| The increase in popularity of casual work wear | | | | success", while others think that people have a |
| can be traced back to the time when dot com | | | | right to express their personality through their |
| businesses started popping up in the USA and UK | | | | fashion at work, by having dreadlocks and |
| and CEOs and business executives, who were | | | | displaying tattoos. As company policies have |
| becoming younger each year, deemed casual | | | | become even more sensitive to the cultural and |
| clothing, even as informal as caps and T shirts, | | | | religious beliefs of their work force, it has become |
| acceptable office wear. The premise was that | | | | even trickier to enforce dress codes and criticise |
| people are more productive if they're | | | | people for the way they choose to dress. The |
| comfortable. By the start of the nineties, less | | | | generation gap between employees also poses a |
| than a quarter of all companies had some sort of | | | | problem, as younger bosses and employees are |
| casual wear policy and by the end almost ninety | | | | more comfortable with casual work wear, while |
| percent of companies had embraced a casual | | | | the older generations often deem it 'inappropriate'. |
| wear policy. Even large multinationals, such as | | | | An argument in favour of formal work wear, |
| Coco Cola and General Motors, now have a casual | | | | such as suits and jackets, is that it not only looks |
| dress code. | | | | smarter than most casual wear, but is also more |
| However, some stoic employers have resisted | | | | flattering. The moulded designs hide a multitude of |
| conforming to the casual approach and have kept | | | | sins and bring out people's best assets, tastefully. |
| their dress code strictly 'pin-stripes and ties' | | | | Yet, clothing and uniform companies have |
| professional. Casual Fridays are considered a | | | | managed to combine the best of both worlds, by |
| compromise between the two dress codes, yet | | | | creating fashionable and flattering casual work |
| some companies believe that employees are less | | | | wear lines. This might just be the right |
| productive on this day because of the holiday | | | | compromise for companies who can't solve the |
| atmosphere casual wear gives to the workplace. | | | | work wear dilemma, as well as for employees |
| In general, companies with a casual policy prefer | | | | who wish to have a choice. Instead of enforcing |
| their employees to dress 'business causal' which | | | | rules for formal wear, an office could have basic |
| means that jeans and revealing clothing is a | | | | guidelines for what type of casual clothes are |
| definite no-no, while cotton trousers, polo neck | | | | appropriate. Alternatively, they could invest in |
| shirts and semi-casual dresses make the work | | | | custom made casual work wear, such as jackets |
| wear grade. | | | | embroidered with the company logo, to supply to |
| As far as employee's attitudes go, they also tend | | | | the staff. |
| to be in two camps. Many believe in "dressing for | | | | |