casual Fridays — done right

We moved into our new apartment coming on one year, pretty soon. Maybe it was just a surge of inspiration, but it wasn’t until yesterday that we realized our pale grey walls and floor-to-ceiling windows made for the perfect naturally lit, makeshift studio.

We’ve spent the last two winters shooting outside in snow and subzero temps, and maybe we’re just getting old — but we just can’t deal anymore (is it too soon for a Florida retirement?). So we pushed furniture out of the way and took down our paintings, and jumped right into our first shoot of 2015.

With the both of us pretty much done school for now (you’ll probably hear us talking about these minutiae in some form in the next few weeks), a post on workplace fashion seemed like a good fit. Specifically, the all-mystical “casual Friday”.

So we have some major beef with casual Fridays. Don’t get us wrong, we love to dress down, but it can take a wrong turn when people take it way too literally. This isn’t the time to pull out your oversized sweaters, joggers, or sneakers — save that for a weekend off. Rather, casual Fridays are the opportunity to dress up your more casual pieces, or subtly dress down your office wear.

For the ladies, maybe take your fave dark wash skinnies and pair it with a collared shirt and fitted sweater; for the gents, loose the tie and experiment with slacks in different hues. If you struggle with the grey area that is casual Friday, a good rule of thumb is to pick one “classic” workplace piece like a blazer, classic slacks, or collared shirt, and dressing everything else down. Once you master the casual Friday outfit young, stylish grasshoppers, you’ll see your work and play wardrobe in a completely different way.

Side note. Man, does it feel good to be shooting and writing again.