Why we should dump “casual” from our vocabulary.

[pawngal]

This is an interesting thread. I'll add a few thoughts.
Dress for success, yes
Dress to impress, no
30 years ago when we moved to this lake resort area hubby & I went to a high end winemaker dinner event, middle of the summer. to smooze with the landed gentry. He wore a pair of nice shorts, a short sleeved dressy shirt, and good leather sandals. The other men were in suits. Next similar event half of them worn shorts and thanked hubby for breaking the unspoken "dress code".
My father wore bib overalls with a $10 pocket watch, Mom struggled to get him to wear dress better for weddings and funerals. Then it would be gray dress slacks and a PINK dress shirt. I never saw him in a suit, not sure he owned one. He was a very successful farmer.
My sisters and I wanted him buried in his bib overalls but Mom wasn't going for it.
And one of my main grips, don't judge a customer by their window dressing. I have been, it is degrading, I'm down to 1 maybe 2 car dealerships that I'll consider doing business with.
Lexus welcomes my business, Ford and Chevy not so much.

 

[Xfuzz]

"This restaurant is casual dress beach side restaurant."

Good I'm ready...

 

[JJEH]

And one of my main grips, don't judge a customer by their window dressing. I have been, it is degrading, I'm down to 1 maybe 2 car dealerships that I'll consider doing business with.
Lexus welcomes my business, Ford and Chevy not so much.

I agree with you and I've been there as well. Some people do judge a book by its cover, and we shouldn't do that, nor should it play a role in how we treat people.

The thing is, back when I was teaching for Mercedes, one of the blocks we had was communication. A subtopic was expectation. We always asked clients what they expect when they go into a car dealership. You can bet that 99% of the students say "nothing" and that's where it got interesting, but I don't want to bother you with it. But just think about it for a minute, we all have expectations, admit it or don't.

When I walk into a business, I expect it to be clean. I expect staff to be friendly, respectful, knowledgeable and dressed appropriately. If those expectations are not met, I won't open my wallet, period. You have too many choices to take your hard-earned money to.

 

[TIMETRIPPER]

I think the tie is the most useless, ridiculous, inane piece of clothing ever developed.

John

 

[JJEH]

I think the tie is the most useless, ridiculous, inane piece of clothing ever developed.

John

Meh, not even close.

 

[delcrossv]

I think the tie is the most useless, ridiculous, inane piece of clothing ever developed.

John

Especially when around rotating machinery.

 

[s&wchad]

I think the tie is the most useless, ridiculous, inane piece of clothing ever developed.

John

Meh, not even close.

Agreed. The most useless men's fashion accessory would be the mock suit pocket handkerchief insert.
You can't even blow your nose in one!

 

[Walter Rego]

It never hurts to be the best dressed person in the room. Good shoes are important and if you can't afford expensive ones, at least make sure the ones you are wearing are shined and in good repair. A very expensive silk tie, well matched in color, pattern and texture with your suit or sports jacket can make a world of difference in your appearance, all other things being equal.

Having your suits tailored is imperative. Even a $1500 off the rack suit is going to need some adjustments unless you are the freak of nature that has a perfectly symmetrical body and perfect posture.

And for gods sake don't buy suits like I see the newscasters on TV wearing that have pegged, high water length pants with their socks showing and tennis shoes for footwear. When did that become a thing ? Your pants should just touch the tops of your feet.

It's nice to quote old saws like "you can't judge a book by its cover" and in a perfect world that would be nice. But the reality is that people will judge you by your appearance so why look like some schlub ? And take off your baseball hat when indoors while you are at it.

 

[delcrossv]

Agreed. The most useless men's fashion accessory would be the mock suit pocket handkerchief insert.
You can't even blow your nose in one!

WTH!!! What are you supposed to do with that? Iron it on?

 

[JJEH]

Agreed. The most useless men's fashion accessory would be the mock suit pocket handkerchief insert.
You can't even blow your nose in one!

Oh Lord, I forgot about those. They are embarrassing for sure.

WTH!!! What are you supposed to do with that? Iron it on?

It's a pocket insert so you don't have to fold your pocket square.

 

[s&wchad]

WTH!!! What are you supposed to do with that? Iron it on?

