Casual Friday

For the episode of The Office, see Casual Friday (The Office). For the Japanese government-advocated movement, see Cool Biz campaign.

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 shirts, suits, ties, trousers, and dress shoes 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-shirts, 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 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.^{[citation needed]}

In workplaces that have no dress codes some employees enjoy 'Formal Fridays' by dressing up on Friday.

See also

• Employment
• Weekend
• Workweek
• Mufti Day
• Casual Friday (The Office)