Business Casual: What exactly IS It?

Most companies like the idea of casual Friday. If you’re an employer you can help boost morale by offering your staff the opportunity to dress down one day of the week. In fact, more and more companies are offering the opportunity to dress casual for the entire week. However, this can leave people confused as to what is appropriate dress and what isn’t.

A particularly difficult challenge in discerning what’s appropriate casual wear and what’s not resides among women, especially those making the switch from college to the corporate world. What’s considered casual as a student most likely won’t fly in a professional services firm. On top of that, women’s fashions change so often and are often inconsistent. From skirt lengths to shoes to pant lengths and the ever elusive to wear panty-hose or not, questions abound.

The San Francisco Business Times addressed the concerns and opinions of a few professional businesswomen. Fortunately, several representatives from various clothiers helped shed some light on the subject.