Certain jobs come with a uniform, but when we think of a uniform, we typically think of a shirt, tie, jacket, dress pants, maybe a skirt for women. There may be certain requirements for hair. For example, if you work in the food services industry, we would hope you’d be wearing a hairnet or at least have your hair pulled back.

We often don’t think of makeup as part of a uniform, but some companies actually have requirements for their employees when it comes to cosmetics.

Virgin Atlantic prides itself on having a certain look to their brand, and as soon as their employees put on their uniforms, they are each representing the company. Therefore, the Virgin Atlantic uniform is more than just clothing. Until recently, the company also required female employees to wear makeup, and that makeup had to be within the company’s color pallet.

Now, Virgin Atlantic is responding to feedback and making some major changes. Female employees are no longer required to wear cosmetics, but if they do, they are encouraged to stay within the company’s color pallet.

There are also changes to the clothing part of the uniform. Until recently, female employees were given skirts to wear unless they specifically requests pants. Now, pants will be provided when employees join the airline.

A Virgin Atlantic spokesman said, “Our world-famous red uniform is something all of us at Virgin Atlantic are incredibly proud of. As an airline, we have always stood out from the crowd and done things differently to the rest of the industry.

“We want our uniform to truly reflect who we are as individuals while maintaining that famous Virgin Atlantic style. We have been listening to the views of our people and as a result have announced some changes to our styling and grooming policy that support this.

“Not only do the new guidelines offer an increased level of comfort, they also provide our team with more choice on they want to express themselves at work. Helping people to be themselves is core to our desire to be the most loved travel company.”

It doesn’t seem that the airline is loosening up it’s hairstyle requirements though. In 2011, Helen Kavanaugh, a hair expert and grooming standards manager for Virgin Atlantic, shared that women’s hairstyles could not have roots visible, fringe couldn’t go below the eyebrows and hair could not be dyed in primary colors.

How do you feel about Virgin Atlantic loosening up their uniform requirements?