Nope, you just drop it in your pocket and hop in the rented limo. Think of it as the dickie of snot rags!

 

[pawngal]

So, what are your expectations of dress in various circumstances for a lady? Whatever they might be I doubt I'll meet it.

 

[Rustyt1953]

I wondered how long it would be before ball caps were brought into the mix. Most places I go lots of folks are sporting ball caps indoors including me. It bothers me not at all. Sometimes I wear mine backwards. I have yet to have anyone ask me to remove it nor I them. Again it's that pesky Persuit of Happiness thing.

What's next on the disapproved list? Ink?

 

[StrawHat]

I wear hats every day. Have since I was a child. Never wore a cap, do not see the utility of them.

Don’t judge people by appearances? When I wore a badge, that is exactly what I did. If you hat combed your hair in the last day and knocked the dust off your shoes, I would do what I could to help you. Unless you were disrespectful.

It is the way I was raised.

I get that not all folk are alike.

Kevin

 

[sophie]

What's next on the disapproved list? Ink?

You mean like this?

 

[lihpster]

I think he meant this.

 

[JJEH]

So, what are your expectations of dress in various circumstances for a lady? Whatever they might be I doubt I'll meet it.

Women have a gazillion options to choose from, that's where I get a bit jealous. You gals really can mix and match and still look good.

It always depends on where you work and in what position, but a lady should always dress like a lady when out and about.

Here are a few examples:

This picture gets me every time. Timeless elegance, sexy, intriguing. I'd probably crash my car passing by her...

A conservative dress. Timeless, never gets old!

A new age 3pc pants suit. Wow. Ladies don't understand the power of this outfit. Take the jacket off and you can either wear a nice blouse or go sleeveless. Boom.

Modern dress. Simply stunning.

The last two pictures are from Sterling Woerner and she works for Tom James. She does that for a living and I'm always blown away when I look at these outfits.

Check it out, no account needed. She's located in Houston, TX.

@SterlingSuits_ | Instagram, Facebook, TikTok | Linktree

Ralph Lauren too has beautiful outfits for women.

Females can also pull off skinny jeans, sneakers and a nice shirt. Guys look ridiculous when they do it.

Too much to list, but options are endless for ladies.

My opinion is that less is more, unless you are on the beach. Then we all like to look at nice bikinis

 

[Muss Muggins]

Duly noted. You’re like a little league baseball dad forcing his failed athletic youth on his children . . .

Edit: And quite frankly, this last post is a little stalker creepy . . .

Women have a gazillion options to choose from, that's where I get a bit jealous. You gals really can mix and match and still look good.

It always depends on where you work and in what position, but a lady should always dress like a lady when out and about.

Here are a few examples:

This picture gets me every time. Timeless elegance, sexy, intriguing. I'd probably crash my car passing by her...

A conservative dress. Timeless, never gets old!

A new age 3pc pants suit. Wow. Ladies don't understand the power of this outfit. Take the jacket off and you can either wear a nice blouse or go sleeveless. Boom.

Modern dress. Simply stunning.

The last two pictures are from Sterling Woerner and she works for Tom James. She does that for a living and I'm always blown away when I look at these outfits.

Check it out, no account needed. She's located in Houston, TX.

@SterlingSuits_ | Instagram, Facebook, TikTok | Linktree

Ralph Lauren too has beautiful outfits for women.

Females can also pull off skinny jeans, sneakers and a nice shirt. Guys look ridiculous when they do it.

Too much to list, but options are endless for ladies.

My opinion is that less is more, unless you are on the beach. Then we all like to look at nice bikinis

 

[Aggie1906]

My Grandfather, a college educated farmer almost always wore a hat and jacket. His phrase: "Fine feathers make fine birds, it's the hat that makes a man".

 

[JJEH]

Duly noted. You’re like a little league baseball dad forcing his failed athletic youth on his children . . .

Edit: And quite frankly, this last post is a little stalker creepy . . .

Oh Lord, I'm being asked about my opinion and that makes me force stuff on others? Okay....

And I'm not sure why I would be a stalker by sharing public pictures. Like I took these pics with a hidden camera.

Opinions differ. I prefer this and you prefer that, but I'd never accuse you of trying to force things on me.