Undress code: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Limit on how much clothing should be worn}}

{{Redirect|Undress|the MTV series|Undressed}}

{{Distinguish|Western dress codes#Full dress, half dress, and undress}}

{{refimprove|date=August 2007}}

{{Western dress codes|casual}}

An '''undress code''' is a social norm which sets an upper limit on the amount of [[clothing]] that can or should be worn. {{cn|date=September 2018}}

Promoters of the entertainment industry, including sport, attempt to "sex-up" the entertainment by under-dressing the entertainers or sportspeople. For example, in 1999, the [[beach volleyball]] regulatory body, the [[International Volleyball Federation]], set a limit on the amount of clothing allowed for the athletes to wear during competition. The women's uniform comprises a bikini with a width limit on the bottoms of {{convert|2.5|inch|cm}} on the sides,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/STYLE/9901/13/vollyball.bikini/ |title=Bikini blues – Beach volleyball makes the swimsuit standard |website=CNN.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070813055124/http://www.cnn.com/STYLE/9901/13/vollyball.bikini/ |archive-date=August 13, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> which has led to [[Beach volleyball#Uniform controversy|some controversy]],<ref>{{cite web |url =http://www.toxicclub.com/2015/controversy-over-women-athletes-shedding-their-clothes-in-field/ |title =Beach Volleyball dress shed controversy |year =1999 |access-date =2021-02-09 |archive-date =2015-07-12 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20150712224812/http://www.toxicclub.com/2015/controversy-over-women-athletes-shedding-their-clothes-in-field/ |url-status =live }}</ref> and in 2012 these limits were relaxed.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/volleyball/9169429/London-2012-Olympics-female-beach-volleyball-players-permitted-to-wear-less-revealing-uniforms.html |title=London 2012 Olympics: female beach volleyball players permitted to wear less revealing uniforms |date=27 March 2012 |publisher=Telegraph |access-date=2019-02-13 |archive-date=2021-02-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209152258/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/volleyball/9169429/London-2012-Olympics-female-beach-volleyball-players-permitted-to-wear-less-revealing-uniforms.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In July 2021, a beach handball team was fined because its women members wore shorts instead of bikini bottoms in a match, which requires no more than 10cm of their behind to be covered.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/others/norway-womens-beach-handball-bikini-shorts-b1887065.html |title= Norwegian women’s beach handball team fined for not wearing bikini bottoms |last= Rathborn |first= Jack |date= 22 July 2021 |website= www.independent.co.uk |publisher= The Independent |access-date= 12 March 2024 |quote= The governing body’s rules state: “Women should wear a bikini where the top should be a tight-fitting sports bra with deep openings at the arms. The bottom must not be more than ten centimeters on the sides.”‪}}</ref><ref> [https://thenewdaily.com.au/sport/other-sports/2021/07/21/norway-handball-bikini-fine/ Handball team fined for bikini bottom refusal]</ref> Similarly, organisers of some [[swimsuit competition]]s set a low maximum threshold for swimwear for contestants.

An '''undress code''' is a [[dress code]] or [[social norm]] which sets an upper limit on the amount of [[clothing]] that can or should be worn. For example, some public swimming facilities set maximum clothing standards, for sanitary reasons. These rules restrict persons using the facilities to specific types of bathing suits.

Some restaurants, sometimes called [[breastaurant]]s, require female [[waiting staff]] to be skimpily-dressed.

Historically, the term "undress" is used to describe dress codes consisting of clothes of formality much less than those normally worn, including everything from [[dressing gown]]s, to, in their first few decades, [[lounge suit]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.kent.edu/museum/exhibits/exhibitdetail.cfm?customel_datapageid_2203427=2268972| title = Of Men & Their Elegance | author=Kent State University Museum| year=2002|accessdate=2011-02-01}}</ref> In contrast, the term "overdress" can describe the wearing of clothing which is more formal than that normally worn in that situation, and can in fact be more revealing, as in the case of [[evening gown]]s or [[cocktail dress]]es.

The social norm in some countries is to wear considerably less or briefer clothing than in others.<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article619936.ece The undress code that’s the height of teen fashion] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110523220414/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article619936.ece |date=2011-05-23 }} From The Times August 26, 2006.</ref> Fashions since the mid-20th century has been towards briefer, more [[form-fitting]] styles, as well as thinner and [[See-through clothing|sheer]] materials. In some cultures, including some in Africa, Latin America and South-East Asia/Oceania, traditional dress consists of less clothing than those of the West. Some religious traditions or rituals require the members to be nude, as was the case with the ancient Indian [[Gymnosophistsgymnosophists]] or the Christian sect of the [[Adamites]] (the custom is still practised by [[ascetic]]s of certain [[Indian religions]], as in [[Jainism]]). (seeSee also [[Christian naturism]]).)

In some occupations, it is expected for the service provider to be under-dressed. Some employers require their service staff to be under-dressed. This may be a work requirement or a work culture. Some employers achieve this objective by providing a uniform which is more revealing than it needs to be.

Promoters of the entertainment industry, including sport, attempt to "sex-up" the entertainment by under-dressing the entertainers or sportspeople. For example, in 1999, the [[beach volleyball]] regulatory body set a limit on the amount of clothing allowed for the athletes to wear during competition. These require only swimsuits as uniforms for women.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/STYLE/9901/13/vollyball.bikini/|title=Bikini blues – Beach volleyball makes the swimsuit standard|website=CNN.com|archiveurl=http://archive.today/5Qr5F{{dead link <!-- consider change the ___domain --> }}|archivedate=September 28, 2013}}</ref> This has led to [[Beach volleyball#Uniform controversy|some controversy]].<ref>{{cite web|url =http://www.toxicclub.com/2015/controversy-over-women-athletes-shedding-their-clothes-in-field/ |title=Beach Volleyball dress shed controversy |year=1999}}</ref> Similarly, organisers of some [[swimsuit competition]]s set a low maximum threshold for swimwear for contestants.

Undress codes that prohibit clothing altogether are less common and are limited to [[naturist]] recreation facilities, and to [[sauna]]s and [[steam bath]]s, where the cultural traditions of a country encourage or require nudity, for example in [[Germany]], [[Austria]], [[Denmark]], [[Sweden]], [[Finnish sauna|Finland]] and [[Estonia]].

The social norm in some countries is to wear considerably less or briefer clothing than in others.<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article619936.ece The undress code that’s the height of teen fashion] From The Times August 26, 2006.</ref> Fashions since the mid-20th century has been towards briefer, more [[form-fitting]] styles, as well as thinner and [[See-through clothing|sheer]] materials. In some cultures, including some in Africa, Latin America and South-East Asia/Oceania, traditional dress consists of less clothing than those of the West. Some religious traditions or rituals require the members to be nude, as was the case with the ancient Indian [[Gymnosophists]] or the Christian sect of the [[Adamites]] (the custom is still practised by [[ascetic]]s of certain [[Indian religions]], as in [[Jainism]]). (see also [[Christian naturism]]).

Laws in many countries require a person to undress in some circumstances when requested by a customs or police officer in a [[strip search]].

==See also==

*[[Dress code (Western)#Full dress, half dress, and undress|Dress code sectioncodes]]

==References==

{{reflist}}

{{Clothing}}

==Further reading==

* [http://www.costumes.org/history/100pages/victlinks.htm The Costumer's Manifesto]

[[Category:Nudity]]

[[Category:Dress codes]]

[[Category:Casual wear]]