Mastering the Art of Casual Fridays

So it’s Friday, casual Friday to be more exact…And as exciting as the prospect of not having to wear your traditional corporate gear is, I’ve come to find that there are rules to casual Friday that can make all the difference between still looking professionally appropriate, and looking….well, you know, less-than professionally appropriate. And for a corporate sister on her way up, the difference between arriving at a meeting in ultra-tight, ripped jeans, as opposed to casually appropriate dress, can literally contribute to making or breaking your career. I’ve learnt the hard way, after attending an impromptu meeting with the Company’s Controller in my low-rise jeans inappropriately sticking to parts of my body that I would have preferred to keep disassociated from any financial forecasting discussion…

So how do you reconcile casual Fridays with professional workspaces? How do you draw the line between too casual and casually appropriate for work? Really, the question is, how casual should casual Fridays be?

Mind Your Jeans: As you have probably noted, there are jeans, and there are…well, jeans…After working in various environments, I’ve experienced different versions of the concept of “business casual“, and made enough mistakes to know that you should mind your jeans. For more conservative professional settings, I favor trouser jeans, which are a nice compromise between jeans and traditional pants. My favorites are from Express and Ann Taylor. For less conservative environments, your regular, slightly boot-cut, tailored jeans are the next best alternative. Just make sure that, unlike myself a few moons ago, your hem is not ripped as you delicately (and unconsciously) cross your legs for senior management to enjoy the desolate status of your casual wardrobe…
Express Trouser Jeans

Mix trends with classics. As casual as casual Fridays may be, it’s still work… It’s not quite the week-end yet, and believe me, until 5pm or whatever time you actually cross the office’s doors (the other way, going outside), you are still at work. So refrain from digging out your bell-bottom pants and showing off your patterned shirt from the last vacation in Hawaii…If you’re going to give in to trends, please keep these moderate, and counter-balance with classics. You can pair a nice shift dress with with trendier booties, for instance. In any case, you can never go wrong with a blazer on top of your casual jeans, at least it may cover up enough of that loud patterned Hawaiian shirt….
Photo: anntaylor.com

: AnnTaylor – Photo: Ann taylor.com

Dress one step up…Always! Remember the old saying “Dress for the job you want, not the one you have”…Well, it does not apply to Monday through Thursday only. Even on casual Fridays, and maybe especially on casual Fridays where the line between professionalism and lack thereof can appear even more blurry, it’s always better to be overdressed than underdressed.
Ann Taylor Ensemble – Photo: anntaylor.com