Summer Dress Policy

In a shining example of corporate America trying hard to look like they're throwing you a bone but not really doing anything, I present the men's side of my company's "Summer Dress Policy"

I should backtrack and say they do actually give us a break, but they word it so that it looks like so much more. The policy could be summed up in three words. Lose the tie. But of course, nobody in corporate America can be that blunt and would rather try to look much more magnanimous, so we get this:


Appropriate Dress
Dress shirts (short or long sleeved)
Sport shirts with collars (but not golf shirts)
Slacks with creases
Casual dress shoes
Ties (optional for summer)
Socks


Inappropriate Dress
Golf shirts
Jeans (any color)
Casual pants (without creases)
Cargo pants
Shorts of any kind
Denim shirts
T-shirts or collarless shirts
Tennis outfits, jogging outfits or similar athletic clothing
Shoes without socks
Tennis shoes, sneakers or "topsiders"
Sandals

Looks decent until you ask, if I can wear a sport shirt with a collar, but it can't be a golf shirt, what option do I have? Isn't it a bit like saying you can wear sandals, but can't show your toes? The smart ass in me wants to say, "OK then, I own no golf shirts. All my collared sport shirts are polo shirts." If I say that, and corporate america says I can wear my polo shirts, I can assume, I suppose, that all I have to do is put a piece of masking tape over whatever golf logo might be on my golf shirt and viola, it's a polo shirt. If that is not the case, the million dollar question is, what does that leave in the sport shirt arena? Anything? If not, lets get down to the fact that I have to still wear a dress shirt, and I can lose the tie.

I should point out that there is a reason for singling out the golf shirt. We work in the golf industry, and there is a paranoia in management that we will be perceived as people who do nothing but play golf all day, and they think if we wear golf shirts, it will add to that perception. I can point out that employees in banks, insurance companies, logistics companies, etc. in town all wear the dreaded golf shirt and none of them are perceived as work-skipping golfers, but because we work in the golf industry, we are supposedly more susceptible to the misperception. The question still remains though, if I can wear a sport shirt with a collar, but it can't be a golf shirt, what can it be?

By the way, what are casual dress shoes, anyway? Is that not an oxymoron?