Slip into your jeans, T-shirt and hoodie – you’re ready for work, right?
Unless you’re Mark Zuckerberg, maybe not.
To truly defy conformity, many West Coast companies have instigated “Formal Friday” when they don their Sunday best. It’s hard to believe the same nonconformists who pioneered the “Casual Friday” trend now are ready to free themselves from the flip-flops that have become standard weekday dress.
(Apparently, sloppy attire is no longer seen as a way of transcending corporate politics.)
Business-etiquette expert Lydia Ramsey is delighted.
Ramsey wrote the book, “Manners That Sell,” and blames Microsoft Corporation for cementing the casual dress code so common among technology companies, but says startups today have “taken it to a new low.”
The Savannah, Georgia, resident is excited to see more companies putting the A-game back in their dress and believes employees are more productive when they dress in formal attire.
At some Silicon Valley companies (like gaming giant Zynga Inc.) small groups of employees have begun to dress up on Fridays. Even the employees at Peet’s Coffee Shop in San Francisco’s financial district reportedly started Formal Fridays about a year ago: Baristas don bow ties and top hats to brew customers’ coffee.
“Friday’s the best day of the week anyway, right?” said employee Kyle Serpa, dressed in suspenders and a tie. “Why not celebrate it with some style and grace?”
Those of us who live on the East Coast wholeheartedly agree.