One of my favorite episodes of the Office is when Michael Scott quits and then returns to the company. Upon his return, he reinstates Casual Friday. Because the employees have been without Casual Friday while Charles was in charge (pun intended), they take the next Friday to the extreme. Meredith wears a tube dress that is too short, Kelly wears a hat and some sort of clubbing outfit, and I am pretty sure it is Kevin who wears a hoodie. Anyway, Casual Fridays are sometimes taken too casually.

Around here we definitely observe Casual Friday, but there is certainly an appropriate way to celebrate the day of denim, and an inappropriate way.

I also need to point out that there are probably two levels of appropriateness in our office – second floor appropriate and third floor appropriate. Third floor is the creative floor – so to us on the second floor that means they get to wear whatever they want – hats, shorts, sandals, etc. Unless they have a meeting where clients are present, they can pretty much do whatever they want, which is totally acceptable (they need that creative outlet to express themselves).

Second floor appropriate is business casual on most days, but on Fridays – that is when we get to celebrate the little bit of third floor in us. However, there are a few things one from the second floor must never wear – even on Casual Friday.

Houseshoes or slippers – not okay. I used to work with a girl at another agency who would actually wear them to work. I think she thought it was okay because they were OU slippers. It is never okay (in a business setting or even a trip to Wal-Mart setting) to wear slippers out of the house!

Flip-flops – now I am okay with a good sandal, but flip-flops that you would wear to the pool should not ever be worn to work.

Shorts – not appropriate unless it is a designated shorts day.

Strapless clothing – never appropriate for work. Not even on Casual Friday.

Tennis shoes – now there are situations where tennis shoes could be okay for work, but in extreme situations. Maybe like, I am going to be running a marathon with the clients later situation. And, if your boss ever questions your shoes, don’t wear them week after week to the office. (I could go into detail here, but I will just let this one slide).

If you have a meeting with a client on a Friday, you have to know your client well to judge what to wear. If they are jeans-wearers, you can typically wear jeans, but maybe with a blazer and probably with heels. Definitely no sleeveless shirts on client meeting days, and when in doubt, don’t wear jeans. Fridays are also good days to wear sundresses, or a little bit more casual skirts.

I hope everyone enjoys this Friday and the last day of the VI summer half-days. Now I’m going to run upstairs and see who all has on shorts.