Women employees have an excessive amount of rules and pressures regarding what they should and should not wear in the workplace.”Look professional, not fashionable; be careful with perfume; always wear a heel of some sort – maximum 2 inches; always wear some sort of makeup – even if it’s just lipstick. Shoes and skirt must be the same color,” said a consulting firm to The Bank of England’s women employees in Feb.

The firm also included some accessories that should not be part of their attire.

“No-no’s include ankle chains – professional, but not the one you want to be associated with; white high heels; overstuffed handbags; an overload of rings, and double-pierced ears.”

Originally, this list of items was erroneously reported as a bank memo by the media.

“An informal lunchtime gathering was organised by a women’s staff group in the Bank. The group invited an external company to present ideas about dress and building confidence,” wrote Sally Reid in an e-mail to me from the Press Office of the Bank England.

“At the end of her presentation the external consultant distributed her summary list of her ideas to the audience of some 80 or so – the list which was wrongly described as a Bank memo.”

Reid wrote, “Most Bank staff have not seen the list and those who did were free to treat it as they wished. Like many organisations, the Bank simply expects all staff to wear smart business attire.”

So what is “smart business attire” for women?

For those of us graduating in just a few short weeks, our dress for job interviews or jobs we’ve already attained is something that we have to consider.

It has been a while since I worked in an office setting. Based on that list of standard dress expectations for women, I might be in big trouble if I decide I want to return to the corporate world.

I have double-pierced ears. I wear at least three rings on my fingers and sometimes more. I hate high heels. I have a big purse. I usually don’t have a lot of time to put on make-up. My shoes don’t match my skirt and I rarely even wear a skirt.

Many Web sites give women lists of what to wear and not wear. I could have surfed for several hours just reading the recommendations. I quit after about three sites because there were so many dos and don’ts that I felt overwhelmed.

So, I decided to see what men were supposed to wear for “smart business attire.” In about five minutes, I had read the suggestions by about 10 Web sites. This is the two-second synopsis – full suit, a dress shirt, and tie.

Men, when you start your new job or go on your job interview, you don’t have to worry about make-up, heels, accessories, or your piercings.

These things weren’t mentioned, but I do suggest that you wear shoes, socks, underwear, brush your teeth, and comb your hair.

Now, you’re probably thinking that I sound a bit patronizing. Well, welcome to the world that women are living in when we are told how to dress.

When you tell me that I need to wear heels, make-up, and that I have to carry a certain size bag, then I feel a little patronized as well.

And why is that men are always trying to bind up women? It used to be that we were bound up in corsets, then we moved to bras, and now it is panty hose.

Last summer The Washington Post reported that Jim Holt, president of Mid American Credit Union in Wichita, Kan., got in trouble with his female employees when he sent out a memo mandating that all women must wear panty hose.

“It is not just that he is clinging to antiquated notions of femininity; it is also that he thinks he has the right to mandate femininity — antiquated or otherwise — in the office environment,” wrote Cyndi Lafuente, a Washington, D.C., tax attorney to The Post.

Holt rescinded the panty hose requirement and now at Mid American, panty hose are strongly encouraged, but not required.

I don’t even own any panty hose.