5 Things You Should Never Wear to Work - Even on Casual Fridays

I am all for this 21^st century notion of dressing down at the office. I live in jeans, and would happily wear them every day of the week and for any occasion if I could. While I appreciate not having to wear a suit or a dress to work, I also recognize a terrible trend in workplace attire. The term "casual" has now gone from wearing a dressy pair of jeans, a blouse and flats, to wearing anything dirty that was picked up off of the floor, including pajamas and belly shirts. Here is a list of 5 things you should never wear to the office even on casual Fridays.

Severely Ripped Jeans

If your jeans more closely resemble a piece of Swiss cheese due to the sheer amount of holes than they do an acceptable pair of pants, do not wear them to work. While it is very trendy to wear holey jeans to the bar, it just looks tacky and unprofessional at the office.

Stretch Pants

This is by far the most terrifying of the items on the list. On a recent casual day in my office, I saw a woman wearing stretch pants...LAVENDER STRETCH PANTS! I am talking about the kind of stirrup-y stretch pants that were popular in the '80s but only looked ok on kids under the age of 10. No adult woman should ever visit the stretch pants aisle, let alone purchase and wear a pair of lavender stretch pants to the office.
LAVENDAR STRETCH PANTS = LOOKING LIKE A WEDGED-IN MARSHMALLOW = VERY UNATTRACTIVE

Belly Shirts

You may have a completely toned stomach. If you submitted a picture of yourself to Maxim magazine, they might offer you a modeling contract. No matter how greatly defined your abs happen to be, at the office, you should wear a shirt that covers them. The only people who will notice you (positively) for showing that much skin are not the people you want paying that much attention to you anyway.

Pajamas

If the only clean clothes you have in your house are your pajamas, it is still not acceptable to wear them to work. If you come to the office looking disheveled or like you just woke up, people will likely view you as a lazy, unreliable employee/co-worker. Or they will assume you're still living out your college glory days.

Inappropriate Slogan T-Shirts

Do not wear a shirt to the office that advertises your "Big Johnson" or your favorite beer. Anything sexual or alcoholic should remain outside the office. You can wear a shirt that advertises your favorite sports team, a local charity, etc. T-shirts are not the problem. Just make sure the sayings and logos are appropriate.