Casual Friday means employees get a green light to wear jeans at work, but most employers want a dressed up casual style that still feels professional but is less dressy than the normal Monday through Thursday dress code requires. As a society, we are becoming more and more casual, and sometimes we forget how to do a casual style that is more than yoga pants and a sweatshirt. This blog post will give you 5 tips for making your Casual Friday wardrobe a slam dunk that still makes you feel great in your clothes and offers elevated style that is appropriate for work.

Tip #1: “Joggers” or pants that are banded at the bottom but slimmer in fit than a typical sweat pant are a trendy style right now. Most of us wouldn’t even consider wearing a jogging pant or sweat pant to work, but when you put this style in the right fabric, it can totally work. Take this olive green jogger set that is in the first picture as an example. Because this look is using a heavy weight travel knit that is a dressy and luxurious fabric, suddenly this style is taken up to a level worthy of the office.

Tip #2: Layer, layer, layer. You can easily dress up a simple sweater and jeans with a vest and boot and make the whole look not only trendy but dressy enough for the office on a Friday. Feminine details like the puffed sleeve on this sweater also add an element of dressiness. Clean jeans that don’t have any distressing can still be trendy when you have a bitty bootcut, like this style in picture number 2.

Tip #3: Printed denim is so in, and you can easily dress it up with the right top. I love how this waffle knit in olive green in picture number 3 is elevated by the banded bottom and the feminine button detailing on the sleeve. Look for added details like these to really help you do dressed up casual. The other tip that makes this look work is the dressy shoe boot and matching handbag. Keep in mind, your accessories really matter. This look, for example, would take on a whole different feeling with loafers, as an example.

Tip #4: Wear a blouse as a “shacket.” Stylish women have been using this trick for ions. Something magical happens when you take a simple blouse and layer it over a tank. It dresses the whole look up and adds dimension. This is another example of how layering can be used to give your look more dimension and style. The dark denim, skinny jeans and high wedges also help this look to be dressier, as do the accessories and handbag.

Tip #5: Take a work blouse, like the look in picture number 5, and make it more casual by pairing it with colored denim, which is dressier than regular denim. Oftentimes, it is difficult to tell if a colored bottom is actually a jean, so many women can get away with wearing colored denim for their Monday through Thursday office looks. Complete the look with some dressy shoe boots and a fun handbag, and you have a dressed up casual style that will have you feeling comfy and classy.

These tips can also work for dressing for work related travel when you need to be comfortable but still look nice when you arrive. If you want to see some more ideas, watch my live video tonight at 6 p.m. MST. In the mean time…thank goodness it is almost Friday! I hope you will try out some of these tips!