Casual fridays
People’s ideas about dressing informally to work can be very different…
Conversation about office wear
Sabrina: Have you seen this email about dress-down Fridays? I’m not sure about relaxing the rules...
Ed: I think it’s great - I’m going to come to work in my ripped jeans!
Sabrina: I think that might be going a bit too far. It only says we don’t have to wear suits. We still have to wear appropriate business dress. And we still have to be suited and I booted if we have meetings with clients. Remember that we are representatives of the company; even on Fridays!
Ed: Well, I never have meetings with outside customers. I only have meetings with Gareth in IT and I’ve never seen him smartly-dressed.
Sabrina: That’s no excuse! And I hope you’re not planning to wear trainers. They’re strictly not allowed. If you read the email it’s quite specific about what’s permitted and what’s not. Women aren’t allowed to wear flip-flops, for example.
Ed: You sound like the dress-code police! You’ll be recommending that we should all wear a uniform in the office next.
Sabrina: Don’t be silly - I just don’t want you to go overboard with being informal. You know what Mr Timpson thinks about dressing too casually... he says it affects behaviour. You’ll be calling him Barry instead of Mr Timpson if you’re not careful.
Ed: It’s time he loosened up a bit about being on first-name terms with his staff.
Sabrina: You have to respect his approach. People wore bowler hats and never took their jackets or ties off indoors when he set up the company all those years ago.
Ed: I suppose you’re right. But we’re all allowed to wear jeans and sweatshirts on the 18th and it’s not even a Friday.
Sabrina: Who says?
Ed: There’s a memo from the great Mr Timpson himself, advising us to come to work in "work attire appropriate to the packing of crates in readiness for our office move". I love it! Even his language is as formal as a starched collar!
Conversation
Vocabulary and phrases
dress-down/casual Fridays = journée du vendredi où, contrairement au reste de la semaine, les employés sont libres de s’habiller comme ils le souhaitent
ripped jeans = jean déchiré
suit = costume
appropriate business dress = tenue d’affaires
IT (Information Technology) = informatique
smartly-dressed = bien habillé
trainers = tennis
strictly not allowed = formellement interdit
flip-flop = tong
dress code = code vestimentaire
go overboard = aller trop loin
informal = décontracté
dress too casually = s’habiller trop décontracté
loosen up = se lâcher
be on first-name terms = appeler quelqu’un par son prénom
staff = personnel
bowler hat = chapeau melon
jacket = veston
tie = cravate
memo = note de service
work attire = vêtements de travail
crate = caisse
starched collar = col amidonné
suited and booted = bien mis
More dress code words and phrases
casual dress = tenue décontractée
clean-shaven = rasé de près
dress allowance = indemnité vestimentaire
fashionable = à la mode
informal dress = tenue informelle
overalls = bleu de travail
pinstriped suit = costume rayé
power dressing = tenue élégante, sobre et sévère, adoptée par certaines femmes cadres
scruffy = débraillé
shoulder pad = épaulette
overdressed = trop hâbillé
stylish = chic
tailored skirt = jupe ajustée
He was inappropriately dressed for the office = Il n’était pas habillé convenablement pour le bureau
You are looking smart today, have you got an interview? = Tu es très élégant aujourd’hui, as-tu un entretien ?
The company is very image-conscious = L’entreprise se soucie beaucoup de son image
Our boss is a snappy dresser = Notre chef est toujours bien sapé
I’m not suitably dressed for a meeting = Je ne suis pas habillé comme il faut pour une réunion