First things first: I hate dressing for events. When I first moved to Portland and started being invited to workplace events with specific dress codes, it felt like great fun— especially since it was nothing more serious than “dress how you want; it’s jeans day, but Wednesday!” More recently, though? Last month I received an invitation to an industry mixer – you know the type, where graphic designers mingle “professionally” with wine that costs six dollars a glass – and on that invitation was scribbled the two words guaranteed to make me twitch: smart casual attire requested.
For weeks those two words haunted me. SMART CASUAL. Try as I might I couldn’t understand what “smart casual” even meant.
Professional but not too professional? Businessy but not business professional?
It sounded ridiculous even to say it aloud.
I texted a friend who went to college in London and always seems to effortlessly be well put together without trying too hard, and she laughed at me. “Oh god honey,” she text messaged back. “That’s so British. Good luck.” Oh guys, she wasn’t kidding about the whole being-British thing. Turns out the confusing mess that is smart casual has been conjured up straight from the UK.
An entire country with decades-long cultural anxiety surrounding class and appropriate public comportment distilled down into two words devised purely to torture you. Which would honestly be fine! Except, I’ve started caring about what I wear in a way I never did in college.
Back in undergrad I could rock up to class in black jeans and an old concert tee shirt and know that nobody would think twice about how I looked. These days, I actually want to resemble an adult putting together “work clothes” (read: actual pants) in the morning. Smart casual frustrates that goal because every time you wear it you learn something new about it that completely contradicts everything you thought you knew.
Right now, for example, I’m thinking about what “smart casual” even IS. Casual? Great!
I can do casual – sweatpants, favorite graphic tee shirt, flip flops. SMART? Um, suit and tie?
Nice blazer, button-up shirt, blaaaack shoes? SMART CASUAL. Noooooooooooooooooooo.
Case in point: Last Spring I wore what I thought was the quintessential smart casual outfit to THREE separate events and was over dressed at one, underdressed at the other, and inexplicably right on par at the last. How? Same exact outfit!
Yet depending on where we were I looked like I either didn’t belong or was headed to my office straight from the courtroom. Age of guests plays into it too. Last summer I was at an art gallery opening that was maybe thirty people and the median age was probably 55+.
Every “young” person there (and by young I mean under 40) looked to me like they were trying WAY too hard. The people who felt most appropriately dressed were wearing things I can imagine my mother wearing; nice slacks, button-up blouses, blazers. Structured and reserved.
BUT. If that same crowd of people were replaced with, say, 20-somethings? Dressing exactly that way would send the message that you didn’t know how to dress yourself let alone what’s trendy anymore.
And god help you if you’re a woman trying to figure out smart casual while men breeze on by wearing literally whatever they want. Guys, smart casual to you means “wear pants that aren’t sweaty gym shorts and ditch the shirt with the cardo logo across the chest.” Pants (ideally some slacks that aren’t jeans but who are we kidding, probably jeans), button-up shirt, maybe a jacket? Bam!
Done. You’re not even thinking about it because we’ve made it so freaking easy for you to navigate. Women, on the other hand, have to analyze every aspect of our outfits down to how many straps are showing on our shoulders.
Is a jumpsuit too dressy? Too casual? Does that dress have to be worn with a blazer or will I frighten people if I pair it with a sweater?
Can I wear sneakers as long as they’re not WHITE and pretend they look like leather? Do these boots go with enough things in my closet to justify the price tag? It’s made me tragically fail at dressing appropriately on too many occasions to count.
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Wearing a sundress to an outdoor event that was unexpectedly held indoors where every other guest was wearing long sleeves. Showing up to happy hour in my blazer and everything-but-the-skirt suit only to find out it was literally everyone else’s everyday look. Buying a freaking jumpsuit because I thought it would be the perfect smart casual piece and now every time I look at it I wonder if I’m wearing it to meet friends for drinks or to change into at someone’s wedding.
It sucks mentally preparing yourself for events now. Used to be I could throw on some clothes and walk out the door. Now I find myself staring into my closet doing mental math.
Who’s hosting? Where are we going? What time of day?
Will it be hot? Will it be cold? Who else am I meeting there?
What do I know about those people? What combination of these articles of clothing will get me through this event without sticking out like a sore thumb? I have developed a system for myself now that works…sort of.
If I’m wearing something casual on the bottom – dark washed jeans, cute pants that are basically fancy pantsy yoga pants – I’ll wear something dressier on top; a blouse, fancy sweater. If I’m wearing a dress or skirt that feels like the dressier of the options, I’ll keep my tops and shoes more casual. And now I pay so much attention to accessories.
I have a necklace I bought from a vintage shop that, regardless of what I’m wearing on top, automatically makes me look put together. And it cost me $15 and is probably not even silver. Color is another factor entirely.
I used to wear all black everything because it was easy and matched with all of my clothes. But wearing all black from head to toe can be too formal, but also-too-goth for smart casual looks. So now I make sure at least ONE thing I’m wearing isn’t black or gray.
But you can’t wear bright colors either because THAT sends the message that you’re trying too hard. It’s like pants-ing has become a cardio workout these days. I’ll often bring a backup sweater with me now, something I can put on if it gets chilly or take off if I’m too warm.
Or I’ll wear flats I know I can walk in but pack different shoes just in case. I still stress about it before events, but frankly that’s better than showing up under or over dressed. The best feeling in the world is when you DO get it right.
When you put together an outfit that lands you right in that sweet smart casual smack dab. When you show up and everyone else feels OVER dressed and you suddenly feel like you figured it out. Nobody says anything about your outfit – you simply exist there and everyone else assumes you know how to work a pants shirt combo like a pro.
To celebrate my triumphant return to the office after being quarantined with Covid for two weeks, I attended a WORK event last month. Dress code: smart casual, of course. I wore dark wash jeans, a silk blouse I found on clearance at Zara, and ankle boots that are nowhere near comfortable but give off major EXPENSIVE energies.
Slapped on my lucky vintage necklace and called it a day. Enjoyed my evening people watching and mingling instead of silently analyzing if my outfit was too much or not enough.
It felt glorious.
And you know what? I kind of think that’s the point of smart casual. It’s there to remind you that yes, this is not the place you’d wear your yoga pants to but also holy crap do you know how cute that stranger’s outfit is and maybe you should care enough about what you look like to wear pants every once in a while.
Smart casual asks you to read the room; it’s a code for “we want you to look like you put some effort into your outfit but not so much that you actually spent time thinking about what you’re wearing.” It’s asking you to care about yourself and your appearance without caring too much. Kind of a very Portland thing if you think about it. We pride ourselves on looking cool and collected without appearing to try too hard.
Smart casual is just giving that ethos a dress code. Yes, I hate it. But at least now I’m better at playing the dress code guessing game than most.
And hey, if you show up under dressed, you can always change into your Sunday best. Nobody will ever know you came to a fun work event in sweatpants.
