What should you wear to work if you’re nonbinary?

It may not be the most pressing question that gender-nonconforming people face on the job, but with approximately 1.2 million LGBTQ+ Americans identifying as nonbinary, employers and employees alike are exploring what professional attire can look like.

“I think people treat me with more dignity when I dress more masculinely, but people are way nicer to me when I dress more femininely,” said El Layla Johnson, 33, a former restaurant server who is now a therapist.

For Johnson, getting dressed for work has been a struggle since adolescence.

“I just feel like there’s a manual or rule book that people receive and that my copy got lost in the mail,” Johnson said.

Johnson recalled regularly crying while getting dressed for work at an upscale restaurant in Seattle. It wasn’t just that they found the restaurant’s dress code to be ugly. Johnson had a hard time finding clothes that fit at all.