WTF Does a ‘Smart Casual Dress Code for Men’ Mean?

Let’s not waste time. The four basic elements of smart casual attire are:

• a collared shirt
• clothes that fit well
• leather footwear that isn’t black, and
• chinos.

In fact, the number one component of a smart casual outfit is a nice pair of chinos. The most foolproof shirt is an Oxford cloth button-down. Throw in a pair of brown suede loafers, and you’re good to go.

Now, obviously, there’s no actual governing authority on what constitutes smart casual and you might be thinking that list sounds too dressy. And it’s true that if you’re searching around for the definition of the smart casual dress code, you will find some guys saying that jeans and sneakers are fine.

Consciously or unconsciously, you’ll gravitate toward a definition of smart casual that is the lowest effort for you. But here’s the thing: you’ve been invited somewhere as a guest and given a dress code. As boring as it sounds, that means you have a responsibility to take the least controversial, most universally accepted approach to the smart casual.

So I’m going to give you a list of the most and least controversial do’s and don’ts for each item of clothing you can wear, plus some outfits to give you some inspiration. 

Disclaimer: This article is sponsored by the online menswear store Huckberry. They sell all the items here, but we wrote this so it’s be useful for anyone shopping anywhere.

Smart Casual Outfit Guidelines for Men

• Shirts must have a collar; no t-shirts or henleys.
• Polo shirts, button-ups, and linen shirts all work; avoid silk dress shirts
• Chinos are the best bet for trousers.
• Shorts are probably fine for smart casual but stick to chino style shorts (no drawstring) and no shorter than a 7-inch inseam.
• Avoid workwear-inspired clothes, like canvas and denim jeans.
• Leather shoes are ideal; black’s too dressy but pretty much anything else goes, even minimalist sneakers. Loafers are great. Don’t show your toes.
• Sports coats and chore jackets are good options for layering
• Simple sweaters and cardigans work fine too.

Like I said, if you’re a guest, you should play it safe. That means no jeans or t-shirts, even if you’ve seen them get a pass in some smart casual guides.

In other words, it is better to dress too nicely than too casually. You don’t want to risk offending a host or a boss who might have a different understanding of smart casual than that one YouTube video you found that says your favorite band’s t-shirt is fine. I promise I’m not usually this boring, but dress codes are about being a good guest, plain and simple.

With that in mind, the kind of stuff I’m recommending is meant to be more about saving you time with some templates and ideas to make sure you’re dressed smart enough.

Smart Casual Shirts

• Oxford cloth button-downs are universally accepted.
• Polo shirts work well too.
• Button-ups, even with short sleeves, are perfectly fine.
• Linen is great for hot weather; get it pressed to minimize wrinkles

The king of smart casual shirts is the Oxford cloth button-down. After that, polos and most button-ups work well, though avoid the kinds of silk shirts you’d wear with a suit. (Unless your option is that or a t-shirt — again, too dressy is better than not dressy enough!)

Linen shirts are good, too, and yes, a short-sleeved button-up is fine.

I would recommend tucking your shirt in, but I doubt you’d get in trouble for not doing that. Some people really hate tucking in polos. If you’re one of those guys, get a crochet knit polo, like mine from Flint and Tinder. It has a ribbed bottom, so it looks cleaner.

Tips For Smart Casual Shirts:

• No ties; they’re too formal
• Tucking in your shirt is a good idea but not required
• Shirts must have a collar; no, henleys don’t count as collared shirts.
• Simple patterns and solid colors are safer than loud patterns and bright colors, though it’s unlikely anyone will care.

Button Up vs Button Down

A proper button-down shirt has small buttons on the collar to fasten it down onto the shirt. A button-up doesn’t necessarily have these buttons.

Is one more formal? Some guys think so because the collar is clearly designed to secure a tie. Others find them informal because it’s possible this design originated to keep your collar flapping around when you’re out in the countryside — they’d say it’s an outdoorsy look, not a dressy one!

But today in America, button downs are considered smart, and either collar choice works fine for smart casual.

Avoid These Shirts

• No t-shirts, henleys, denim shirts, flannel, western shirts, silk shirts.
• Stay away from synthetic fabrics; some blends will work, but keep in mind they often look cheap in indoor lighting.
• Keep colors and patterns conservative.
• No visible logos, though a tiny one on the left chest (the kind denoting Ralph Lauren, Lacoste, etc.) will get a pass.

The list of bad smart casual shirts starts with t-shirts. Sorry. Long or short sleeves, you can’t wear those. The same goes for henleys, which do not count as collared.

Collared shirts that you should probably avoid are silk shirts. They’re too dressy.

This isn’t a huge deal, but ideally you want to stay away from shirts associated with workwear: denim shirts, flannel, Western, even anything with flappy chest pockets like safari shirts. Honestly, it’s unlikely anyone will care about chest pockets, but they are considered workwear shirts.

