Casual Friday: The relaxation of workwear ...and the end of the suit?

For nearly two centuries, the suit defined professional life. Bankers, lawyers, and office workers alike wore dark jackets and ties as the uniform of respectability.So how did we get from that world… to Casual Friday?In this episode of Threads of History, I trace the slow relaxation of workplace dress codes, from the influence of Beau Brummell and the rise of the modern suit, through the cultural rebellion of denim and T-shirts, to the surprising invention of Casual Friday in Hawaii.We revisit familiar threads from earlier episodes, including Levi Strauss, Marlon Brando, and James Dean, while exploring how companies like IBM helped usher in the era of business casual and how the COVID-19 pandemic may have permanently changed what it means to dress for work.The suit isn’t gone.But it may never rule the office the way it once did.