Formal Fridays: latest Silicon Valley workplace fad

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Formal Fridays: latest Silicon Valley workplace fad

cciele

Veteran

http://online.wsj.com/article/.....18216.html

My apologies if someone has already posted this link.

Wonder how long this trend will last. Nice to see people having fun with fashion in the workplace!

13 years ago

General

25 replies

Latest reply was from rachylou

milehighstyle (Linda)

Veteran

I love the idea!

13 years ago

Caro in Oz

Veteran

It is fun - I would have really enjoyed this.

13 years ago

MsMary

Veteran

Love it!

BTW, the Marines are doing this, too! Instead of their camis, they are wearing their "service alphas," which are the super-nice outfits with neckties, on Fridays. Although the rank-and-file Marines are not digging it nearly as much as the Silicon Valley denizens seem to be...

13 years ago

lyn*

(website)

Veteran

LOL; if I can wear a ballgown on Formal Friday, I'm all for it!

13 years ago

Kristin SF

Veteran

I work in SV and most of the folks around here work at home on Fridays, lol. But I don't work for a start-up....sounds more fun!

13 years ago

Deborah

Veteran

Love this idea, but I can see my colleagues eyes rolling already!!

13 years ago

Anonymous

What a fun idea! Some people seem to have no idea how to dress up. Days like this might help.

13 years ago

Thistle

Veteran

Interesting idea! I wonder if it will go to black tie levels, let us get the CPW down on some of our fancy frocks!

13 years ago

Amy

(website)

Veteran

lyn, if you wear a ballgown, I will too. Dare you

13 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

I think that's hilarious. I too am for it, if I can wear a ball gown.

13 years ago

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

I am going to try to slyly introduce it around here.

13 years ago

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

Too bad they will never go for it in my high tech office

13 years ago

cciele

Veteran

Too bad I usually work from home on Fridays. Maybe I can just incorporate it into my normal Friday dress

13 years ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Cathy, maybe all us work-at-homes can do a YLF Formal Friday! That would be a fun challenge!

13 years ago

cciele

Veteran

Great idea Suz! Let's do it

13 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Typing away in your ball gown and suits on Friday. Why not!

13 years ago

MsMary

Veteran

Remember, Una and I thought of it first! We've always said when we open our joint law firm the first rule is going to be Sequin Friday!!

13 years ago

Charmian

Veteran

It's so funny that you should post about this at the same time I'm lamenting not dressing up at work (temporarily)!

Context: I work at the Seattle branch of a company headquartered in Silicon Valley. We definitely observe Formal Friday up here. However, we do it only once a quarter, so that the folks who want to really get into it aren't burned out by dressing up all the time. I'm talking white-tie, limos, champagne toasts, and games of croquet on the office lawn. It's not a policy thing, it's just driven by a few employees who love dressing up.

Incidentally, there is no good place on a ballgown to hang your badge.

13 years ago

unfrumped

Veteran

Haha, that could be a YLF challenge--what is the most formal outfit you can wear to work and not start a gossip wave or get booted out! Fallback fib is, oh, I've got an event after work.....

13 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

Hmm. The Badge, aka "My Jewelry"... I wonder if it could be turned into a dance card or something?

Hmm....

13 years ago

Anonymous

Interesting. I find many things about corporate culture to be reminiscent of elementary school. Parties, dress-up or dress-down days, etc. Am I the only one who finds this kind of stuff just ... ridiculous? It would drive me crazy.

13 years ago

cciele

Veteran

Charmian -- that's interesting how your "normal" clothes get noticed at work (and they don't seem that out of place to me) and that your coworkers do celebrate Formal Fridays! Have you joined in the festivities?

Anne -- I think it totally depends on the company and person. I find that kind of stuff, if it doesn't seem forced, is a great way to get people together and reinforce company culture. I have friends who work at large corporations with none of the fun stuff and they report it is rather depressing environment to work in (basically, people mind their own business and there's not a lot of interpersonal interaction).

13 years ago

Charmian

Veteran

I participate in Formal Friday every quarter -- it's super fun. However, my cocktail/black-tie capsule is non-existant, so I just pull on a nice frock and wander down for the champagne. Others treat the day as an excuse to bust out "costumey" clothes (eg, a steampunk-inspired suit). Most folks just smile indulgently at us and turn back to their monitor.

It's definitely easier to dress up when other people do it. So Formal Friday is easy; every Friday ... not so much.

Lastly, participating in Formal Friday draws me closer to other participants (likely due to the fact that over half the office does not participate). In software, and in my company especially, your effectiveness is directly correlated to the quality and breadth of your professional network.

13 years ago

Mander

(website)

Veteran

@rachylou: What about one of those wrist corsages, whatever they are called, to clip your badge to?

Some friends of ours organized a dinner party a few years ago, which we called "gout night" because it centered around a bunch of fancy, rich food. Just for fun we all wore fancy dresses and suits.

I'm thinking we should do it again... I have a fabulous ball gown that has never been worn sitting in my closet!

13 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

Anne, my greatest folly in life (ok, one of 'em) was thinking that once I got out of high school, I'd be leaving all the stupidity behind. But alas, the difference between the office and school is:

- Office: If you can't go with the flow, you get fired.

- School: If you can't go with the flow, you get shoved into your own locker.

Also, more terrifying to realize: You are who you're going to be already when in school.

***
Mander - I need to get to work on that!

13 years ago

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