Dress: smart casual. No three words have caused as much consternation as those found on countless invite cards. Also called business casual or dressed down, the death of the regular Mad Men 9-to-5 suit has left many sartorially clueless at what to wear for work and play- This Monsieur’s guide to Men’s Smart Casual would clear some of your burning questions.
A smarter look is achieved with knit tie and blazer.
Mango HE SS2012 presents Men’s Smart Casual
You have undoubtedly received much advice on how easy it is- collared shirt or polo and chinos but I don’t want you dressing like you’re in high school; we’re gentlemen and us Monsieurs like to dress casual on the side of sharp so here’s a few basic rules.
You can layer a checked shirt with solid cardigan/blazer and jeans for the ultimate smart casual look.
Top
Business casual is defined as a relaxed professional look. That means your business shirt can still be de rigueur just sans neck tie. Simply punch up the look with an assortment of check shirts and blazers. Button-down collars are optional but nice especially if you want to dress towards the prep school look.
Punch up the look with a pocket square. Sans socks, this look falls into smart casual category. With socks, you won’t be out of place at a cocktail party.
Pants
I espouse classic elegance often and so khakis or chinos are acceptable but I’m also a contrarian investor; that means while other “fashion advisors” would tell you to skip the jeans, I will tell you to embrace denim. The tip with jeans and smart casual is to keep your denim dark- it should blend in or match your blazer, in other words, like this look as envisioned by HE by Mango, it should not look like you’re wearing jeans.
Eschew dark demins? You can go light as well. Turn heads with strategic check patterns.
Shoes
The smart casual shoe of choice for dinner dates and parties- boat shoes, loafers and moccasins (ok to go sockless). For the office, wedding dinners or cocktails (with socks please), I prefer something dressier- dress shoes or patent leather, doesn’t matter if it’s black or brown only that they match your ensemble. No, you can’t break any rules with this one- it means sneakers are out.
Paired with cardigan and plaid knit tie, cream colored jeans with boots tilts the look towards casual, with boat shoes you get a smarter look. With oxford lace ups, you can even wear this look to the office.
The secret to looking sharp in any situation (smart casual or otherwise)
- Put on a blazer and accessorise with a pocket square– stay away from the straight fold (leave that for Mondays to Thursdays).
- If you want to wear a tie- keep it slim (and keep it plaid).
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- A double breasted blazer paired with light jeans makes this one of the more flamboyant smart casual looks. Wear this to make a statement.
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- Attempt this look at your own risk- it’s one of the hardest looks to pull off without looking like a 5 year old. This look is acceptable only if you run in a fashion forward circle of friends and acquaintances.
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- Monsieur’s guide to Men’s Smart Casual featuring HE by Mango
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- Paired with cardigan and plaid knit tie, cream colored jeans with boots tilts the look towards casual, with boat shoes you get a smarter look. With oxford lace ups, you can even wear this look to the office.
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- A smarter look is achieved with knit tie and blazer.
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- Eschew dark demins? You can go light as well. Turn heads with strategic check patterns.
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- Again, with no socks and loafers, this look takes you out of the office and right into party mode. That said, attempt to hitch up your work suit pants for a club at your own risk.
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- Punch up the look with a pocket square. Sans socks, this look falls into smart casual category. With socks, you won’t be out of place at a cocktail party.
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- You can layer a checked shirt with solid cardigan/blazer and jeans for the ultimate smart casual look.
The Monsieur 
cencibel
January 9, 2013
I love those ties, they fit very well
rockbeat
January 14, 2013
Guys should check out this article for some more fashion tips round the office.
walizki,
April 18, 2013
I’ve been surfing online more than 4 hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It’s pretty
worth enough for me. In my opinion, if all web owners and
bloggers made good content as you did, the net will be a lot more useful than ever before.
Anonymous
June 4, 2015
if i wore desert boots and dress shoes sans socks i feel like i’d look as though i had just gone overboard with the convention of wearing summer/beach shoes (boat/driving shoes) sans socks. Deffinitely feel this is the fashion end of the spectrum as oppposed to timeless style. Or maybe i’ve been missing something all these years. Well once the articles and letters start coming in women’s magazines about mens smelly old shoes (as a rock climber who wears climbing shoes sans socks i can attest that this can only be delayed by whatever cleaning regimin you may swear by, and is inevitable) i will have been in the vanguard of the sock wearing backlash and then i will look fashionable for once. I will continue to wear climing shoes without socks. But then i don’t have to take those off in female company.
I mean what if you go to a friends house after a long day, just take your shoes off…..oh dear what’s that pong? :0S
Looks great in the pics though.
Jonathan
June 4, 2015
A good question good sir and a conundrum which I’ve faced with a very simple solution.
A light dusting of baby talcum into my footwear before I go sockless. I guarantee you, it would allow you to arrive at a house party sans pong.
That said, the odour develops from bacteria multiplying in a moist, humid environment and on a pair of cheap shoes, it’s more an issue because PVC doesn’t “breathe”. A pair of good leather shoes has the appropriate breathe-ability worn in temperate European or American climes will fare better.