Casual Friday
Encyclopedia
Casual Friday along with dressing casually during the week became very prevalent during the Dot-com bubble
of the late 1990s and early 2000s rooted in a relaxed California-based business culture. The day (also known as Dress-down Friday, or simply Casual day) is an American
and Canadian
trend which for a time spread to other parts of the world, wherein some offices may celebrate a semi-reprieve from the constrictions of a formal dress code. Whereas, during the rest of the week, business shirt
s, suits, tie
s, trousers, and dress shoe
s would be the norm, on Casual Friday workers might be allowed to wear more casual
dress. Some companies might allow jeans
, casual blouses or T-shirt
s, hoodies, track jackets, and sneakers
/running shoes
or even stocking feet, but others require business casual
or smart casual
dress. Some offices allow a themed dress down day. On this day, even managers in such workplaces are allowed to dress down.
The Casual Friday Faux Pas The term ” anything goes” is a line that should be dealt with cautiously. The fact that casual Fridays is in fact on Friday gives people the misconception that it is already the weekend. It is important to distinguish that just because it is Friday does not mean it is the weekend it means it is almost the weekend. It is important to not dress like you already left the office for the weekend. Even if you are let’s say heading to the beach right at poncho time, it is important not to put on those swim trunks while at work.
The tropical roots of Casual Friday go back to at least 1947 in Hawaii
, when the city of Honolulu allowed workers to wear the Aloha shirt
part of the year. The term Aloha Friday dates from the 1960s, when the shirts were worn on Fridays instead of normal business attire. It may be seen as a corporate response attempting to raise worker morale in a sometimes stifling white-collar
office environment. In the late 1970s, when the production of cheap clothing outside the United States
became more widespread, there was a massive campaign by large clothing producers to make Casual Friday a weekly event.
In workplaces that have no dress codes some employees enjoy Formal Friday
s by dressing up on friday.
Dot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the more...
of the late 1990s and early 2000s rooted in a relaxed California-based business culture. The day (also known as Dress-down Friday, or simply Casual day) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
trend which for a time spread to other parts of the world, wherein some offices may celebrate a semi-reprieve from the constrictions of a formal dress code. Whereas, during the rest of the week, business shirt
Shirt
A shirt is a cloth garment for the upper body. Originally an undergarment worn exclusively by men, it has become, in American English, a catch-all term for almost any garment other than outerwear such as sweaters, coats, jackets, or undergarments such as bras, vests or base layers...
s, suits, tie
Necktie
A necktie is a long piece of cloth worn for decorative purposes around the neck or shoulders, resting under the shirt collar and knotted at the throat. Variants include the ascot tie, bow tie, bolo tie, and the clip-on tie. The modern necktie, ascot, and bow tie are descended from the cravat. Neck...
s, trousers, and dress shoe
Shoe
A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot while doing various activities. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture to culture, with appearance originally being tied to function...
s would be the norm, on Casual Friday workers might be allowed to wear more casual
Casual
In the European tradition, casual is the dress code that emphasizes comfort and personal expression over presentation and uniformity. It includes a very wide variety of costume, so it is perhaps better defined by what it isn't than what it is...
dress. Some companies might allow jeans
Jeans
Jeans are trousers made from denim. Some of the earliest American blue jeans were made by Jacob Davis, Calvin Rogers, and Levi Strauss in 1873. Starting in the 1950s, jeans, originally designed for cowboys, became popular among teenagers. Historic brands include Levi's, Lee, and Wrangler...
, casual blouses or T-shirt
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
s, hoodies, track jackets, and sneakers
Athletic shoe
Athletic shoe is a generic name for the footwear primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise but in recent years has come to be used for casual everyday activities....
/running shoes
Athletic shoe
Athletic shoe is a generic name for the footwear primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise but in recent years has come to be used for casual everyday activities....
or even stocking feet, but others require business casual
Business casual
Business casual is a popular dress code in professional and white-collar workplaces in Western countries. In the United States, 43% of non-self-employed workers commonly wear casual business attire. Casual street wear is the next most common work attire , closely followed by uniforms...
or smart casual
Smart casual
Smart casual is a loosely defined dress code, casual, yet "smart" enough to conform to the particular standards of certain Western social groups....
dress. Some offices allow a themed dress down day. On this day, even managers in such workplaces are allowed to dress down.
The Casual Friday Faux Pas The term ” anything goes” is a line that should be dealt with cautiously. The fact that casual Fridays is in fact on Friday gives people the misconception that it is already the weekend. It is important to distinguish that just because it is Friday does not mean it is the weekend it means it is almost the weekend. It is important to not dress like you already left the office for the weekend. Even if you are let’s say heading to the beach right at poncho time, it is important not to put on those swim trunks while at work.
The tropical roots of Casual Friday go back to at least 1947 in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, when the city of Honolulu allowed workers to wear the Aloha shirt
Aloha shirt
The Aloha shirt commonly referred to as a Hawaiian shirt is a style of dress shirt originating in Hawaii. It is currently the premier textile export of the Hawaii manufacturing industry. The shirts are printed, mostly short-sleeved, and collared. They usually have buttons, sometimes as a complete...
part of the year. The term Aloha Friday dates from the 1960s, when the shirts were worn on Fridays instead of normal business attire. It may be seen as a corporate response attempting to raise worker morale in a sometimes stifling white-collar
White-collar worker
The term white-collar worker refers to a person who performs professional, managerial, or administrative work, in contrast with a blue-collar worker, whose job requires manual labor...
office environment. In the late 1970s, when the production of cheap clothing outside the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
became more widespread, there was a massive campaign by large clothing producers to make Casual Friday a weekly event.
In workplaces that have no dress codes some employees enjoy Formal Friday
Formal Friday
Formal Friday is a tongue-in-cheek reference to Casual Friday and a reaction to the continuing trend towards casual workplace attire. On Formal Fridays, employees at companies with otherwise lax dress codes dress up in formal wear. The practice is particularly common among technology companies...
s by dressing up on friday.
See also
- EmploymentEmploymentEmployment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as:- Employee :...
- Weekend
- WorkweekWorkweekThe workweek and weekend are those complementary parts of the week devoted to labour and rest respectively. The legal working week , or workweek , is the part of the seven-day week devoted to labor. In most Western countries it is Monday to Friday. The weekend comprises the two traditionally...
- Mufti Day
- Casual Friday (The Office)Casual Friday (The Office)"Casual Friday" is the twenty-sixth episode of the fifth season of the television series The Office, and the 98th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on April 30, 2009...
- Formal FridayFormal FridayFormal Friday is a tongue-in-cheek reference to Casual Friday and a reaction to the continuing trend towards casual workplace attire. On Formal Fridays, employees at companies with otherwise lax dress codes dress up in formal wear. The practice is particularly common among technology companies...