The smart casual outfit for men is one of those styles that lets you truly express yourself. While it does require a certain degree of sophistication above casual wear, smart casual is nowhere near as formal as the business professional style.
As a result, you should carefully consider how to execute your smart casual outfit.
You want to make sure that your clothes help you communicate who you are and what you want to accomplish.
If you’re invited to an event that calls for smart casual wear and you wonder what it means, this guide is for you.
But you shouldn’t limit a smart casual outfit for special occasions. Smart casual can easily become your day to day attire if you want. It’s meant to be elegant and mature but also comfortable and fluid to adapt to different locations.
Ready to discover how to dress up smart casual with style? Let’s dive in!
Exploring the dressy side of casual wear
Let’s get one thing out of the way first: dressing smart casual doesn’t have to be expensive. While you can spend a lot of money on designer pieces and luxury items if you want to, you don’t necessarily have to.
You’ll see in this guide that with just a few well-chosen items, you’ll be able to look great whatever the occasion might be.
The modern smart casual look
Welcome to our 2022 smart casual look guide for the modern man. We’ve broken down this guide into several sections. You can skip to the part that’s most important to you right now if you want.
What is the Smart Casual style?
Smart casual wear is an ambiguous style. Its definition and meaning will vary based on the season, location and the people that you’ll be meeting. It can thus be complicated for men to know exactly how to dress smart casual appropriately.
In general your outfit should be well-fitting but slightly less formal than a business casual or business professional style. As Mr Porter’s Style Director put it, smart casual is “pretty much anything smart, but less formal than a suit.”
Smart casual is neat, conventional, yet relatively informal in style.”
– Oxford dictionary
Smart casual on a summer weekend in Sardinia for a cocktail at the Yacht Club is different than smart casual in Toronto during the winter for an informal dinner. It is the knowledge and the good taste to understand the differences in terms of place, theme, people, weather and spirit.”
– Andrea Perrone, CEO of Italian luxury fashion house Brioni
If you’re unsure about the expectations, ask the event organiser if they could give you a few examples of what they mean by smart casual or check with other people who might have been there before. And when in doubt, go for the more formal option. It’s always better to be slightly overdressed than underdressed. People rarely say that you looked too good.
7 Pro style tips and basic principles to always get your smart casual look right
We’ve reached out to a panel of expert stylists and fashion advisers to ask for their recommendations on the smart casual dress style. Here are their tips to help you look great when dressing casually:
- Start with your goals. This will form the backbone of your style. Do you want to project an air of assurance? Do you want to show that you care about an occasion and dressed up accordingly? Or do you prefer to prioritise comfort first and foremost?
- Dress accordingly. Pick an outfit that will help you achieve your goals.
- A few timeless items are worth investing more in. Some items in your wardrobe won’t last for more than a season. You shouldn’t spend too much on those. But others will stay with you for years. Decide which pieces you want to keep and invest in quality over quantity.
- Cover your bases. When starting to build up your wardrobe, begin first with neutral colours such as black, white, navy, tan, grey and brown for your outfit. Those are all easy to mix and match and will never go out of fashion.
- Elevate and personalise your look with a one or two items. Once you have the foundations of your style in place, you can add your own personality to your outfit by playing with luxurious fabrics such as silk or cashmere and bolder colours. These should be reserved for your accessories such as your belt, watch strap, socks, etc.
- Consider the occasion before selecting your smart casual outfit. Whatever your own personal style is, you should always pay close attention to your environment and social context. Understand what is expected and then design your outfit according to your goals.
- Always look for the right fit. There is nothing more saddening than seeing a man pulling out the right style with the wrong fit. It will completely ruin your efforts if your clothes are overly tight and uncomfortable or too baggy and sloppy. If you invest time defining your style, make sure that the execution is right.
Smart casual brands to know in 2022
When shopping for new clothes, you should always decide first what you want and then look for the best items to complete your look. We don’t recommend that you start by picking a brand and then aimlessly browse through their collections.
That said, there are a few selected brands that our style editors tend to favour over others. Those are the brands that offer superior quality for the right price and never seem to disappoint us.
It’s important that you know which brands you can trust when shopping online so you don’t waste time or money.
Smart Casual dress code: Frequently asked questions
- Question: Can you wear jeans in smart casual?
Answer: Yes. Denim jeans are acceptable most of the time for the smart casual look. Go with dark-coloured well-fitted jeans. Just stay away from casual ripped jeans.
- Question: How should I dress for a smart interview?
Answer: It depends on the industry and the company that you’re going to do the interview with. Most of the time, the smart casual look will be too casual for a business interview. You should instead aim for a formal business style or at least a casual business look.
- Question: How can I dress smarter?
Answer: Start by deciding how you want people around you to perceive you. Follow the simple steps highlighted above and always consider the occasion before dressing up. That will set you on the right path to dressing smarter for every occasions.
- Question: How to dress semi-formal for men?
Answer: Semi-formal is very ambiguous. It sits between smart casual and business casual. If you’re unsure about the expectations, err on the side of caution and go with a casual business look.
Resources and further reading recommendations about the cocktail attire
We used several authoritative sources to help us write this guide to men’s cocktail attire. We recommend that you read them if you want to learn more about dress codes in general. These are also great resources if you want to understand a particular aspect of men’s fashion or want to stay up-to-date with the latest trends.