It means, "Wear something nicer than saggy jeans and a football jersey."

 

The "old" rules were at least clear. Racer may have it right. Earlier this year, I endured an event whose invitation specified "evening casual." Male dress there descended from my gray suit and black turtleneck to almost, but not quite, jeans and jerseys. I wonder if even the people who use these terms know what they mean.

 

I wonder if even the people who use these terms know what they mean.

I doubt it. I've got a few friends who have recently gotten married and marked formal attire and then looked at me blankly when I mentioned tuxedos. They thought it meant a shirt with a collar.

 

This is what "Sophisticated Casual" means:

Males- Slacks, Dress shirt or Sport shirt,Blazer(It is optional) and a pair of dress shoes.

Females- Blouse,skirt and heels.


Source: I Just went to a "Sophisticated Casual" party not so long ago.

 

I doubt it. I've got a few friends who have recently gotten married and marked formal attire and then looked at me blankly when I mentioned tuxedos. They thought it meant a shirt with a collar.

I couldn't agree with you and Racer any more. I recently attended an "informal" evening wedding. When we arrived I was stunned at the number of people who thought that meant "Duck Heads and a rugby for him and sundress for her" rather than "dark suit and cocktail dress".

 

I couldn't agree with you and Racer any more. I recently attended an "informal" evening wedding. When we arrived I was stunned at the number of people who thought that meant "Duck Heads and a rugby for him and sundress for her" rather than "dark suit and cocktail dress".

Yeah, Tennessee can be a "special" place at times. I recently attended a Sunday afternoon catered birthday party in an upper-class neighborhood here in Nashville. Most attendees were senior employees, senior managers, executives, and their spouses. I wore a short-sleeve madras sport shirt, chinos, and casual loafers; which in my estimation is barely a step above jeans and a dark t-shirt. I was waaaaay overdressed - so much so that people were actually asking me if I was planning to go out for the evening to "someplace fancy," and had just made a pitstop at the party. The most common attire for the men at the party was wife-beater, baggy nylon shorts, and flip-flops.

 

Most attendees were senior employees, senior managers, executives, and their spouses.

The most common attire for the men at the party was wife-beater, baggy nylon shorts, and flip-flops.

This has to have been an extremely unusual gathering. I've been to well over a hundred parties in Nashville over the years with guests ranging from senior executives to bikers and I've never been to a party where the most common attire was wife beaters, baggy nylon shorts, and flip flops. Granted, most of the time folks are quite casual, but nothing like you describe. I just don't want anyone to get the impression that this describes a typical gathering of executives in upper class neighborhoods in Nashville.

Cruiser

 

Cruiser, a few years back I would have agreed that it was unusual. From where I sit, it's not now. I see it all over the place. It's the ultimate in egalitarianism - it's getting to be almost impossible to tell the "city folk" from the "country folk."

Having said that, it's entirely possible that to some degree, it's the circle I run in. My profession is in the IT industry, and I've heard it said that it's the 2nd-worst-dressed industry. But still - the attendees at the party were, all in all, well-educated, well-paid people of means and alleged sophistication, most from here, but they were: very. badly. dressed.

 

Cruiser, a few years back I would have agreed that it was unusual. From where I sit, it's not now. I see it all over the place. It's the ultimate in egalitarianism - it's getting to be almost impossible to tell the "city folk" from the "country folk."

Having said that, it's entirely possible that to some degree, it's the circle I run in. My profession is in the IT industry, and I've heard it said that it's the 2nd-worst-dressed industry. But still - the attendees at the party were, all in all, well-educated, well-paid people of means and alleged sophistication, most from here, but they were: very. badly. dressed.

Racer, it's not just IT. Went to a birthday dinner for a friend (41st) attended by mainly his banker friends (early thirties and up to about 45...and me). Only blazer and tie out of 15 men, at least none wore tee-shirts (it was November though). Two wore their ball caps at table, private room at a nice-ish restaurant. One woman wore a dress, but I think she'd just come from an interview. They weren't badly dressed, but geez, it was an occasion, and like your soiree, they were all educated people, and I didn't get the impression they were hicks from the sticks either.

 

No one feels quite right putting "slovenly" on an engraved invitation...

 

And I don't know how many parties, dinners, and the like I've been invited to where the next thing said was "You don't have to wear a tie or 'get dressed up'." Like it was important to know that

 

Cruiser, a few years back I would have agreed that it was unusual. From where I sit, it's not now. I see it all over the place. It's the ultimate in egalitarianism - it's getting to be almost impossible to tell the "city folk" from the "country folk."

I wasn't questioning that folks were dressed very casual, even sloppy. I just have a problem believing that you were at a party in an upper class Nashville neighborhood with senior executives and managers, even IT folks, and that the most common attire of the men was wife beaters and flip flops. I think you might be blowing that just a little out of proportion.

Like I said, I've been to many, many parties in Nashville, including parties with IT folks, and can't remember even one person wearing a wife beater tee shirt. I'm not saying that it didn't happen at your party; I'm just saying that isn't the norm.

Cruiser

 

That's fine, Cruiser - I don't come here with a goal of to trying to convince you. You are free to believe or not believe whatever you like.

 

We're talking about a white, ribbed tanktop and no shirt, right? Not like a regular tanktop, but underwear tank tops. Have to confess I've never seen that myself. Neither the wifebeater or the nylon baggy shorts.

IT people do tend to be badly dressed, but in a rumpled, cheap, polo and ill-fitting chinos that they wear everywhere kind of way. At the risk of stereotyping, they tend to be a little um... portly and nerdy. The kind of dudes who get beat up by guys wearing wifebeaters.

If you saw it, you saw it. But if that happened, that's just way over the top. I'm a pretty casual dresser and don't usually care what other people wear but that's just too much. If something like that happened to me, you can bet that the next party I throw would have a "sophisticated casual" or similar dress code for the first time in my life. What were the women wearing?

 

"Sophisticated casual" = don't wear a tie and tell dirty jokes.

 

As Racer and David have already pointed out, it's to let those that think that "casual" on an invitation means you can turn up showing your underpants above your torn and dirty jeans, an offensive band t-shirt, smelly cheap cloth trainers, unshaven, unkempt and unwashed.

 

We're talking about a white, ribbed tanktop and no shirt, right?

That's the extreme, but I was including colored versions and versions with prints/slogans on them under the label. One of the attendees fancies himself a weekend biker badass, and he had on a gen-u-wine Harley Davidson wifebeater in black, complete with Screamin' Eagle silkscreen - the better to show off his tats. He was wearing jeans and boots, with a heavy belt, and a bandanna. He and his wife drove to the party in a car

IT people do tend to be badly dressed, but in a rumpled, cheap, polo and ill-fitting chinos that they wear everywhere kind of way. At the risk of stereotyping, they tend to be a little um... portly and nerdy. The kind of dudes who get beat up by guys wearing wifebeaters.

Indeed, which made the ones in the sleeveless tanks/wifebeaters stand out even more.

What were the women wearing?

From what I recall, typical southern casual summer wear - flower-print tops with shorts or capri pants, and too much make-up. I remember thinking many of the attendees must have come home from church, changed into whatever weekend slob clothes they use to watch Sunday afternoon sports on TV, but came to the party instead.

 

Pub casual

I've had an invitation to an event stipulating 'pub casual' as the dress code. I don't normally dress specifically for the pub, so to my mind the description is almost meaningless, but I'm just wondering whether it might be some variation of 'sophisticated casual'? I have been assured that it does not mean blazers, cravats and cavalry twills.

 

any suggestions what that means?

Personally, I would interpret that as a something-other-than-white OCBD + wool pants + loafers, personally. Or, on a hot and humid day, a linen shirt + linen pants + loafers.

- Mike

 

Jake1978:

Review the article "Cracking the Dress Code" linked from the Home Page:

BASICS


How to Look Your best
​

 

Cruiser, a few years back I would have agreed that it was unusual. From where I sit, it's not now. I see it all over the place. It's the ultimate in egalitarianism - it's getting to be almost impossible to tell the "city folk" from the "country folk."

Having said that, it's entirely possible that to some degree, it's the circle I run in. My profession is in the IT industry, and I've heard it said that it's the 2nd-worst-dressed industry. But still - the attendees at the party were, all in all, well-educated, well-paid people of means and alleged sophistication, most from here, but they were: very. badly. dressed.

as one of your referenced tennessee "country folk" below nashville, i must agree with cruiser that i have *NEVER* been to a gathering where attendees were dressed in "wife beater" tshirts in the scores of events i have attended both in nashville and in the country around franklin, columbia or pulaski.
- or anywhere else in middle tennessee, for that matter.

i do agree that casual has come to mean polo shirt and khakis, but never in this great state have i attended an event that boasted the attire to which you refer. here's hoping that you found a very small pocket of bad taste and manners.

 

never in this great state have i attended an event that boasted the attire to which you refer. here's hoping that you found a very small pocket of bad taste and manners.

I would hope so too, but I don't think it's an aberration. The work environment is already ruined - I have a corporate customer over in Two American Center office tower on West End; their office "dress code" permits slogan t-shirts and worn-out blue jeans. If I wear a sport coat sans tie when I meet with them, I am accused of being overdressed. As for social events - I have seen people show up for Nashville Symphony concerts at the Schermerhorn wearing shorts and plastic shoes. The last bastion of "dress up" around here has been Sunday church attire. In the last several years the "casual church" milieu has begun to spread in the Nashville area. I drove past one of the "casual" churches the other day, and the group coming out looked like Sunday afternoon mall walkers, not church-goers.