Who cares what orchestra women wear?

The NY Philharmonic has got itself into a tangle about what its women should be wearing. Where most orchestras have relaxed the long-dress code, the Philharmonic still refuses to permit pants.

Ladies are required to wear long dresses. It says so in their contract.

Now most reasonable people would expect this to be settled by internal discussion without public involvement. But the New York Times has blown it into a page A1 story:

Bowing to pressure from women who argued that the dress restrictions were not only unfair, but could also hinder their ability to play comfortably, other major orchestras have moved in recent years to let women wear pants if they choose. But gender equality is not the only consideration at the Philharmonic. At a moment when all orchestras are struggling to attract new audiences, some in classical music worry that old-fashioned formal wear can be off-putting to newcomers. So the Philharmonic is also re-examining its rule requiring men to wear white ties and tails, to see if it still makes sense now that the top-hat era has passed…

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Go figure.