Smart Casual Dilemma

We've all been in situations where we were asked to dress smart casual, as if it was an obvious dress code, but what is smart casual and are there different variations?

The balance between formal and casual is key here and I will show you how to achieve that step by step.

I would first use the sandwich theory. if your top is formal your bottom is casual and your shoes are formal and vice versa.

So what items of clothing are smart casual?

Blazers

Blazers can be dressed down with a hoodie or T-shirt under it. Avoid pairing them with any button downs or silky shirts as this will make the top of the outfit too formal

If you decide to wear matching trousers with your blazer make sure you add really chunky sneakers in the bottom, preferably ones with laces to give a sporty and casual look to the suit.

Ideally I would either pair a zip-up jacket or hoodie under the blazer to make it even more casual, I love a jean and blazer combo more than a blazer and trouser moment for smart casual as it makes it look less put together and more relaxed. Adding a cap like the photo above and a formal cross-body or shoulder bag will help you nail the smart casual look!

Trench coats

Trench coats are and always will be the best fashion creation ever! Trench coats are extremely elegant on both men and women and are the smart casual empires. I love adding hoodies paired with wide leg trousers and a baseball cap when wearing a trench coat.

Trench coats can be dressed up or down depending on where you wear them and what material they are made of, lighter and more flowy material trench coats are great for the daytime and leather or darker toned trench-coats are more fitting for night time outings

You can mix and match almost anything with trench-coats; dresses, jeans, trousers, skirts etc. the options are limitless !

Pleated skirts

I am a huge fan of pleated skirts, they are extremely put together and compliment all body shapes so beautifully. Pleated skirts are incredibly flexible as you can dress them up and down.

Shirts

This is a cliche but I had to mention it, they key here is to pair your shirts with an informal bottom such as jeans, skirts, dresses etc. so that it doesn't look too formal. I would avoid fitted or A-line skirts and trousers as these will make it look to formal.

Also this half tuck in is my go to style when wearing shirts and would totally recommend trying it when dressing smart casual

Dresses

When it comes to dresses, the length is key as it can easily make the outfit look too casual, I would avoid dresses that have any types of slits in them as that can make the outfit look tacky.

You can honestly do any type of dress as long as its midi or maxi length

A trick I like to use when I feel like the dress is too formal is to add a leather jacked on top of the dress, depending on what colour your dress is you can add a black, white or brown leather jacket to give the formal look an edgy finish

Flats

Sneakers are an obvious choice for smart casual so I don't feel the need to mention them, but one shoe type people tend to avoid are flats, although they are extremely comfortable and very put together, so here are some of my top smart casual flats

Loafers

The only point I would mention when it comes to loafers is to just make sure that they are not the slip on ones as slip on ones can look like slippers which are not too fitting when dressing smart casual

Ballet flats

Ballet flats are hands down one of my favorite types of flats, they come in many different design ranges and look so elegant and cute.