Dress Codes and School Uniforms in Japan Issue 1 Home Page

Drawing by Yuki Masui Office workers says that casual clothes are very comfortable and make people feel friendly. 'Blue Jeans Friday' is Coming Soon Yuki Masui from Japan discusses casual dress in U.S. and Japanese offices and interviews other students to find out their opinions about casueal dress codes. In the United States, a fashion revolution is going on. In offices, people are beginning to dress more casually on Fridays. They wear blue jeans, T-shirts and sandals instead of dress clothes such as suits. Office workers says that casual clothes are very comfortable and make people feel friendly. It makes them work harder. Some businesses call this "Casual Friday". This new dress code is especially popular in California. Many workers are very happy about this, but some people don't like it, because they like to dress up. They say it doesn't feel right. Also, they say in the case of formal meetings they can't wear casual clothes. For example, sometimes they have to meet with bankers and customers. Japan goes casual, too! People in Japanese offices are also trying to be more casual when they come to work. People choose one day of the week for 'Casual Day'. However, this is going on only in some offices because some people say that we have to be careful about our clothes. Suits are a kind of uniform for businessman, and some people tend to prefer uniforms. Of course, nobody thinks that they have good clothes. Another reason is that casual clothes are not suitable for formal situations in business. They have the same problem as office workers in American offices. It may be difficult to introduce casual clothes into Japanese offices because workers have never been expected to have their own taste in clothes. Interview: What do you think of casual clothes? I interviewed several people to find out what they thought about dressing casually. I asked: "Do you think it is a good idea for workers to wear casual clothes to the office? Why or why not?" Everybody said that it is a good idea. Here are some of their comments: "I think that workers will work harder because they can relax and will be strongly motivated to work. We are also working when we wear casual clothes. So it is good for workers, I think." "If I chose a company as an applicant, I would choose such a unique company, because maybe such a company would be open to us, and would surely listen attentively to our opinions." "I think that an office should inform bankers or businessmen who are coming to the office on a " Casual Dress Day " so that the office workers will not be wearing formal clothes. Then there would be no problem." "I think if people work in casual clothes it will have a good effect on all sides. Workers can feel free and relaxed. I think it's a good idea." More on dress codes and school uniforms: Students Give Their Opinions on Dress Codes | Fashionable High School Uniforms Have your say: What do you think of uniforms? Return to: Dress Codes and School Uniforms in Japan | Issue 1 TOPICS Online Magazine - ©1997-2007 - Sandy and Thomas Peters - topics.mag@gmail.com -