Guest Author - Marjorie Bishop

For many of us the term casual always implied jeans, sneakers, and a decent shirt. Obviously, that isn’t always correct. We’ve seen varying degrees of casual in the last two articles that range from swim wear to weekend wear. There are two more types of dress that are known as casual: Business Casual and Dressy (or Country Club) Casual. As a child, I saw my parents wear similar clothing for shopping expeditions or to visit friends. For work and church they wore clothing more appropriately known today as business attire. My, how times have changed.

Even Business Casual has more than one style. Starting at the bottom one sees khakis or dark pants worn with a polo or button front shirt and no tie. This is often the uniform of the day for grocery, department and other stores to insure their employees can be easily recognized. The managers of these stores usually wear dress slacks, a shirt and tie but no jacket if they are men, and women wear dress slacks and a tailored blouse. Shoes can be anything from non-skid, job specific shoes to leather lace-up shoes for men, and low heeled pumps for women. Open toed shoes or sandals are never appropriate in a business setting. Jewelry for both is kept to a minimum. Nothing flashy, usually a watch, wedding ring and/or one other simple ring (could be a class ring), non-dangling earrings for women and no earring for men. Hair is kept neat and simple. Facial hair for men depends on the company but is usually limited to a mustache. Dress down days are rare and usually involve wearing a t-shirt that promotes the company or a charitable event and the same khakis or dark slacks. Jeans are only allowed when the company is at an outdoor event they are sponsoring.

Other levels of business casual are defined by the individual companies. Dress slacks and sport coats worn with leather belts and lace-up shoes are the main pieces for men while pant or skirt suits with closed toe pumps or flats are the norm for women. Understated ties, button front shirts, sweaters and high end polos are all options to go with slacks and a sport coat for men. For women, the options are dressy sweater sets, tailored or dressy blouses and knits, and tailored dresses. Again, the company dress code should have specific examples of what will be considered acceptable. If you’ve been invited to a party and the invitation states “Business Casual,” this would be the type of clothing you should wear.

Dressy or Country Club Casual is very similar to Business Casual with one or two exceptions. Women’s shoes can include open toes, sling backs or dressy sandals while men can wear dressy loafers in place of lace up shoes. Ties are, again, optional for men and can be less conservative. Women, as usual, have many more choices in their apparel. Along with the clothing suitable for Business Casual, they can also wear any dresses that fall short of “cocktail” dresses. Naturally, when in doubt, contact your host or hostess and ask what they meant.

Casual has developed many different meanings depending on the situation or the person. It is very difficult for everyone to be on the same page when defining casual dress. Hosts and hostesses should be specific when issuing invitations. Companies should have their dress code spelled out with examples and should consistently enforce it. Guests or employees should do their best to adhere to the specified code of dress and, when in doubt, should ask for clarification. Communication is key to understanding the different definitions of Casual Dress and to knowing which type of casual the other person is implying.