For the same reason, maybe stay away from a busier check pattern than just gingham, like the kind of tartan pattern that’s popular on flannel shirts. I’d just limit patterns in general, but I’m aware most people probably won’t raise an eyebrow, especially if your shirt’s tucked in and you’ve got nice shoes.

Smart Casual Pants

• Get a pair of chinos; they’re worth it
• Corduroy and linen work well too

For really good smart casual pants, make life easy for yourself and just wear chinos. Chinos are the default language of smart casual.

I like the very famous Flint and Tinder 365 chinos. I’ve got them in the dressier Tapered fit in navy, and I just picked up their new Classic fit that has a more contemporary full leg. The 365 line is really popular because there are a ton of colors and a ton of fits, and with 2 percent spandex they’re stretchy enough to be really comfortable but not so stretchy that they look synthetic.

Other good pants: corduroy and linen. Wool slacks are dressier than smart casual, but I’d pick them over jeans.

Tips For Smart Casual Pants:

• No denim or canvas
• Avoid five-pocket pants in general; only if you have a better option, though.
• Nothing baggy or distressed

Avoid These Pants

• Jeans
• Joggers
• Fatigues
• Cargo
• Athleisure

Bad pants are cargo pants, fatigues, joggers, sweatpants, and most, if not all, jeans. Especially if they’re distressed or heavily faded.

If you only have jeans, the jeans should be dark wash blue and not baggy, faded, or distressed. I’d tuck my shirt into the jeans as well, just to give them a little help in that “smart” category.

If you only have jeans, the jeans should be dark wash blue and not baggy, faded, or distressed.

The controversial pants would be five-pocket pants. That’s the kind of pockets you get on jeans. They’re just the most casual kind of pockets, and I feel like a bit like a schlubby dad if I tuck a shirt into five-pocket pants.

But as is the case for all the ‘controversial’ sections in this article, it’s almost certain that no one will care about pocket style. But you might have a host who happens to have extra stringent standards and not love it.

Are Shorts Smart Casual?

• Chino-style shorts are the safest bet.
• A 7-inch inseam is the most conservative length.
• Avoid workwear style shorts and fabrics, like canvas and denim.

“What about shorts,” you say? I think they’re fine! Just go with chino-style shorts and you’re good.

I also like Flint & Tinder’s slightly stretchy 365 chino shorts paired with either their knit polo or a regular cotton polo.

It’s probably best to keep the inseam at seven inches, which hits most guys just above the knee. Shorter than that is short, longer than that is long — it’s unlikely anyone will care if your shorts cover your knees, though. But there’s a decent chance they will care if you’re in short shorts!

Avoid These Shorts

• No workout, denim, canvas, or board shorts
• No wide and baggy shorts
• Shorts that cover your knees are passable, but not ideal
• Stay away from anything with cargo- or fatigue-style pockets

Don’t wear cargo shorts, workout shorts, board shorts, or denim shorts. While I’ve found canvas shorts I love, I’ve tried to wear them smart casual before and when I look at the photos, I think they look too casual.

Especially because some workwear inspired shorts have fatigue-style pockets, the kind that are stitched on top of the thigh. I’d avoid that style of pocket too.

Controversial Shorts

• Draw-string shorts look weird when tucked into
• Long shorts might look a little schlubby

There are a lot of drawstring shorts that are made of nice fabrics like linen, organic cotton, and hemp. Their real downside is they look weird if you tuck a shirt into it. But unless your host is really stuffy (they might be!) you can get away not tucking the shirt into drawstring shorts if the shirt has a collar. (Which it does, right?)

One more controversial one is long shorts. Shorts are long if they cover your knees. If they’re chino style, they’re probably fine, and it’s incredibly unlikely anyone will care so long as they’re not three-quarter pants like you wore in the 2000s.

It’s just that smart shorts, the most conservative kind, cut off right above the knee. That’s usually a 7-inch inseam.

Smart Casual Sweaters & Knitwear

• It’s hard to go wrong with sweaters and knitwear
• Just avoid hoodies and sweatshirts

Sweaters are great options for smart casual clothes — this is an exception to the “your top must have a collar” rule. Crew neck, v-neck, cardigans, quarter zips, and turtlenecks are all good.

Above I went with the Headlands cardigan from Flint and Tinder and a lovely cashmere sweater from Wills.

Hoodies and sweatshirts are not smart enough.

Smart Casual Jackets

• Blazers, sports coats, or corduroy all work, even if sport coats might be pushing it.
• Chore coats are an underrated pick for smart casual.

Jackets are funny because many of them are too nice. But since you’re not wearing a tie, I think you can safely wear a blazer or a sports jacket. Again, it’s better to be too smart than too casual. A peacoat is another nice option (though you won’t be wearing something that heavy inside) and a corduroy jacket can be great as well.

