Dress Code

If you cringe at the thought of flying on a commercial flight, you are not alone. You probably have lots of complaints about the long lines, intrusive security searches and fees for food, drinks and even pillows. But airline workers also have gripes, mostly about their tough working conditions and how they are treated by frustrated passengers. In a recent survey of 700 airline workers in 85 countries, fliers who snapped their fingers to get the attention of flight attendants were ranked as the biggest annoyance.

Five years ago I wrote an op-ed column for The Times about Pope Benedict XVI's partiality for ornate vestments and miters (the double-pointed hats sported not only by the pope but also by other bishops in the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches). That article, which a clever copy editor titled “Dress Code,”  is looking more and more like a period piece after the inaugural Mass of Benedict's successor, Pope Francis. In what must have been a disappointment to Msgr Guido Marini, the papal “master of ceremonies” who outfitted Benedict in skyscraper jeweled miters and elaborately embroidered chasubles, Francis dressed down at a ceremony that was a far cry from the formality of Benedict's inaugural Mass, let alone the coronations with which popes began their pontificate before Pope John Paul I junked the tiara in 1978.

I just read the editorial "Mickey Mouse Standards" (March 10) relating to the Disneyland code of dress and appearances for employees. Disneyland has a right as a private employer to demand going by the rules set up by management and any employee who will not conform should get another job. I suggest that The Times run its own company and let Disneyland do likewise. As Dear Abby says: Mind your own business. WARREN J. McCABE Los Angeles

Jennifer Lopez is known for heating things up on the red carpet. She excels in covering up just enough to not be considered naked. Some of her most risque outfits include her nude, embroidered Zuhair Murad gown at the Golden Globe Awards earlier this year; the velvet, gold Marchesa halter dress she wore to the 2009 Golden Globes; and that infamous sheer Versace print dress with plunging neckline she daringly donned for the 42nd Grammy Awards back...

First, they could grow a mustache, just like Walt Disney. Now, they can grow a little more facial hair but not quite enough to be like most of the Seven Dwarfs. Disneyland announced that it's loosened up its legendary dress code — known as the Disney Look — to allow employees to grow more facial hair. But the rules still forbid visible tattoos, body piercings (other than the ears for women), "extreme" hairstyles or colors. (Shaved heads are OK for men, but a no-go for women.)

It appears to me that Los Angeles is dressing its cabbies for parochial school instead of work. No plaid trousers, c'mon! VIC BURNETT San Diego

Re "District Dress Code Back in Fashion in O.C." on Oct. 29: As a student who wears plain old clothing and has never been stopped for my clothes by school administrators, I am divided over this issue. The dress code is something I do not really care about because it does not affect me, but some of my peers are against it. I stand by them for expressing their beliefs and thoughts. Individuality of people is very important and makes living each day seem unique because everyone is different.

No, it wasn't an autograph party for her new book, "Sex." Madonna simply did what no charity's honorary chairperson has done in the history of fund-raisers. Not only did she not give a speech, she removed her jacket and bared her breasts for an audience of nearly 6,000 at a fund-raiser for AmFAR (American Foundation for AIDS Research) Thursday night at the Shrine Auditorium. The video picture, magnified on two gigantic screens, also included her smile with a metal cap on one front tooth.

The way Wynand Mullins tells it, a flight attendant at Qantas Airways failed to see the humor in what was written on his T-shirt. "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die," read the quote from the 1987 cult film "The Princess Bride. " (A quick Google search turned up several versions of the T-shirt with this quote.) Mullins told the New Zealand news website stuff.co.nz that he was asked to change his shirt on the flight from Sydney to Auckland on Jan. 20. "The flight attendant said to me: 'Are you able to remove it because some of the passengers are quite intimidated by it,' " Mullins said in the story.

If you cringe at the thought of flying on a commercial flight, you are not alone. You probably have lots of complaints about the long lines, intrusive security searches and fees for food, drinks and even pillows. But airline workers also have gripes, mostly about their tough working conditions and how they are treated by frustrated passengers. In a recent survey of 700 airline workers in 85 countries, fliers who snapped their fingers to get the attention of flight attendants were ranked as the biggest annoyance.

Barry Bonds really wants to make the Hall of Fame and doesn't understand why people are still mad at him, he said Wednesday. "I don't even know how to explain it," Bonds said in an interview with Barry Bloom of MLB.com . "The world has become so negative. One day, I'll be able to say things the right way. But it's tough when you have so many people out there who don't want to turn the page and want to be angry at you forever. I don't understand why it continues on. What am I doing wrong?

Michael Jordan may be the greatest player in NBA history, but even he can't get away with wearing cargo shorts on a golf course. Jordan showed up at La Gorce Country Club in Miami on Wednesday wearing cargo shorts, which is against the dress code at the facility. Apparently no one noticed until he played a few holes of his round, because while on the 12th hole, Jordan was approached by club personnel who asked that he return to the clubhouse and change his pants. Jordan refused.

The young girls in Tooele, Utah, are rolling their eyes as if to say “what-EVER” after they were turned away from their homecoming dance because chaperones thought their dresses were too short. And while the fuddy-duddy adults have struck again -- the kids eventually ended up on the winning side. Stansbury High principal Kendall Topham has apologized to dozens of teenage girls, including the homecoming queen, for ruining their special night.    The school's handbook states that dresses for formal events should be "at or near knee length," leaving room for interpretation.

“Arrested Development” fans, the wait is (almost) over: The cult favorite will make its highly anticipated return next spring with at least 10 episodes - possibly more. The news, first reported by the Huffington Post , was confirmed by a Netflix spokesperson. Rumors of an “Arrested Development” revival have surfaced repeatedly ever since the critically beloved but but ratings-challenged sitcom was canceled by Fox in 2006. Last year, Mitchell Hurwitz and the entire cast reunited for the first time at the New Yorker Festival, and announced plans for a new, limited-run season and a possible movie.

If you're rolling into work wearing ripped jeans, strapless tops, a hoodie and flip-flops, know this: Your colleagues disapprove. The vast majority of American workers don't consider the Mark Zuckerburg fashion special to be appropriate attire for the office, according to a new report from staffing and recruiting agency Adecco USA. More than seven in 10 employees surveyed said they frown on holey jeans, thong sandals and tops or dresses with...

"America's toughest sheriff" is facing a new threat of punishment in the death of a mentally ill jail inmate forced to don pink underwear. The jail dress code imposed by Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., so traumatized schizophrenic detainee Eric Vogel that it may have caused his death from heart failure, two coroner's officials concluded, and their testimony should have been presented to a jury that rejected a wrongful death claim in...