Define "smart casual"

nlgbbbblth

Have a training course in Dublin for 3 days next week

specified dress is "smart casual"

on a normal working day I wear a suit, or at the very least, shirt, tie and trousers.

would jeans, a plain shirt and shoes (as opposed to runners) count as "smart casual" or should I wear trousers instead of jeans?

Dinner

I'd go with trousers and shirt. No tie.

And if your feeling adventures, leave the top button on your shirt open.

is_that_so

Jeans are not smart casual under any circumstances, all the rest is fine tho'. You could go with a tie first day just to see the lie of the land and then dress accordingly.

KTRIC

I'd normally wear what I like to this type of thing. I can hardly see someone saying something about what you are wearing during a training course.
I think they just don't want you to turn up in a pair of Nike's and trakkie.

Matthewthebig

Cords
Shirt
Shoes

DonkeyStyle \o/

Yeah just play it safe on day one... then see what everyone else is wearing.
'Smart casual' can be pushed a long way depeding on who's enforcing it

Alana

jeans long sleeve top jacket
cords shirt jumper....hmmm
jeans shirt....

just no tracky bums...i remember doing a training course in work once and this guy took semi-casual up wrong came in wearing tracky bums...we ended up going out on the floor..management weren't impressed and he subsequently ended up in the worst section in the store, ie the busiest and the one that attracts the grumpy grannies...sigh

nlgbbbblth

thanks guys

leeroybrown

In my experience the meaning of smart causal varies greatly and depends on what senior management or HR think it should be (and if the employees bother wearing what management think they should). I've worked in a supposedly smart casual environment where some people wore shorts a t-shirt and sandals on hot summers days and another where it was just one step short of wearing a tie.

As a rule I always ask for a better description when I get the smart casual line and I tend to dress-up slightly for the first day as it's better than making a bad inpression.

mike65

Alan Partridge, or is that Sports Casual

Mike.

Agh 11111!

DonkeyStyle \o/

Yeah I was just wondering if the Alan Partridge tie and blazer badge combination packs were still available... anyone know?

gimmick

"Smart Casual". If I see that on an invite, it is a big alarm bell to not attend whatever it is. people who call there little shindig Smart Casual are usually wannabe upper middle class tools, who have probably worked in a call centre for too long (*) and started to believe the Americanisation crap that the 'team leaders' usualy spout.

Not to mention, "Smart casual" is a contradiction interms. Is it Smart dress, or Casual? Make up your mind.

If you must attend a "Smart Casual" do, wear a pair of runners, jeans and a Barcelona/Real Madrid shirt. At least one of the latter would give the wannabe aristocray you will be fratrenising with for the night something to show their considerable 'knowledge' of something they know fúck all about.

*worked in a call centre myself for a while, so that is not an insult to those who work in call centres, only to those who believe call centres ethos'

However, after reading the thread again, and I see its for work, my take would be 'pants', shoes and a shirt (tie optional, wacky tie NO NO NO).

sceptre

Bring brain. Wear pants. Covered on both fronts.

Like leeroy said, it varies. In this case I assume they mean "don't wear a suit, wear something comfortable that you could meet your GF's mother in".

Pet

You pretty much took the words right out of my mouth. If you need to dress "smart casual", you're not a long way away from doing "team-building exercises" and building pyramids out of office furniture and whatnot. nggghcchhc, I'd rather fiddle with petri dishes in a lab.

Hobbes

Generally wear what you want. I had courses like this and I turned up in a jeans and t-shirt. Feck it, they are getting a large wad of cash to train me they can get stuffed if they refuse based on what I wear.