A new dress code for the Montana House of Representatives that bans jeans and warns women to watch skirt lengths and necklines has drawn the ire of female lawmakers, who say it suggests they cannot independently decide what attire is appropriate. 
 
 The wardrobe code was enacted by male leaders of the Republican-controlled House in advance of a legislative session that begins on Jan. 5. Most members of the chamber's Democratic minority are women, who say they were not consulted about new rules that target them for apparel infractions. 
 
 The code endorsed by incoming House Speaker Austin Knudsen advises male lawmakers to wear such clothing as suits and dress boots in a style termed "business formal." 
 
 It prohibits female legislators from wearing items like leggings and open-toed sandals, and cautions them to "be sensitive to skirt lengths and necklines." 
 
 House Minority Whip Jenny Eck said the sartorial standards sought to curb women's clothing choices, raising questions about their judgment and seeking to limit their independence. 
 
 "The code crosses a line. It singles women out for admonishment and suggests they can't be trusted to get up in the morning and dress appropriately," said the Democrat from the state capital, Helena. 
 
 Knudsen denied the code sought to curtail women's fashion or other freedoms. He said the rules, taken almost intact from a code used by the Wyoming Legislature, were designed to ensure that an air of professionalism and decorum prevailed. 
 
 He said a female staffer approached him about establishing the dress standards and that he agreed they would be helpful for the dozens of newly elected Montana House members. 
 
 "This was not directed at women," Knudsen said. 
 
 But the code has ignited debate on social media about a woman's right to choose clothing. 
 
 Knudsen, an attorney from the small northeast Montana town of Culbertson, said he would not appear in a courtroom in jeans or flip-flops and did not believe such apparel was suitable for the state House. 
 
 Eck said the code could be seen as out of step with a state known for its outdoors lifestyle, laid-back attitude and tendency toward casual attire. 
 
 Saying Montana residents had more serious matters on their minds, Eck said: "I've never had any constituent say to me: 'You women in the Legislature have to watch your skirt lengths.'" 
 
 (Reporting by Laura Zuckerman in Salmon, Idaho; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Peter Cooney) 

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 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.”
– Montana's state legislature convenes next month with a dress code in place for the first time, reports the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, an event that wouldn't be making headlines except for Rule No. 3: "Women should be sensitive to skirt lengths and necklines." To which female lawmakers are responding, You've got to be kidding me. “That phrase is right out of the 19th century, as far as I’m concerned,” Democratic House Minority Whip Jenny Eck tells the Billings Gazette. “Women can be trusted to get up in the morning and dress appropriately." As for enforcement, "Would the sergeant of arms be the clothes police checking our skirt lengths and cleavage?” she wonders. The rule has drawn so much ridicule that the man who put in place, incoming Republican House Speaker Austin Knudsen, sounds open to ditching it. He says the idea of a dress code came from a female staffer, and the language itself was borrowed from Wyoming's legislature, reports Reuters. Even if Rule No. 3 goes, however, it looks like No. 7 is here to stay: "There are no casual Fridays or Saturdays."