tenue de ville
The English phrase "business casual" can be translated into French as tenue de ville.
This term refers to a standard of dress.
Meaning: standard of dress (adj)
Which one should you use?
You may encounter the more descriptive formal expressions Tenue professionnelle décontractée and Tenue de bureau décontractée to describe the same concept.
Did you know?
- While English 'business casual' implies a relaxed approach, using the literal tenue de ville in a French professional context often implies a much higher level of formality, such as a suit or professional attire, rather than a relaxed style.
- The term tenue de ville is linguistically ironic because the word ville is derived from the Latin 'villa', which originally meant a country house or a rural estate.
- The word tenue refers to both the 'outfit' and the 'bearing' or 'posture' of the person wearing it.
Examples in context
- Je pense qu'il est approprié de porter une tenue professionnelle décontractée lors de cette réunion.I think it's appropriate to wear business casual attire for this meeting.
Example conversation
Nathan and Emma are discussing the dress code for a work event.
- NathanDois-je porter un costume pour la réception ?Should I wear a suit for the reception?
- EmmaNon, une simple tenue de ville suffit.No, a simple business casual outfit is enough.
- NathanD'accord, je vais mettre mon pantalon beige.Okay, I will wear my beige trousers.
- EmmaC'est une excellente idée pour l'occasion.That is an excellent idea for the occasion.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries de, ville, CC BY-SA 4.0.