Chore coats really work well for a smart casual look. They’re maybe the best example of a jacket that can be casual, smart casual, and business casual. Definitely check out the video above or read this article for a guide to wearing the chore coat.

My favorite is Flint and Tinder’s Wool Chore Blazer. It’s 100% wool and unlined, which is rare, and it means you get all the breathability and insulation benefits of wool.

For a good cotton one, Taylor Stitch’s Ojai is probably the most popular on the market.

Tips For Smart Casual Jackets:

• Less is more, stay away from excessive and showy hardware
• Wool and cotton are ideal fabrics
• Don’t wear canvas or denim jackets, they’re too informal

Avoid These Jackets

• Denim jackets
• Motorcycle jackets
• Trucker jackets

Bad jackets for smart casual: I wouldn’t wear denim jackets, motorcycle jackets, or trucker jackets.

Look: if you’re in chinos and a tucked-in button-down, you’ll probably be fine in a smart casual environment. It’s just that canvas and denim come from workwear and while most folks who own them don’t use them for yardwork, they still have that cultural baggage as casual. They’re cool, and they can be really high quality, but they’re not smart!

Or at least, they’re not guaranteed to be considered smart, and we’re going for uncontroversial picks, here.

Are Leather Jackets Smart Casual?

• Simple leather jackets can work if they’ve got clean lines and minimal ornamentation like belt buckles, dangly pull tabs, or epaulets

A controversial jackets for smart casual would be a leather jacket.

Honestly, I think if your jacket’s minimalist (I always mention Schott’s Cafe Racer and Sunset Jackets as examples) I think it’d probably be fine. But over the top, cross zip, jangly and ostentatious motorcycle-style leather jackets like Schott’s Perfecto are not.

Smart Casual Footwear

• Wear leather shoes, not canvas or synthetics.
• Black leather shoes might be too close to “formal” unless it’s sneakers
• The best options are loafers, derbies, minimalist sneakers, and for summer, try huaraches
• Oxford shoes are probably too dressy.
• If you wear boots, the best are chukkas, slim Chelsea boots, or service boots

Whatever you wear, make it leather.

Yes, leather sneakers can be fine for a smart casual outfit, but they should be minimalist, low-profile sneakers. Not chunky, colorful skate shoes or athletic shoes.

A good example of appropriate white sneakers is Clae’s Deane, but you can get away with darker colors if they’re simple, like Luca’s Terra Low.

But no shoe is as ideal for smart casual as the humble loafer — especially because they make any outfit with shorts a bit nicer.

Above I’m wearing some Italian-made Astorflex in suede, which are round in the toe and have a crepe rubber sole — these elements dress them right down, which is fine because you’re not wearing these loafers with a suit.

Boat shoes are fine, chukkas are fine, and a derby shoe is fine. By the way, a derby is a shoe where the laces go over the vamp like you can see above. They’re contrasted with Oxford shoes, which are more often seen under suits.

If you’re wearing boots, I would err on the side of Chelsea or service boots — that means something low profile like Thursday’s Captain boot as opposed to chunky work boots like Red Wings.

Tips For Smart Casual Footwear:

• Brown leather is preferable to black leather
• Boots are fine as long as they aren’t too chunky
• Pick a derby over an oxford if you can
• Avoid canvas or synthetic uppers
• Probably best to avoid open toe footwear; no flip flops or sandals

Summer Shoe Recommendations

I know that smart casual is often the dress code for a resort or a cruise ship where you’ll probably be fine in sandals. But I would never show my toes if I was told to dress smart casual.

But there is a way to have your cake and eat it too: my pick for open-air, no-sock shoes are huaraches. I was surprised by how comfy and breezy they are, and I think they’d be fine with any smart casual look.

Casual Footwear to Avoid

• Don’t show your toes; no flip flops or sandals
• Workout shoes are too casual
• Work boots or combat boots should be avoided

Obviously, don’t wear flip-flops or sandals. Those are not smart shoes. Again, avoid black leather and Oxford shoes are better suited to more formal attire, but they’re certainly a better pick than flip flops, which might get you turned away at the door!

To be safe, don’t even wear canvas sneakers like your favorite Chuck Taylors. And don’t wear thick or chunky boots like work boots or Doc Martens.

Wrapping Up

I don’t want to sound too self-important, but I looked all over the internet as I was preparing this article, and I think this is the internet’s best guide to smart casual attire for men.

To sum up: look, just get a pair of chinos, an Oxford cloth button-down, and some loafers.Do that, and you’ll have a put-together smart casual look ready to go.

But I hope I gave you enough tips here to help you get a little more creative if that’s what you want.

The last thing to remember, and I know I’m being more stuffy than usual here, is that if you’re a guest, you should play it safe with what you wear. It’s called being a good guest! You can always get right back into your ripped jeans as soon as you get home.