Long skirts, short skirts, smart suits, jackets, trousers - the dos and do nots of dressing for the office

Louise Brett, 33, works for the management consultancy Deloitte Touche

I wear a suit or smart dress to work, I don't wear trousers because I think they are not seen as smart. There is a fine line between women looking feminine and appearing provocative. For instance, I don't think they should have to dress like men but I don't think it's suitable to wear very revealing short skirts either.

Mareike Borchert, 24, Citibank

I wear a uniform to work. I don't think women should wear very short skirts to work. To dress in a way that is slightly sexy is fine, but the key is to combine that with being smart.

Andrew James, 30, video researcher

I don't understand the emphasis on the conservative for women in the office. It can be dangerous to dress in a very sexy way and can get women into certain unpleasant situations, but I think that as long as they are aware of the pitfalls they should be able to wear whatever they want.

Kim Bach Vu, 45, BBC World Service

I am Vietnamese and I work in the Vietnamese section at the World Service, so I choose to wear the traditional clothes of my culture: long smocks and baggy trousers. Other people in the office wear short skirts but they don't get any hassle. I think that very short or tight-fitting clothes would be inappropriate.

Carla Sandral, 21, works for a property group

I wear trousers and a jacket to work. Sometimes I wear short skirts and I see a lot of eyes but I don't get any comments. The people in this office are very civil but I have worked in offices where I got a lot of comments from men and I didn't like that. I was younger and I used to wear slightly more skimpy things - I tend to cover up a bit more now.

Dave Bell, 40, works in telecommunications

Women should dress exactly as they want to. If they do dress in a sexy way they may possibly attract trouble, but it shouldn't be that way. I've been witness to office banter about women but I've never seen a woman made upset by such episodes. If a male colleague were harassing a woman in my presence I'd like to think I'd step in and stop it happening.

Caroline Wansborough, 21, works for Christie's, the auction house

I wear a skirt and blouse to work, but I wouldn't wear anything very short or revealing. I'm having a day off today - I wouldn't wear these clothes to work because they're not conservative enough. It's not that I might get harassed, it's just because the image of the company is so traditional.