Today's Wall Street Journal takes on the misnomer of business casual. Read the article HERE.The author argues, convincingly I think, that dressing for business and dressing for casual time are two different things.
"Business casual," she feels, is an oxymoron that causes confusion and often leads to poor wardrobe decisions that can sometimes derail career opportunities. The office is for business oriented clothes, even on casual days. In fact, she says, those are the days when you really need to pay attention to what your outfit is saying about you.
What do you think?
Good wsj post. But the whole thing is very geared towards women. not much in it for men. I wish some one broke it down just-for-men!
ReplyDeleteA great article, the Friday casual meme is right on target because when the corporate line is relaxed, you bring in your own personality. You can show who you really are; both to your strength and to your weakness. This is why in the old days, the boss asked himself to dinner to see who he was really dealing with. In that case it was not just you, but your spouse, your home. It goes back to seeing a person in whole. It goes back to that all important dinner with the boss. Do you know how to hold a knife and fork. Do you know all the basics? It tells everything. That's why you have to thank Mom and Dad for all those lessons at the dinner table.
ReplyDeleteThis seems to be a super East-coast-centric article. Here in California I've got "business casual" Monday through Thursday, and "casual" on Friday. I had to get rid of my pantsuits because I was coming across as too intimidating. But I have to tell my people to cover up their cleavage, and to keep their flip flops at home.
ReplyDeleteJody: People come to work in flip flops, really? That's scary!
ReplyDeleteWe don't have casual friday at my office, but then again the policy of clothing says "we cannot force our employees to wear suits, but it's often the most apropriate attire".
So I tend to skip the tie on fridays. (Allthough sometimes I put a tie on for after work hours instead :P)
Today I'm wearing a slim charcoal suit, a white and blue stripe shirt and a very lightknitted emerald green pullover. No tie.