 | This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Undress code" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Part of a series on |
| Western dress codes and corresponding attires |
|---|
| Formal (full dress) |
| Semi-formal (half dress) |
| Informal (undress, "dress clothes") |
| Casual (anything not above) |
Supplementary alternatives
|
|
Legend:
 Fashion portal |
.svg){kind=small}
.svg){kind=small}
An undress code is a social norm which sets an upper limit on the amount of clothing that can or should be worn.
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 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) on the sides, which has led to some controversy, and in 2012 these limits were relaxed. 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. Similarly, organisers of some swimsuit competitions set a low maximum threshold for swimwear for contestants.
Some restaurants, sometimes called breastaurants, require female waiting staff to be skimpily-dressed.
The social norm in some countries is to wear considerably less or briefer clothing than in others. Fashions since the mid-20th century has been towards briefer, more form-fitting styles, as well as thinner and 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 ascetics 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
References
- "Bikini blues – Beach volleyball makes the swimsuit standard". CNN.com. Archived from the original on August 13, 2007.
- "Beach Volleyball dress shed controversy". 1999. Archived from the original on 2015-07-12. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
- "London 2012 Olympics: female beach volleyball players permitted to wear less revealing uniforms". Telegraph. 27 March 2012. Archived from the original on 2021-02-09. Retrieved 2019-02-13.
- Rathborn, Jack (22 July 2021). "Norwegian women's beach handball team fined for not wearing bikini bottoms". www.independent.co.uk. The Independent. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
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."
- Handball team fined for bikini bottom refusal
- The undress code that’s the height of teen fashion Archived 2011-05-23 at the Wayback Machine From The Times August 26, 2006.
| Clothing | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Headwear | |||||||||
| Neckwear | |||||||||
| Underwear and lingerie |
| ||||||||
| Tops | |||||||||
| Bottoms |
| ||||||||
| Full-Body Wear |
| ||||||||
| Coats and outerwear |
| ||||||||
| Nightwear | |||||||||
| Swimwear | |||||||||
| Legwear | |||||||||
| Footwear | |||||||||
| Accessories |
| ||||||||
| Dress codes |
| ||||||||
| Related | |||||||||
 Clothing portal | |||||||||