. Even on a Friday. No one can take you seriously if your backside is hanging out.

Shades of grey
Actually, just shades. You are not Bono. As George Michael advised, if you want to wear sunglasses "just go outside".

Sock it to 'em
No, actually, don't. Men should steer clear of the sock/sandal combo at all times. (This advice should also be heeded outside the office.)

Back to black
Wear colour. The sun is shining and you are not Marilyn Manson.

Irish chic is not too shabby, it seems. Even in the heat.

OUT ON THE STREETS

With high temperatures on Tuesday, and Wednesday looking like great, The Irish Times decided to have a look at how you are all dressing (or undressing) during the hot weather.

Ignoring the young Taylor Swift fans clogging the streets of the capital with their willowy limbs and super-short playsuits, the rest of us are not doing too badly at all.

The Irish may be learning that less is more, says Top Shop worker Sinead O’Brien. We are “layering” clothes, then gradually removing them, rather than stripping off and letting it all hang out, she says.

No one is dropping it “like it’s hot”, she says, however the weather is catching some of us short.

A woman in the queue asks O’Brien to remove the security tag from the top she has just bought to replace her “far too hot” outfit. She leaves the shop cooler, but poorer.

Nicole Conroy and Marzena Jurek are sitting on their blanket on the ground in Dublin’s St Stephen’s Green. They have just finished lunch.

Nicole is feeling hot. She “didn’t know about the weather”, so she is wearing heavy black trousers and black shoes. Marzena got back yesterday from a visit to Wroclaw in Poland. She’s wearing thick black tights because she needs to catch up on her laundry. She is boiling.

The women are heading back to their office, where open-toed shoes are not allowed for “health and safety” reasons, they say.

In Britain, Trade Unions are urging employers to “relax the dress code rules temporarily and allow their staff to dress down”. Maybe it is hotter there.

Office worker David O’Sullivan says that he hasn’t noticed many men changing their look during the heatwave. His company happens to have changed the office dress code and there’s no need to wear a tie any more.

In this weather, he is grateful, but “you’re not going to see me in shorts, though. I imagine I might get fired.”

Claire O’Byrne works in the same office. She has a fan on her desk and has dropped her traditional scarf due to the clement weather.

Claire has migrated to flesh-coloured tights and a lighter top for the duration. Going bare-legged would be a step too far, though.

“I wouldn’t work in the office without tights, even if it’s 40 degrees. I just don’t think it is professional,” she says.

O’Byrne is not a fan of heat-induced sartorial statements. “You quickly look like you should be on the beach. Personally, I don’t think it is appropriate.”

Orla Deasy Dunne, Maedbh MacSweeney and Rangtelle Pichay are up from Clonakilty and still buzzing about last night’s Taylor Swift concert. Last night Taylor “rocked” it in a white two-piece. Swift is the queen of the playsuit and the soon-to-be fifth-years are happy to follow her lead. They look gorgeous, but anyone who has kissed goodbye to their teenage years might find that when it comes to the playsuit-look, they should really “shake it off ” .

Elva Tiernan from Blackrock is out with a friend, her children and a French exchange student. The summer clothes have “come out of the attic,” she tells The Irish Times. The 48-year-old is “a little wary of shorts”, but she is enjoying not wearing socks and feeling the grass between her toes again.

She is less worried about fashion than making sure she has sunscreen on. “No one wants a Pat Spillane tan,” she says.

She thinks Ireland is shaping up pretty well in the heat. Our fake tan is looking respectable and she hasn’t seen too many “muffin tops”. Holiday shopping is finally paying off – even if it is last year’s.

As we hit the lift button to re-enter a hot Irish Times building, Aisling from advertising is bemoaning her choice of leggings and a cardigan. She is too hot, she says. Tomorrow she is going to dress “appropriately”. If she gets chance to visit the attic, that is.