10 Things We Wish Were “Business Casual”

Ever stared at your closet wondering if you could get away with wearing those sweatpants to work? According to Google, searches for “business casual” hit an all-time high in 2025, and it’s not because we’re all suddenly passionate about HR dress codes. It’s because no one knows what it means anymore. (Did we ever?)

The dictionary definition is “a style of dressing for white-collar employees that is less formal than business attire.” Super helpful, right? That could mean a nice sweater… or maybe a hoodie with cowboy boots depending on who you ask and where you live.

Google looked at the most popular “Is this business casual?” searches of the year, broken down by city. And something about the list tells me we’d all be wearing tees, jorts, and Crocs to the office if we knew it wouldn’t cost us that raise.

Here are 10 questionable fashion choices we’ve been Googling and where those fashion dilemmas are trending the most.

---

1. “Are sweats business casual?”

Los Angeles is leading the charge on this one. Shocking absolutely no one.

---

2. “Are baggy jeans business casual?”

Salt Lake City is ready to be living in 1998 again.

---

3. “Are cowboy boots business casual?”

Charleston, South Carolina, wants to make this happen. And honestly, we kind of support it.

---

4. “Are hoodies business casual?”

Denver’s hoping it’s okay as long as it’s made by Patagonia.

---

5. “Are combat boots business casual?”

Chicago’s trying to punk up the office vibe.

---

6. “Are flannel shirts business casual?”

San Francisco, meet Portland’s wardrobe.

---

7. “Are shorts business casual?”

Eugene, Oregon, you’re on the same latitude as Minneapolis. This only applies like eight days a year.

---

8. “Is a cowboy hat business casual?”

Kansas City, Missouri, clearly thinks the rodeo is a networking event.

---

9. “Are yoga pants business casual?”

Hartford, Connecticut, just wants to be comfy.

---

10. “Is cheetah print business casual?”

Atlanta’s out here trying to make statement pieces work in staff meetings.

---

In the end, “business casual” for most of us means… whatever your boss won’t yell at you for. But as work-from-home culture continues to blend into in-office life, the line between business and casual is as blurry as ever.

One person’s power blazer is another person’s cheetah print sweats, apparently. At this rate, the only universal rule might be if you have to Google it, maybe toss on a button-down instead.