What is Casual?

ca·su·al/ˈkaZHo͞oəl/
Adjective: Relaxed and unconcerned.
Noun: A person who does something irregularly: "a number of casuals became regular customers".
Synonyms: accidental - incidental - fortuitous - occasional

I thought it would be a good idea to expand on the meaning of the blog title before delving deeper into further discussions.

When I think of casual and work the first thing that pops into my head is Casual Friday, and the second thing to pop into my head would be that episode of The Office, which I greatly enjoyed and will make reference to in this post. So for those who don't know what Casual Friday is, it is basically a fun thing some companies (typically office environments) do to boost moral, have fun, or whatever. For these special occasions the dress code allows for a more casual attire for the day so instead of ties and skirts employees are encouraged to wear jeans and sweaters - simple enough. However the dress code is left up to the discretion of the individuals thus opening the door for conflict like we see when The Office tried to do a Casual Friday that did not end well. But on a day-to-day basis casual apparel depends on the work environment, some places require a uniform (food service, emergency personnel, security), others a suit (managers, executives, authority figures), some must wear costumes (circus, performers, actors) for all of these fields and more, casual apparel is not acceptable but there are always groups that are permitted to wear casual clothing (but must meet certain requirements like sleeve length or graphic shirts) such as self employed individuals, telecommuters and occasionally cashiers at a company with a casual dress code.

I hope this post was informative and helped expand your views on what casual is and can be.

Appropriate Apparel

It's hard to say whats appropriate to wear because there are many factors that come into play and not all of them are universally accepted. But I feel there are some that everyone must (to some degree) abide by, for starters safety is always a necessity, lets say someone works in a wear house, they will most likely need steel toed boots and thick gloves. Someone working in a kitchen typically needs anti-slip shoes, an apron, hairnet and so on. When it comes to someone working in an office there tends to be less of a risk of injury but this leads into the second point which is representation. I see representation as how someone looks, whether it be a clean shirt, crisp collar, torn sleeves, shaved face, and many more. No matter what the work is I think it is always necessary to come with a clean outfit, but obviously if someone works in sanitation or on a fishing boat dirt cannot be avoided and that is where the third point comes into play. Preparedness for people working in the sewers or boats means they wear thigh high boots, big rubber gloves and a water tight jumper to prevent any potential seepage.

Now it can be argued that other factors are equally as important as the ones previously characterized but these are the three that I have decided to touch upon in this post. Please feel free to inquire about others as there are possibly an infinite number of factors so the list is endless.

Designer or Not

When it comes to designer clothes there are generally two points of view. The first being that more expensive clothes such as a $2,000 suit is a sign that the person is bad with money and spends too much. The second is that less expensive clothes are a sign the person is bad at what they do and aren't paid very much. Both points also have the contrary such as expensive clothes mean the person is rich and works hard, or less expensive clothes are a sign that the person invests in something more important. I think both opinions have merit, but depending on the work environment. So someone with an executive position, lots of responsibility and high pay should be able to reflect that with the outfit and someone who in a lower position should be able to dress appropriately for the role, not spending everything they make on clothes.