Casual Fridays

A concept that has only recently become a widely accepted practice within the office environment. Casual Fridays allow employees to wear jeans or other comfortable clothes to work, instead of their usual businesswear.

Casual clothes allow the wearer to move faster (no heels, no nylons to run), eat a little more at lunch and it seems people produce more when wearing clothing that does not conform to a standard corporate dress code.

The key is to see just how far you can stretch the idea of casual. Since jeans are generally acceptable, you must factor extra elements of comfort into your workday. I hope the following list helps define a few examples:

-Big pants
-bell bottoms
-velour
-platform shoes and funky footwear
-tank tops
-t-shirts with logos
-contrasting colours
-patterns
-garish vintage pieces
-hair accessories

If you can pull it off, be yourself. Don't iron anything and good luck.

**note: this does not apply to all companies. I once went to a job interview at Merril Lynch on a Friday afternoon and there wasn't one thread of denim or khaki or even polyester within my line of sight.

From within the software industry, it seems like most companies have Casual Fridays nearly every day! Many of the Product Managers here come dressed in t-shirts, jeans, sandals, and sweatshirts regardless of whether it is Friday or not. Almost all employees here dress themselves in manner that borders on the slob/casual line. I had thought that this craze stops after leaving university - watching students in their pajama bottoms, sweats and sandals walking to their next class in the sheltered stench of the underground tunnel system was just hideous! (I went to Carleton U. in Ottawa.)

The non-conformist that I am, I stick to my own style of ultra-modern flat-front chinos and linen pants with matching socks, black italian square-toe shoes, and sleek, slimming, one-coloured tops. One could say I am a person that needs-to-have-the-most-current-fashion-to-retain-respect-from-others-but-at-the-same-time-maintaining-a-quality-level-of-personal-comfort.

I sometimes cringe when I see what other people (especially the ones above my position) are wearing. It seems like not everyone respect themselves enough to be presentable.