As I sit here at work on this casual Friday, I can't help but compare what we choose to wear on our casual day with what we choose to wear for the rest of the month. Like most companies, ours has policies dictating what is appropriate and what is not. I've noticed that the casual day guidelines don’t vary too much from our normal business casual guidelines.

At first I chalked this up to the desire to maintain a professional image while still allowing a little freedom (and also a laundry day for those of us who don't quite have the system down yet.) I suppose the clothing we wear presents a message to society. "Look at me, I'm a professional on my way to an office job." Or "I'm a spontaneous, carefree artistic type." We choose what we like to wear, but what we "like" to wear always seems to fall into one category. You can tell instantly by looking at someone (be it casual day or otherwise) whether they're bohemian, preppy, trendy, etc.

With all the ranges of personal choice we have in all our categories of fashion, I wonder why we stick to ONE. Furthermore, I wonder exactly WHY we decided that certain things were professional and certain were inappropriate. For example, why isn't it considered professional for us to wear togas in hot weather? Back in Rome, the toga was THE must-have piece for summer. Flowey, in a range of fabrics and colors, it could denote class while still allowing freedom of movement and ease of usage. While women still have this option and can wear long flowing dresses, men are pretty much socially restricted from this. Isn't that silly? Why are those of us who are restricted to desk jobs still wearing pants?

Maybe if one of you men out there breaks the mold and wears a long skirt to casual day it'll catch on in corporate America. Maybe one day we'll see executives with briefcases wearing sandals and silk drapery on their way to Starbucks.

Let's bring back to the toga!

Labels: idiocy