What the hell is smart casual
 

We're staying at the KL Shangri La where we understand that it's ok for men to wear shorts in the lobby but they request on their website that "dress be smart casual"

So what exactly does smart casual mean ?

i can tell you what it usually does not mean...cut offs and t shirts...tank tops and bathing suits...

i respond to smart casual invitations with slacks, a sport shirt, shoes....

ladies....slacks or skirt and nice top and shoes...

break it down: smart and casual

I guess you can were Docker kaki shorts with a polo type shirt and boat shoes or something like that.. smart casual is a nice way of saying prepy white boy look.

orgy you are so racist!!! haha

I always figured smart casual was a cute way to say business casual. By that definition, shorts are not appropriate and neither are jeans. Khakis and dress slacks would fit the bill.

Then again, you are talking about KL and I'm sure their definition is different from mine (in the states).

Denim is so popular & fashionable that I would include dressy jeans in the "smart casual" definition. Leather boat shoes (Sebagoes) are "smart casual". It can also include long shorts but t-shirts should have collars. Says Miss Style Guru of Oz 2004!

While my style tends more toward dumb casual I agree with Lyndie on dressy jeans. I have reservations about shorts, though.

(Unless perhaps you decided to make a sartorial impression by dressing like a British rubber planter of old, with "Bombay bloomers", long socks and pith helmet? No, scratch that...)

I'd go for neat slacks, sports shirt and boat/loafer-type shoes.

Thanks for the replies so far. I get the idea but need to be certain so I Would good shorts, good sandals and a golf type shirt qualify as smart casual ? I'm trying to figure out what to take on a 3 week trip to Singapore and Malaysia and want to be as casual as possible.

Yes galiano, I think you'll be fine! Common sense plays a big part in all this! If you're "caught short" you can always buy what you need. Check out Sengai Wang (where the locals shop) and the fabulous mall right near the twin Petronas (sp?)towers. Have a great trip!

Good shorts, good sandals and a golf type shirt is acceptable in any hotel lobby in Asia. Pants would be required in the restaurants although i've never been kicked out of any hotel restaurants for wearing jeans and a collared t-shirt.

Murff that's the reply I've been waiting for although jeans will be much too heavy for Malaysia I would think. I used to stay regularly at the Kowloon Shangri La and no one seemed troubled if I wore smart jeans.

So good shorts, good sandals, collared shirts = smart casual. Cool !

Note that shorts, no matter how stylish and conservative, are not acceptable in some places in Singapore - the Raffles hotel lobby (and Doc Chengs) for one.

Of course this is a shame given the heat.

i have also held off on making a comment, but i too feel that shorts are not smart casual...they are just casual...imo

I asked the original question because I wanted to know what would be the most casual attire I could get away with in very hot and humid countries. Now I have a better idea so thanks to all those who replied.

The Raffles lobby excludes people wearing shorts you say ?
I wonder if they would keep out, oh let's say Steven Spielberg wearing shorts as he often does ? Nope I don't think so.

I don't think I'll patronize the Raffles lobby as they might not like my shirt or whatever. How phony !

Oh, and one more thing about shorts - Does that make all those smartly dressed fellows in Bermuda only casual and not smartly casual ? ( rhkkmk ? )

I don't think so ! !

galiano: the raffles does not allow MALES wearing shorts into the hotel lobby, but gladly, willingly, and eagerly allows WOMEN in shorts into the lobby. must be a british thing....now now, just kidding. gstq.

this is exactly why i did not want to comment...i will never learn i guess...

shorts are simply not appripriate in some places...ask your mother...its "not what you can get away with" it's what seems to fit the occasion...

stephen speilberg??? can't you do better than that??

Don't sweat it. Actually dress code is not a big thing in M'sia AT ALL. Locals hardly follow such rules. Even if it says 'formal' in invitations you still find people turning up in casual jeans and t. The only places that actually kick someone out because of attire are the snobbish bars. Which are rare.

KL girl

Rhkknk arn't you the smart casual gentlmen that walks around bangkok with socks and sandles.

that would be me...not a red shirt however...

Now rhkkmk you're probably smart - but I wonder if you're ever casual.

By the way you managed to avoid my question about Bermuda where shorts are always smart and casual.

I'm packing my shorts and to hell with pretension.

closetcrafty: there is another place that will kick you out, or not admit you onto their premises if you are properly attired, and that is in the casinos at genting highland. in fact, until a couple of years ago, all males had to wear a batik shirt before they could enter.

i love bermuda....its the national dress isn't it?? the thai national dress is flip flops, as near as i can see, but i don't see them at lord jim or jesters, nor do i see t-shirts....

i am casual all the time---its called retirement....as a former banker and life long resident of new england, i must admit that casual is in degrees...

Well if I have learned one thing from this thread it's that I don't want to go to all the places that won't let me in !

Oh yea, totally forgot about that one...urgh hate that place.