Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Have We Fauxed Up Casual Friday?

Catching up on my reading today, I finished a piece in Bloomberg BusinessWeek by Eric Spitznagel about the potential end of casual dress Fridays.

How could such a cool thing go so wrong? According to Spitznagel, the current generation coming into the job market is mistaking grunge for casual. He writes they "don't understand that Lady Gaga is selling albums, and they're in accounting."

According to image consultants, here are the top five fashion faux pas:

1. "Hooker" earrings, don't dress like a call girl.
2. Chest plumes, we don't want to see your chest hair.
3. Exposed bra straps. 'Nuff said.
4. Tattoos. Scorpion tattoos may be a personal statement, just keep them covered at work.
5. Toes. Keep them covered.

Spitznagel goes on to say that the demise of casual dress Friday isn't likely to come anytime soon but warns the folks in the C-Suite are paying attention. I know more than a few places where business dress is the rule five days a week. There is a certain logic to it. Dress for work, then come home and when you change into casual wear, you hang-up work, at least for the night.

Of course, those of us who have virtual offices don't have this issue. Excuse me while I change into a clean t-shirt. (And it's only Tuesday!)

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters LLC
"We start the conversation about you"

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