Man about town: Guide to smart casual style

SMART casual can be a confusing dress code to get right. It's a mix of opposites and, as such, it tends to fall into a sartorial grey area. Knowing what looks smart and what looks casual is relatively easy - the problem arises when you try to combine them. Smart and casual are, after all, the yin and the yang of dressing, defined by their difference from each other.

And yet, done correctly, a look can be smart casual – containing elements of both smart and casual in perfect balance. Casual without looking sloppy and smart without looking overdressed. Style synergy if you will.

So where's the confusion? Well, the trouble is that smart casual is one of the most misunderstood dress codes in men's fashion. Removing your tie doesn't mean smart casual. Nor does matching a suit jacket with jeans. Smart casual dressing is all about balance. A lot of the uncertainty comes from just how broad the term 'smart casual' is. It leaves a lot of room for interpretation and a lot of room for mistakes.

But it doesn't have to be difficult. With the right guidance, anyone can master the art of smart-casual dressing. Here I'll guide you through the do's and don'ts and offer you some handy pro tips on menswear's most popular and most loosely defined dress code.

What Is Smart Casual?

At the risk of stating the obvious and offending you the reader, smart casual is a mix of smart and casual. However, one man's casual is another man's smart – so always be aware of what you are dressing for and who has set the dress code as the definition of smart casual shifts with the context in which it's placed. So using some common sense will go a long way.

A distinction can be drawn between formal and informal smart casual. Formal smart casual means a jacket or blazer, trousers or chinos, a shirt with a collar and smart shoes. Informal smart casual is a little more vague. Smart, clean dark-coloured jeans are acceptable, as are clean white trainers and logo-less t-shirts (polos are better). Really though, informal smart casual is more of an instruction to change from what you've been wearing at home.

If the distinction isn't clear then it's usually best to lean on the smart side of the fence, since being too smartly dressed for an occasion rather than too casual is undoubtedly the lesser of two evils. With this caveat in mind, the most risk-free route into the dress code is to start out smart and dress down parts of the outfit.

Thanks to the recent necessity of working from home, smart casual dressing has become more and more accepted in business settings, so there's never been a more appropriate time to get a handle on it. Kitchen-offices aside, it's also the most pragmatic way for a man to dress every day as you're prepared for almost any scenario or setting.

Essential Smart Casual Pieces

Blazers

Falling somewhere between a jacket and a shirt, the unstructured blazer looks smart but feels more relaxed when worn. By comparison, the angular lines of a structured suit jacket create a jarring contrast when worn with relaxed pieces like jeans or smart trainers. It doesn't mean you have to banish your structured blazers to the back of your wardrobe, but it does help to dial down the rigidity if you're aiming for a smart casual look. A blazer with some texture will work well with dark jeans. As will one cut a little shorter with slightly slimmer lapels.

Sweaters

Despite the rise of the 'athleisure' trend, a hoodie or a sweatshirt will sadly never infiltrate the boundaries of smart casual. But substituting a fine-gauge knit in cotton, cashmere or merino for these sporty casual pieces will instantly up the sophistication level. A plain jumper or a cardigan worn over a t-shirt will get you over the smart-casual finish line.

Chunky knits don't quite have the same level of smartness as their slimline brethren, although a shawl-collar cardigan can substitute for a jacket so long as it's not overly festive. Roll necks can work be warned: too thick and they're not smart, too fine and they're not casual.

Shirts

The Oxford shirt is the epitome of smart casual. It's one of the few structured shirts that convey a smart, clean-cut appearance when tucked, and a casual, easy-going aesthetic when left untucked. The thicker fabric of an Oxford shirt gives it a more relaxed edge over its finer, more formal brethren, while the collared design helps to keep it looking smart. It's the perfect hybrid and one of the most reliable and versatile smart-casual pieces a man can own.

A t-shirt can be worked into a smart casual outfit, provided that it's plain without logos, good quality, well-fitting and not overly worn looking. Upgrading to a polo shirt will instantly smarten things up. The buttons and collar bring it further up the smartness spectrum towards an actual shirt.

Legwear

For the most part, jeans are acceptably smart casual – even in a work setting – as long as they're dark and undistressed. Any jeans that are ripped, too bleached or too light fall strictly into the realm of casual. Dark indigo denim can be smart casual as long as the clothes worn with them are formal.

If there's any doubt about whether or not jeans are too casual - and beware, some places ban jeans despite having a smart casual dress code - chinos are always a very safe bet. These preppy staples come in all shapes and sizes, when it comes to smart-casual dressing, slim fit is the way to go due to their versatility. They can be styled a number of ways: cut high on the ankle, with a turn up for a modern twist, or with a quarter break for a more traditional look. Colour-wise, beige and navy are the traditional favourites, but I also recommend incorporating a grey pair into your rotation due to its compatibility with smarter pieces like navy blazers.

Footwear

Like denim, footwear is another obvious area of debate. Are trainers too casual? With the rise of the minimalist sneaker, the once strictly casual item of footwear has managed to climb the corporate ladder to become a staple of modern offices. Simplicity is key – they need to be clean, tonal and without much obvious branding or details. However, as with jeans, there are a few smart casual settings where trainers just won't fly. If in doubt, play it safe with a smart shoe.

So what makes a smart shoe more casual? Firstly the colour - black is smartest, brown is more casual and tan more casual still. Then there's the silhouette – a round toe is more casual than a pointy one and a chunky sole is more casual than a slimmer one. Finally, there's texture – matte suede is more casual than shiny leather.

For these reasons, Derbies, loafers, chukkas and Chelsea boots are more relaxed and casual than office-y Oxfords.