--- title: Paul Ryan Promises to "Modernize" Congress Dress Code description: House Speaker Paul Ryan may be modernizing Congress' dress code amid controversy over the policy, he said Thursday. canonical: https://time.com/4857381/congress-dress-code-speakers-lobby-paul-ryan/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-07-13T19:46:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T16:33:14.190Z article:section: Politics og:title: Paul Ryan Promises to 'Modernize' Congress' Dress Code og:description: After controversy over the policy og:url: https://time.com/4857381/congress-dress-code-speakers-lobby-paul-ryan/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2d78039282f29b58/6988d25dcf40a8fa23c48330/gettyimages-646237180.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: House Speaker Paul Ryan Holds News Conference Ahead Of Trump's Address To Congress og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Paul Ryan Promises to 'Modernize' Congress' Dress Code twitter:description: After controversy over the policy twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2d78039282f29b58/6988d25dcf40a8fa23c48330/gettyimages-646237180.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Paul Ryan Promises to 'Modernize' Congress' Controversial Dress Code > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Jul 13, 2017 7:46 PM UTC  House Speaker Paul Ryan in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 28, 2017. House Speaker Paul Ryan in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 28, 2017.Andrew Harrer—Bloomberg/Getty Images  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Jul 13, 2017 7:46 PM UTC House Speaker Paul Ryan may be modernizing Congress’ dress code [amid controversy over the policy](http://fortune.com/2017/07/07/congress-dress-code/), he said Thursday. “Over the break, it came to my attention there was an issue about dress code,” Ryan said at his weekly press conference. “The Sergeant at Arms was simply enforcing the same interpretation of the rules as under my predecessors,” he said, noting that he didn’t devise the rules. “At the same time, that doesn’t mean that enforcement couldn’t stand to be a bit modernized.” Under the [current rules](https://apnews.com/f4e7b3fe726941ae840c56b1955da2bb?utm%5Fcampaign=SocialFlow&utm%5Fsource=Twitter&utm%5Fmedium=AP) governing appropriate attire in the Speaker’s Lobby, women are not allowed to wear sleeveless dresses or tops, while men have to wear ties and jackets, according to the Associated Press. Hubbub over that policy began when CBS News [recently reported](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/are-sleeveless-dresses-appropriate-attire-congress-doesnt-think-so/) that some female reporters had been barred from the Speaker’s Lobby for wearing sleeveless dresses. The Speaker’s Lobby is an ornate room near the front of the House of Representatives and is often the site of impromptu interviews between press and lawmakers. Ryan did not specify how the dress code might change, but he said the tweaks would be revealed soon. “Decorum is important, especially for this institution, and a dress code in the chamber and the lobby makes sense. But we also don’t need to bar otherwise accepted contemporary business attire. 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