Casual Friday… Don’t make that mistake… |

Casual Friday is supposed to be fun and relaxed in the white-collared world. But on Wall Street, there are unwritten rules that must be followed or else…

It’s not like wearing a pair of jean shorts could cost you a $500,000 bonus — well, actually, maybe it could. Casual Friday is not your friend. What you choose to wear on this day can’t make you, but it can BREAK you.

In 1996, when I was at Morgan Stanley, they sent around a company-wide email announcing Casual Friday. My first thought was great! My second was, what am I going to wear??? The email didn’t go into detail. “Business casual” was the term used.

That morning, I put on my khakis, blue button-down shirt and nice loafers, hopped in a cab and went to the office. I played it safe — right down the middle. We would later call this, “The Wall Street Jumpsuit.”