Thinking Beyond Casual Fridays

Distressed or just simply jeans, collarless and plunging neckline tops, flat or open toe shoes, sneakers, sporty watch, etc., these are the normal sighting that you would see in the offices on Fridays. It is the typical dress code that is known as Dress Down or Casual Fridays.

There are certain corporate offices in the country where Casual Clothing is not just for Fridays; it is now their standard way in running their everyday business. For some, it is only strictly on Fridays and sometimes they even have prescribed guidelines on how casual can one person be in the office. Let’s do a little walk down memory lane on how it all started and check the possible influences of Casual Friday.

Dress Down or Casual Friday started as a western trend in 1950’s. The objective then was to boost the morale of some workers in the white-collar office environment by introducing the office relax dress code. From the usual suits, collared tops with neckties, dress shirts and shoes for women, it simply turned out to be casual attire. During that time, though some companies implemented this, not everyone followed. In 1970’s, it became prevalent, as there were numerous events in the US that promoted the Casual Friday campaign. However, in the 80’s and 90’s, one brand aggressively pushed for this promotion and came up with “A Guide to Casual Business Wear,” which was sent to around 25,000 companies in the US. The brochure was very helpful to various companies that were trying to define the casual attire but more so the benefits went to the brand that thinly veiled advertised their products.

At present, casual attire is already an everyday outfit to most of the employees of various companies in the country. With the relax mood that it gives to the person, the output may also be different compared to a fully dressed individual. Articles that discourage people and companies to discontinue the Casual Friday implementation are already up, left and right. This year, you could read a lot from various media institutions and even PR practitioners. But what exactly is the effect of Casual Friday? Is it really good for business or in somewhat conditional depending on the nature of the job? Should we start thinking beyond Casual Fridays? Check the details below, try it, observe yourself and you be the judge.