You will never guess which political party he belongs to! 
 
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 Via the Topeka Capital-Journal, Kansas state senator Mitch Holmes, chairman of the Kansas Senate Ethics and Elections Committee, has whipped up and instituted a dress code for female witnesses testifying on ethics and elections bills. “Low-cut necklines and mini-skirts are inappropriate,” his rules say. 
 
 Naturally, there are no specific restrictions for men. There are also no specifics within his 11-point guidelines—“implemented solely at his discretion”—about exactly what constitutes a low-cut neckline or a miniskirt. 
 
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 “It’s one of those things that’s hard to define,” Holmes said. “Put it out there and let people know we’re really looking for you to be addressing the issue rather than trying to distract or bring eyes to yourself.” 
 
 In other words, anything on a woman’s body that distracts this white male senator falls short of his guidelines for what is appropriate in the Statehouse. So watch out, literally any women who don’t dress exactly like a 54-year-old Midwestern man’s (surely totally neutral) idea of what’s respectable, or who in any other way happen to “bring eyes.” 
 
 Holmes was immediately and inevitably criticized by from women on both sides of the aisle. 
 
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 Sen. Carolyn McGinn, a Sedgwick Republican, said wardrobe restrictions set by Holmes could steer people away from the Capitol who don’t have clothing that meets his ideal. An individual’s opinions are more significant than what garment drapes that person’s shoulders, she said. “I am more interested in what they have to say about the direction our state should go than what they’re wearing that day,” McGinn said. 
 
 According to the Capital-Journal, the Kansas Statehouse got itself into another dress-related fuss in 2014, when a female representative instituted a dress code for interns. That dress code, however, affected both men and women. Holmes’s, notably, does not. 
 
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 Holmes said he considered stipulating men had to wear suit and tie when addressing his Senate committee, but decided males didn’t need supplemental instruction on how to look professional. 
 
 Yeah, totally. Why would they need supplemental instruction on anything? They’re men. 
 
 “Unrelated”: Holmes’s top campaign donor in 2008 was the Koch boys, and he’s got a 93 percent approval rating from the NRA. 
 
 
 
 Contact the author at jia@jezebel.com. 
 
 Advertisement ||||| HELENA — Some Democratic legislators are critical and social media posters are having a field day ridiculing a strict new dress code for the floor of the 2015 Montana Legislature. 
 
 The House Republican leadership issued a one-page pronouncement late last week declaring that representatives “are required to dress in formal business attire during the session.” It also applies to legislative staff, members of the media, interns and aides while on the House and, apparently, the Senate floor. 
 
 “It was something that a female staff member asked me, if that was something we could do,” said incoming House Speaker Austin Knudsen, R-Culbertson, declining to identify the woman. “She looked at some neighboring states. Now here we are atwitter.” 
 
 But Knudsen said the buck stops with him, and he spent much of the weekend dealing with the dress code issue. 
 
 He said he told one Democratic legislator that if there are legitimate concerns that can be addressed, he’s willing to make changes. 
 
 The House Democratic leadership, with a majority of women, was not consulted, said incoming House Minority Whip Jenny Eck, D-Helena. 
 
 “If we had been, we could have avoided this whole debacle,” Eck said. “I hope we can get rid of this document and start over. All that to be said is: Please dress in formal business attire that is befitting the office you hold.” 
 
 The dress code contains bullet points such as this: “Women should be sensitive to skirt lengths and necklines.” 
 
 “That phrase is right out of the 19th century, as far as I’m concerned,” Eck said. “Women can be trusted to get up in the morning and dress appropriately. How would it be enforced? Would the sergeant of arms be the clothes police checking our skirt lengths and cleavage?” 
 
 Eck said the dress code singles out women for admonishment if they’re not sensitive to skirt lengths and necklines. 
 
 When the code became public knowledge on Friday, posters on Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites teed off, calling it a “junior high dress code” — although some took the humorous approach. “Banning fleece? In Montana?” one poster asked on Twitter. “Isn’t it cold there?” 
 
 The code says women must wear a suit or dress slacks, skirt, jacket and dress blouse or “suit-like dresses” and “appropriate shoes.” Flip-flops, tennis shoes and open-toe sandals are inappropriate, the code says. 
 
 It goes on to declare: “Leggings are not considered dress pants.” 
 
 Jeans or denim material, including colored denim, is verboten on the House floor. Also banned are fleece and jersey (sweatshirt) material. 
 
 Men, meanwhile, must wear suits, or sports jackets and dress pants, ties, dress shirts and dress shoes or dress boots. 
 
 There will be no casual Fridays or Saturdays, the code says, and the “House and Senate” leadership will be responsible for enforcing the code and notify those members who are in violation. 
 
 Eck said she’s knocked on thousands of doors in the Helena area in her 2012 and 2014 campaigns for the House. 
 
 “I’ve had people talk to me about mental health and cancer in the family,” she said. “I’ve never had anyone talk to be about how the Legislature is dressed.” 
 
 Eck said she doesn’t think those who adopted the code had any ill intent or meant to cause offense, but “that doesn’t make me feel any better. … It’s a discriminatory document.”
– A Kansas state senator has some people's knickers in a twist after implementing a new dress code that singles out women who wear "skimpy skirts or blouses with plunging necklines," the Topeka Capital-Journal reports. Mitch Holmes is the chairman of the state's ethics and elections committee, and his new dress code applies to those testifying before the committee. The problem, according to critics: It singles out women while having no male-specific rules. “He could have just said that attire is business professional and kept it gender neutral,” state Rep. Stephanie Clayton, a fellow Republican, tells the Kansas City Star. "I’m just appalled anyone would treat taxpaying Kansans with such disdain." The rule causing the trouble reads, "For ladies, low-cut necklines and mini-skirts are inappropriate." Holmes says he included that because he's seen women around the Capitol dressing "provocatively," which can be a "distraction." He also explains that men don't need additional rules to let them know how to dress appropriately. Other female senators besides Clayton have called Holmes out over the new dress code. “Oh, for crying out loud, what century is this?” Sen. Laura Kelly asks the Capital-Journal. Another senator says people's opinions on bills should be more important than what they're wearing. A blogger at Jezebel translates the code into advice: "Watch out, literally any women who don’t dress exactly like a 54-year-old Midwestern man’s (surely totally neutral) idea of what’s respectable, or who in any other way happen to 'bring eyes.'" (Kansas is not the only state to introduce this kind of code.)