Casual Friday

Casual Friday (also known as Dress-down Friday, or simply Casual day) is an American and Canadian trend which has spread to other parts of the world, wherein some offices may celebrate a semi-reprieve from the constrictions of a formal dress code. Whereas, during the rest of the week, business shirts, suits, ties, trousers, and dress shoes would be the norm, on Casual Friday workers might be allowed to wear more casual dress. Some companies might allow jeans, casual blouses or T-shirts, hoodies, track jackets, and sneakers/running shoes or even stocking feet, but others require business casual or smart casual dress. Some offices allow a themed dress down day. On this day, even managers in such workplaces are allowed to dress down.

The tropical roots of Casual Friday go back to at least 1947 in Hawaii, when the city of Honolulu allowed workers to wear the Aloha shirt part of the year. The term Aloha Friday dates from the 1960s, when the shirts were worn on Fridays instead of normal business attire. Casual Friday, along with dressing casually during the week, became very prevalent during the Dot-com bubble of the late 1990s and early 2000s rooted in a relaxed California-based business culture.