The case for chinos

In one of his usual nice-guy moments earlier this month, my boss declared every day of this month a casual day. 'Great news!' I thought. I'm a jeans woman. I was excited.

But now that we are mid-way through Casual Decmeber, I can confidently say that the temporary dresscode has change officed dynamics--and not in a good way.

My biggest issue is that my direct supervisor, who has the mentality and physique of a pre-pubescent teenage male anyway, seem only to own casual clothing that dates back to the era of my adolescence. Long story short, all month long I feel like I have been receiving assignments from a twerpy 13-year old boy. It could just be me, but something about a potty-mouthed littleman in grungy, plaid flannel shirts just doesn't quite say, "Take me seriously."

As it turns out, I'm not the only staffer who has felt uncomfortable. One of my colleagues has made a point of commenting every day this month how weird he feels seeing everyone dressed down. I think that talking about it must be some sort of awkwardness-coping-mechanism for him. I would prefer he practiced a bit of restraint. I mean, it's not like I've turned to him and asked if he always wears such bright colors at home on the weekends. Anyway, judging by the loud silences following his remarks, it's clear that this strategy only works for his personal benefit.

And then there's my fashionista bossman (not my direct supervisor, but the big cheese of the whole operation). He issued the Declaration of Casual December, yet he has not participated. Rumor has it that he has not a single pair of jeans nor a short-sleeved shirt in his vast wardrobe. I realize that, as head honcho, he probably wants to maintain his GQ look, but the man won't even relax a bit on Fridays during an entire month among employees who look like they're dressed for a nap. Don't get me wrong; I'm not wishing for him to go the way of my middle-school-style supervisor. I just think The Man ought to join in the fun to stay connect with us little people.

I think a casual dress code can and does succeed for a lot of organizations. I'm not exactly sure what it is about ours that does such a piss-poor job of pulling it off.

I never thought I would yearn so badly to see someone in a pair of pleated-front Dockers.