Business Casual – Include Denim vs. Keep it to Chinos
The case for allowing Denim: The point of mandating a “Business Casual” wardrobe is to get employees to look professional for each other as well as customers and clients. Now what looks more professional? A pair of well kept, dark denim (no distressing or fraying of course) with a trim button up and sport coat… or ballooning pleated khakis and a bold patterned boxy fit “sport shirt” complete with a white crew-neck tee showing underneath? The days of associating blue jeans with manual labor are long gone. More often than not, it’s those in a manual labor uniform that look better than business casual employees left to their own devices.
The case for keeping “Business Casual” as is: Right, but… think of the Pandora’s box that would open if denim became an acceptable part of the business casual wardrobe. Rob the slob in collections would take it to the extreme and wear jeans just as unfortunate as his khakis. Look at what happened when Business Casual became the norm. It was a race to the bottom. Why wouldn’t that hold true if jeans became acceptable? Another risk is not knowing how your clients and customers would view you. Some still do think of jeans as work wear, and certainly not something to be worn when trying to make a good impression.
Would you let jeans be allowed in a Monday – Friday business casual workplace? Or would you keep it to only on Fridays (or never) as many places operate now? Leave it all below…
I think the answer to this question is the same as the answer for why this site exists. Of course some people are going to take an interest in what they wear and how they dress, and will nail a business casual outfit with jeans, but the other 90% just put on clothes because they have to. If the office dress code is full suit and tie, you’re going to get $50 polyester things that are 2 sizes too big, and if it’s business casual you’re going to get elastic waistbanded mom jeans. It’s the job of people who read this website to try and balance out those people in either case.
Everyone would just end up wearing dad jeans and pleated jeans. I’d rather look at ill-fitting khakis tbh.
I live by a maxim once taught to me in the unlikeliest of places: “If you’re going to be good, you have to play by all the rules; if you’re going to break the rules, you better be great”.
I believe the rule is starting to change. At this point, I’ll wear (mostly dark) denim 5 days a week. I’m on the GS-12 side of the house so no, not entry level. What affords me this opportunity is that no one questions that I’m wearing denim because its fit and hemmed correctly and paired with the right pieces. If you can point to any number of your khaki-clad clan and best them in a “who looks better dressed” comparison, you have some leeway to maneuver. However, if you look just as bad or even worse because you’re daftly donning disheveled denim – don’t.
A few people can do jeans as “business casual” correctly. Most people cannot. They will end up wearing baggy, faded, whiskered jeans or dad jeans with a polo shirt, which in reality isn’t even nice enough to be considered “casual.”
There’s also the question of why we dress business casual in the first place. Part of the answer to that is because we want to look respectful to our clients, customers, and anyone else we encounter. There are people who will be offended if you show up wearing jeans, even to a casual event, even if you look more put-together and professional than the guy who shows up wearing pleated khakis and an oversized polo shirt. There may not be a lot of people in the world who would feel that way, but I can guarantee you they exist.
So the answer to the question is twofold: Yes, you can look 100x better than baggy khaki business casual if you wear fitted dark jeans, wingtip shoes, button-down shirt, blazer, and tie (for example). But that doesn’t mean you should necessarily bust out the jeans when business casual is called for.
I say dress it up right if you are capable of doing it and let Rob the Slob notice and tell himself, “Well I don’t have jeans like that so…” If you show people how it’s done correctly, they won’t try to follow unless they’re doin’ it right too.
I say no. If people can’t get khakis to look good, why would they get jeans to look good?
Nice point and alliteration. good show
Maybe it has to do with the job, but my father taught me that casual Friday meant that I didn’t have to wear a tie.
Count me as another firm vote for “no.” I am a high school science teacher, and we are supposed to have a business casual uniform amongst the teachers. However, as most of you have pointed out, that usually translates to double pleated, relaxed fit, 3-inch too long khaki pants and a boxy polo shirt that tucks in as far as the knees. I shudder to think what would happen if jeans were added to the “acceptable” list.
Another point no one has really brought up, I feel extremely comfortable in my chinos and dress pants. I don’t understand why people bitch about having to dress up a little bit for work. That probably has a lot to do with the way my father raised me though.
In California none of this is even an issue, unless you work at a bank or something.
Couldn’t agree with you more – I’m also a high school science teacher, and it seems as though the definition of “business casual” at my school leans much more towards the casual than the business. I rarely wear jeans, and when I do they’re dark and it’s only on casual Fridays.
+1 on being comfortable in chinos and dress pants.
I’m a bit of a freak on this one. I’m most comfortable in a full suit. Jeans are a close second. I’m just not a big fan of chinos / dress pants / slacks w/ a shirt only. Don’t konw why. I am almost always in either a blazer, sportcoat, or have a sweater over the shirt.
You can’t allow jeans because many guys have baggy or faded pairs. God forbid both at the same time. Slim, straight, or slim-stright fits only and always a dark wash so they look fresher and dress able.
I have to say leave it out because the world will be in even worse shape than it is now. As you pointed out every Rob the slob would take this as a ticket to scrubville and make it worse for guys like us that take pride in rocking a pair of chinos or wool slacks to work. It would build a bigger separation between to two types. Imagine a world where you walk into the office wearing a pair of light chinos with a dress shirt cardy and mocs and your colleague is like dude why are you so dressed up. Am all the while you think your relaxed. It’s the twilight world
I say scrap business casual altogether…. but thats just me.
I agree. Business casual is a fiasco.
If you are in law, accounting or finance you should be wearing a gray or navy suit, white or blue shirt, conservative tie and oxford/lace-up shoes (loafers with a suit ruins everything IMO).
Other professionals can get away with a sport coat and wool trousers (not khakis or jeans).
My $.02.
I agree with your points Joe, but we must extend the reasoning to its logical conclusion. If you can look several orders of magnitude better than the boxy khakis and polo wearing dressed up, slim dark denim, then you could look several orders of magnitude sharper still in business casual done RIGHT. Then you avoid the potential pitfall in dressiness that jeans may present, and still come out sharp and not slob like.
Cheers,
Ben
I work at an IT company in California and we’re only allowed jeans on Friday. Business casual every other day, but I don’t mind dressing up, and wear a tie once a week even though we don’t have to. I haven’t worn a polo to work in a while, partly because I don’t like how they look very much with slacks and partly because it is always FUCKING FREEZING in here.
Don’t say “cardy.”
I read an article in a men’s fashion mag that referred to “denim trousers” as opposed to jeans. Worded like this, I think it could be added to business casual and the people who get it will and Rob the Slob will be so confused that he won’t know why to do with it.. Granted, management will have to regulate once anyone does decide to come in wearing baggy, wiskered, embroidered and/or light colored denim. Which stems to a laziness issue. Can management properly regulate the dress code if jeans were allowed or are they going to be too lazy to do so?
We agree with a few of these responses, really it depends on the jeans. Unfortunately, dress code rules have to be very specific when “casual Friday” includes jeans because tattered, torn, faded etc isn’t for ANY office environment.
Strange. Must be east coast holdovers.