Day to Day of a Dazzling Diva: Casual Friday

Okay...so, it's no big secret that I'm no fan of the early part of the work week. Actually, when you get right down to it, my favorite day of those five days is...Friday! (but you couldn't have known that, huh...). In celebration of my favorite day, I'm going to chat a bit about casual Fridays. A lot of workplaces give their employees the freedom to dress down a bit on Friday and throw on a pair of jeans, but some people take that freedom just a tad too far.

Now, I'm not talking to all you divas out there, but nonetheless it needs to be said:

Ladies, casual Friday's no way implies that you should dress like Beachy Saturday or Lazy Day Sunday. Unless you work for an employer in the creative industry that allows a lot more leniency, like mini skirts, the rest of us must abide by a few rules:

1. No rips or tears in jeans
2. No specialty wash, i.e. acid
3. No butt crack jeans
4. No worn out, over worn, shredded hems
5. No denim tuxedo, i.e. denim on denim
6. No words, or extreme bedazzles or sparkles should be emblazoned on your behind
7. No jeggings, i.e. leggings made from denim or denim-like material

Wearing jeans provides the opportunity to show your style in a more comfortable way than business casual or corporate attire allows. Start off by picking the right jean for your body type and making sure they are the proper length for the shoe you plan to wear (for reminders click here). Light washed denim has definitely made a reemergence and can look great with the proper styling, however I am a huge supporter of the dark denim wash jean. Not so dark that it's black, but a nice indigo blue will do. It can make you look fresh, pulled together, and even dressed up when paired with the right items.

When wearing jeans you can go either more casual, yet still office appropriate, or more dressed up, so that you still feel professional simply by altering the style and height of shoe and clothing pieces like cardigans and blazers. Along with the few rules I listed above there are some others that go hand in hand, like no flip flops and/or sneakers, no T-shirts (unless used for layering) and no sweatshirts and/or hoodies.

For those of you not lucky enough to work for an employer that allows jeans, all hope may not be lost. It's possible to find a chambray pant that could provide a jean-like option for you. It is typically a woven fabric in a lighter weight than jeans that is offered in denim-esque shades, from light to dark. I recommend the deeper to darker blue tones. I personally own several items made from chambray from button up shirts, to dresses and a couple pairs of slacks. When it comes to the pants, what I find to be best about chambray is that it isn't restricted to Fridays only! Because of the material being more like a slack, depending upon the style of pants, I can wear them to work for other days of the week as well.

A couple recommendations: