Dress Like a Man by Antonio Centeno, Geoffrey Cubbage, Anthony Tan, Ted Slampyak Read Free Book Online Page B

formal (suits, very stiff blazers, etc.), too casual (jeans, T-shirts, etc.), or too clearly designed for social situations rather than business (brightly-colored or loudly-striped shirt patterns, for example, even on a collared dress shirt).
    Anything else is fair game. Here are just a smattering of common approaches and items used in making "business casual" a comfortable and varied look for men:
Blazers and sports jackets -- throw 'em on over anything to sharpen up the look a little. It adds a lot of "dress" to your "casual."
Sweaters -- for when a jacket feels too formal, and a shirt on its own feels too bland.
Vests -- don't try to wear the waistcoat from an old three-piece suit on its own (too much of a "thrift store" look to be professional), but a sweater vest is just fine.
Neckties -- even if they're optional, you can always throw one on to jazz an outfit up. Bow ties work too, so long as they're not formal or semiformal white tie/black tie versions.
Pocket squares -- never underestimate how much snappier a unique pocket square makes a blazer or a sports jacket.
Belts -- vary it up. Canvas, leather, woven braids, whatever. A couple of sturdy leather belts that can swap buckles in and out are a good starting place.
Shoes -- again, vary the choices here. A good pair of leather shoes upgrades a "meh" outfit in a major way. Spend a little more to have some unique options. Stick to leather uppers, though; canvas and rubber aren't work-appropriate.
    Smaller accents like wristwatches and your selection of outerwear can help liven up a look as well.
    Think of dress casual as the place to make an interchangeable wardrobe shine: combine some good, simple core pieces like khakis and lightly-patterned dress shirts with brighter, more unique accent pieces to keep your look varied.
    You've got a lot of options here. The key is just to keep "business" fixed in your mind as well as "casual." Most men, if they go wrong with business casual, do it by incorporating casual pieces that are meant for evenings out, or daytime social wear -- a slightly different look that we discuss in the very next chapter!
     

C HAPTER 14: " S HARP C ASUAL" FOR S OCIAL S ITUATIONS
    At this point the comforting rules of strict dress codes have been thoroughly abandoned.
    You're on your own in the woods -- but don't worry; we've got a map for you.
    Like business casual, which we dressed in the previous chapter, "sharp casual" is less of a set of specific rules, and more of a general aesthetic with a few set boundaries.
    There's no one gold standard to adhere to here. It's not even a term you're ever likely to see on an invitation -- no one's going to yell at you for showing up in just plain old "casual" when they wanted you in "sharp casual."
    Rather, we're talking about the idea of looking a little dressed-up even when you're on your own time here. That means you actually have two concrete goals:
Look dressed up, or at least nicely dressed, and
Look like you're on your own time, i.e., not dressed for work.
    Some men may not see the last one as strictly necessary. And indeed, there's nothing wrong with wearing the same slacks and dress shirts you wear to your job for social situations as well.
    The idea of sharp casual is largely there for guys who actively like dressing to stand out. You can't really do that much in a business setting without straining the bounds of professionalism, hence the evolution of a slightly more flamboyant alternative to business casual.
    The Difference Between "Business Casual" and "Sharp Casual"
    Because the two dress codes (and we use the term lightly) are so similar, the line between "business casual" and "sharp casual" is a blurry one.
    In fact, virtually all of the clothes that work for one will work for the other. It's more about how you're putting them together, plus a few exceptions that won't work for work wear because they're too flamboyant.
    Broadly speaking:
Business casual is less formal than suits, more formal than