I have nothing to wear

I have nothing to wear!....... I have nothing to wear!.......

I love fashion, clothes, bright sparkly things and fluffy accessories and I also love working across heavy industry mining, manufacturing and construction. Well nothing that works for me @ work

Emma Bentton I Director of SHOES – Safety Health Operational and Environment Systems

Ever since I started working, I have searched for the ultimate outfit that meets the ever-changing personal protective equipment rules, is feminine, comfortable and elegant and suitable to wear at work.

Clothes, fashion and your personal style are an important way to express yourself. Clothes help tell the story of who you are and speak to your professionalism and capability. They are also code to others about what you're worth and as a result, I’ve spent 25 years looking for the right outfit to wear.

In my first role as an environmental scientist, I would have days in the office and days on site. Back then the requirements for personal protective equipment (PPE) was limited to steel cap boots. The first time I went underground I wore a dark green olive wide leg pant suit complete with a mine rescuer, hard hat and head lamp. Ridiculous! so I started my search for something to wear.

I purchased my first work clothes from 5th Avenue New York. It was a pair of khaki overalls with the looney tunes characters running across the top pocket and tweety bird falling off. I loved those overalls they were useful and ideal for site work and taking samples., plenty of pockets for pens. They were also playful and reminded me to be joyful. I loved that first role where I got to play with everything from explosives to water samples and those overalls helped me to remember how unique an opportunity I was provided.

I have nothing to wear!....... I have nothing to wear!.......

Well nothing that works

Emma Bentton I Director of SHOES – Safety Health Operational and Environment Systems

My first construction role – I needed a hard hat. – Oh, how far we have come in 20 years.

In my first role with a construction company I had to have a vest, glasses, gloves and boots I was so excited they handed me the shorts …men’s shorts, a lime green vest – so flattering, and a polo shirt – a men’s polo shirt. I looked like one of the boys! I promptly made my way to a Charlie Brown shop at the time and purchased some sequins pocket jeans … bling, bling!

I also shopped for pants that would provide me with style and could be functional on site and in meetings. I finally found some pants at Simona. I grabbed 2 pairs beige and black. These pants were great light weight and perfect enough hot days. I could walk on site and also felt comfortable being in the office.

On one particular day, I headed straight out to site to look at restoration works. I had a big day, so I started early before 7am. I hopped over a fence, checked out the creek restoration and then proceeded to walk the restoration alignment down a very busy road in Sydney. It was an odd day, people seemed to be giving me a lot of attention waving, yelling and honking their horns. I got back to the office and then had lunch with one of the foremen to discuss a few issues. At 2pm that day one of the project managers walked up to me and asked, “did you know you have a tear in the back of your pants”. I reached round and grabbed my butt…. a bare butt! I thought of the fence I jumped over earlier that day, then the locations I had been at since the fence – including the lunch meeting. I always have a change of clothes in the car because I’d learnt that lesson when I was standing on the embankment of some works following heavy rain and lost my footing and slid down the bank on my bottom and spent the day covered in mud.

I was one of 3 professional women on that project. It was loads of fun and I learn a lot. The foreman came into my office one day to specifically ask me to wear the minimum PPE on site as it helped him with managing his workers; I might have pushed my tank tops a little far. Also, on the project the project manager during my only performance

About the Author

Emma Bentton

Emma Bentton is the Director of SHOES – Safety Health Operational and Environment Systems and the Founder of Office2Site. Emma creates customised systems for small and medium businesses. She is passionate about creating systems which assist business proactively approach challenges rather than react to incidents. Emma started her business when she had her “ah ha” moment listening to engineers complain about contractors who had done exactly what the engineers asked BUT not what those engineers actually wanted. Emma loves a challenge and has founded a new work wear label Office2Site so she actually has PPE she wants to wear. Emma has over 25 years industry experience and over 20 years systems experience.

website office2site.com.au

or instagram office2site

Linked in linkedin/in/emmabentton

email emmb@office2site.com.au

evaluation ever said, ‘I like how you bring femineity to the work site- and warned me not to lose that’. Apart from them evaluating me higher for everything than I had that comment was profound and helped me in all subsequent endeavours to be myself and value my difference in construction.

That confidence helps me in meetings to play the devil’s advocate – even if I agree with everyone and the course of action being taken. It is when everyone agrees you miss things, there is always value in evaluating another possibility to ensure that a control is picked up, an extra generator is on standby, there is a way to move the generator. There is value in re-evaluating a plan. That project manager gave me my voice by saying you bring you to this project I see it and its ok.

For a while I worked at the Clyde Refinery for SHELL, all I had to wear was long sleeves, long pants and boots. I ruined so many clothes working there, everything would be covered in oil and grease I learnt what fabrics to buy and which laundry cleaners worked.

While I was there, they concluded their PPE negotiations between the union/safety committee and management. It had taken 5 years to agree on PPE. When I was finally issued with 2 shirts and 2 pair pairs of pants – all blue, no stretch flame retardant fabric, I was instructed to change in the toilet between office and site. I wasn’t allowed to take the uniform home as the flame retardant fabric need specially laundering (YAY). The thing I couldn’t comprehend – given I had a desk role and did the occasional site inspection was,” why do I have padded knees. And why is my name printed on my butt” I was really uncomfortable with these details – needless to say when I left, my PPE stayed!

When I established my own consultancy, I went in search of a flame retardant shirt. I found PPE issued to the FBI and yes, my flame-retardant shirt complete with a concealed gun holster for a hand gun. I’ve never used that feature.

Back in construction I moved to the typical long sleeve long pants and was really confident in navy pants, work shirt hard hat boots ,gloves boots. I built my collection of hi vis in blue, yellow, orange, green, pink and orange. I know dressing like my work crews helped to build rapport with the workers on site. It was because I embraced their world that they related to me and we are able to build a HSEQ focused culture, interacting for better performance. When I was called into a meeting, I was always confident, and I was fortunate to work with trusted clients and colleagues, so it didn’t matter what I wore. Until one day when it did.

I was happy on site, investigating an incident, as I usually knew the team on site. I didn’t have a desk on this site, and they wanted workers to commute via public transport. I had to carry everything I needed for a day, all day, so I had no change of clothes, not even lipstick! I was aware the information I was collecting didn’t fit with the initial incident details. When I was called into a management meeting. I had to deliver some controversial findings, engage the managers in the new interpretation in order to include effective change. I only knew 2 people in the meeting, it was as I made my way to the meeting, I looked down at myself and realised I was dressed as a man. I realised I needed to do better for myself and for all women.

It was in this moment when my outfit didn’t serve me that Office2Site was conceived.

I have been responsible for running uniform issues and changing and distributing uniform and as a result, have met with suppliers who have told me that uniform styles are not available for women. I’m mortified that I accepted that and issued men’s clothes to women and just accepted that.

Just as fabric and clothing continues to evolve and as our roles evolve, we need access to better clothing. I’ve always loved clothing and use it to express who I am. I love being able to share my own work wear line with the industry. I love how people feel feminine, professional and empowered and that they can bring themselves to work both on the office and onsite with professional confidence and credibility.