The Essence of Smart Casual
Casual. An ambiguous term at best. To some it means “anything goes”, to others it means “the necktie goes”. Then we add modifiers: business casual, smart casual, semi-casual. What does it all mean? In my system of lifestyle segmentation, “casual” is defined as nicer, but relaxed, clothing: khakis and sport shirts for men, less-crisply-defined equivalent for women.
In my mind, the essence of smart casual =
clothing which fits in (nearly) any lifestyle segment, depending on the shoes worn with it.
In other words; worn with flip-flops, the outfit reads leisure. Throw on a pair of platform sandals or snappy flats with the same clothes for a casual ensemble, or metallic shoes and statement jewelry for cocktails. How smart is that? And perfect for travel!
Dog-walking clothes, ball gowns, and smart casual; what more do we need?
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The Feminine Suit
Due to the cyclical nature of fashion, the ladylike suit, although out-of-favor for a time, is in its comeback season. There are lots of good reasons to buy one now:
- Fabric technology continues to improve. Avoid a plastic-looking suit. Research has shown that many people associate obviously synthetic fabrics with negative character qualities.
- Easter is April 24th this year. A feminine suit is a lovely alternative to an easter egg pastel dress.
- Suits which are sold as separates allow you to buy the size(s) you need even if you don’t wear the same size jacket and skirt. You can also buy two trousers, or a skirt and trousers, to avoid unequal wear to the matching pieces.
- Unlike many contemporary styles of dresses and sweaters, people generally understand suits. That does not include the ”mini-skirt suit”.
Now through March 6th, take $100 off a suit at The Limited. A suit consists of any jacket with either a pant, skirt, or dress. Shop The Limited Online.
Do suits work in your idiom? Why or why not?
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Back to School as Student
Along with what seems like record numbers of my peers (and children!), I am formally a college student. Classes begin next week.
This past spring, in my single quarter as student at a local community college, I studiously dressed as myself-as-student. My goal was social. For the first three to four weeks of classes, I carefully put together outfits from the leisure lifestyle segment which reflected my personality. After that, I eased up only a little, occasionally throwing in a blazer or a heel with trouser jeans. Ultimately, I found this strategy to be very effective: I was received as well as I have ever been. Somehow the other students picked up quickly and accurately what kind of a person I was and interacted with me accordingly.
My uniform template for Fall 2010, at least in theory:
dark skinny jeans + cotton tee + structured sweatshirt or leather jacket + 3 mile shoes
A word about book bags: most people my age use a rolling backpack; my daughter has forbidden me from doing so. No worries. I picked up a decent-looking, light gray backpack (for $19.99 at the Eddie Outlet). I will not be hauling a computer in it.
Happy Back to School!
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Chase Bank Right on Dress Code
There is a Chase branch in our neighborhood Fred Meyer. As I have never been a WaMu customer, this does not cause any particular emotional reaction for me. I have noticed, recently, what they wear.
You see, Chase, as many of you may already be aware, has a strict dress code. And in my mind, that’s a good thing. Does anyone else remember the days when bank tellers dressed professionally? Over the past several years, I have been increasingly appalled by the varieties of lingerie and other leisurewear showing up in banks. Honestly, though, the workers themselves can hardly be blamed; they just don’t know better. But Chase is teaching them.
For one, Chase employees are required to wear Chase logo clothing available through their apparel program. And then, they are provided with guidelines on how to do so professionally:
- shirts must be buttoned up.
- no visible undergarments, with the one preppy exception: the white crew-neck tee. (Actually, they also allow a tee or turtleneck in the same color as the shirt also.)
- shirts have to fit!
- the employee may wear any color trouser or skirt as long as it is black. Cut, fit, and styling must be simple and professional.
- and more.
Based on their job, Chase employees fall into one of two “Apparel Categories”: classic (business casual) and professional (formal business).
When I spot one of these people in the Fred Meyer parking lot, they catch my eye - for a good reason. They look put together. Ironically, their shirts are the same color as the Fred Meyer polo worn by the cashiers; since I am acquainted with a number of the cashiers, I notice the color first. But then I notice the fit. In a tailored shirt constructed to fit the feminine figure and black trousers, it’s little wonder the young ladies look, well, business casual. And the young men? Chase blue shirt, black sweater vest and trousers.
Tellers working for other banks would do well to take notice and put together their own “classic” look. More importantly, companies wishing to inspire client confidence would do well to consider the impact the appearance of their employees has on their corporate image.
(twinhill.com faqs for the Chase Apparel program, accessed June 30, 2010. no affiliation. also: chase_dressguidelines.doc.)
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Regional Casual Uniform
Originally posed by Jody, this question is so much fun:
Suppose you stepped off a plane in your neighborhood, city, or country. Could you tell you were home by how people were dressed? Is there a Regional Casual Uniform? What do people (and you may narrow down to a specific segment of the population if you like) wear when they are going out, during the day, going to be seen, but not needing to dress up?
Bottoms Up.
- Here in the Great Northwest, while the bottom may be a skirt, shorts, or pants, there will be something “outdoorsy” about it. If it isn’t denim and/or it doesn’t have cargo pockets, no doubt it is tree-colored.
- No such variety in tops, though. One MOPS meeting, when I was trying to point out a particular mom, it went something like this: “See the lady in the black shirt? Well, behind her is another lady in a black shirt. Then there’s so-and-so, wearing a black shirt. Well, the lady you’re looking for is the next one. Wearing a black shirt”.
