Summer is here and the outfits get ... a little bizarre. Dress codes can vary, and many employers get a little lax with their "business casual" attire. Just how lax though really does depend on the company, its culture, safety concerns, and the types of visitors the organization receives.

Here are some points to consider when developing your summer dress policy:

• How many visitors do you normally entertain at your workplace? And how do they typically dress?
• What is appropriate for the summer? Blue jeans, shorts (how short?), T-shirts, flip flops, sweats, peek-a-boo shirts, halter tops, spandex, tube tops?
• How much skin and/or undergarments do you want to see? The more lax the policy, the more likely you are to see visible body parts (and your next harassment lawsuit).
• Clothing that makes a statement! Do you want to allow employees to wear shirts with any type of writing (political, suggestive or religious)?
• How long will the policy last? All summer? Will the code be relaxed even more on Fridays?
• Are you comfortable having conversations with employees when their dress is not appropriate?
• Be as specific as possible. Your interpretation of the terms "proper attire" or "non-revealing" can be very different from an employee's definition.
• Make sure that the rules apply equally to men and women. Unless you want complaints and threats of discrimination, don't implement a policy that applies very different rules (i.e. shorts are OK for men, but not for women).

So, I asked a number of clients and colleagues about they were doing for the summer, and here are some of the best answers of the bunch:

From John Isaac of Northwestern Mutual ... Business Casual is loosely defined so we use the "If the SNL Church Lady would approve, it's [an] OK rule" or any Midwestern grandmother will be an acceptable substitute.

From Tom C ... What we do at the distribution center where the dress code is more casual than the personnel in the stores is: have a "do and do not" fashion show during a building meeting. Employees participate in the fashion show which has a serious message, but becomes a lot of jovial fun. It is a great way to show the correct and not-so-correct way to dress when summer temperatures soar. Employees get to laugh and carry on while watching their colleagues, managers and HR demonstrate some of the actual outfits that have been worn.

Have a great summer!

Eileen Levitt, SPHR, is Vault Recruiting Expert and president of The HR Team, Inc. in Columbia, Maryland. She can be reached at (410) 381-9700 or elevitt@thehrteam.com.