So there you have it, the Great Northwest Casual Uniform. What do the streets look like in your neck of the woods?
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Lifestyle Segmentation
Picking up the thread I let dangle in the comments on my post, The Demise of Retail as Therapy, I will define what I mean by “lifestyle segment”. Simply put, different activities demand different clothes. Lifestyle segmentation breaks them down into four categories: leisure, casual, business, and social.
Leisure = The least formal. Includes all athletic-wear and shorts. Jeans are usually leisure, and always when worn with athletic shoes, message t-shirts, and sweatshirts (including polar fleece).
Casual = Nicer, but still fairly relaxed. Due to geographical variations, I prefer to not define this category too precisely. Lunch with your boss, your pastor, or your grandma requires casual clothing. Business casual fits here.
Business = Formal business clothing is mostly suits and “jacket outfits”, sometimes tailored skirts or dresses.
Social = Clothing for social occasions includes floral dresses such as those worn by wedding guests, cocktail dresses, and ball gowns.
At times, especially out here in the Great Northwest, I have been known to lament the lack of opportunities to get dressed up. When I ask you what I should wear, I don’t want to know if I can wear my jeans. Can I wear my ball gown?
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Another Option for Fall Template
In the past, it’s made sense to me to employ the following transitional template:
new jeans + summer top + winter layering piece
“Winter layering piece”= jacket, sweater or sweatshirt.
I’m only tweaking it. For sure, this is a timeless formula. But I am also warming up to the scarf as layering piece for warmth. Since I have a half-sleeve (short, three-quarter, or roll-up) cotton top in almost every dark color I like to wear, I plan to use the following template for Fall 2009, at least in the leisure lifestyle segment:
dark jeans + dark half-sleeve cotton top + scarf
Thinking through the top colors I have and determining what color scarves I still need is my next step, along with switching over the closet and some biffing.
Which of the four lifestyle segments (leisure, casual, business or social) are you currently working on and what will you be wearing this fall? Assuming, of course, that you’re like me and the wardrobe is a constant work in progress. 
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Hot or Not? Summer Leisure Shoe Fashion Lab
Of all the topics we discuss here, shoes - especially leisure shoes - is one of the most volatile. Ladies like their shoes! And they are a very personal thing, in terms of expressing the style idiom of the one wearing them. So, I thought perhaps we’d play another personas and perceptions fashion lab.
Here’s what to do: I’ll post pictures of different shoes, but they’ll all be from the same season (summer) and lifestyle segment (leisure). Paranthetically, I am allowed to use the pictures here because if you click on one, it will take you to a site where you can purchase the product. If you purchase the product, they pay me a small commission. There, full disclosure. Now, back to the lab. :) What you are to do is to identify the age of the wearer and something about their style personality, as well as any other comments you’d like to add.
One last thing: I realize that not everyone can pay $100 for a pair of shoes, even one that promises to last 8 or 10 years. What’s your upper limit in this shoe category?
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A Chaco Story
If you’ve followed my wardrobe conversations for any period of time, you have no doubt heard me talk about my Chacos (pictured here). After a couple of years of online peer pressure, I have reached the conclusion that no dressy casual sandals can substitute for an everyday leisure shoe - and with my lifestyle, that’s what I need. And no summer athletic shoe is more elegant than Chaco.
Learning that Chaco was recently purchased by Wolverine ramped up the urgency for me. I needed to buy a new pair this year! (My old ones have served 7 full summers already and, while they aren’t worn out, shoes were much heavier looking 8 years ago than what is flattering on me.)
So, for an anniversary gift, my hero bought me these:
Chaco - ZX/2 Unaweep (Multi Brown) - Footwear
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When Do You Combine Differing Styles?
Who besides me remembers when longish dresses worn with granny boots (or combat boots) were everyday casual wear?
The differing styles were talking about here are mainly levels of formality, aka lifestyle segments (my basic four: leisure, casual, business, social). In the above example, social (dress) + leisure (boots) = casual (nicer everyday wear). And, hard as it is for me to believe now, we all wore it. Which leads me to my first declaration of personal opinion on the propriety of mixing disparate styles:
If it’s a mainstream look and you have a mainstream personal style, go for it!
For example, it is still mainstream to wear flip-flops with everything, including wearing them as dress shoes. While I have a fairly mainstream idiom, I give this look a pass simply because I am not comfortable in flip-flops. And I do believe there are a few places where flip-flops are still inappropriate: the White House, professional office setting, or anytime you have to walk in front of a group of people quietly watching you. Conversely (no pun intended),
if you are a true style innovator, mixing metaphors is an integral part of your idiom.
After all, somebody first popularized the wearing of dresses and granny boots, right? Young people, aka the pre-employed, have more latitude in these matters; presumably they are still experimenting and finding their personal style. Also, if you haven’t yet collected all your permanent wardrobe pieces; you may not have the perfect patent leather sandals to wear to the family reunion, flip-flops will have to do.
There is one final circumstance in which I think it makes sense to combine differing styles, one which is a little trickier and sometimes messes me up:
when your accent style contrasts with your main style personality, combining those two styles is part of your idiom.
Such is the case with me: my main style is contemporary classic, my accent style is functional natural. How does that mess me up, you ask? Suddenly the other day, when I was reading some Jennifer Skinner’s excellent articles, I realized that, in combination with some other aspects of my personal idiom (budget, metal allergies, and so forth), contemporary + functional can misread as conservative. Which is not me. Except in politics.
So what’s your combining styles story?
