Hi i will be in Sydney for four days in jan with my husband whi is mister casual when it comes to holidays he lives in his shorts and sandles. What is the dress code around Sydney on a night time i.e. would he be allowed in restaurants dressed like this? I am assuming pubs would be o.k? He would rather eat from takeaways than wear a tie!!!!

depends on the restaurant.

most restaurants in sydney are pretty relaxed and wouldn't bat an eyelid if he came in with sandles on, unless of course he's wearing socks as well ;-) yikes !
sydney is fairly casual, but fashionable. as long as he's looking neat and tidy his sandles will be fine.
but if your treating yourselves to somewhere a bit posh, then ditch the sandles, but still no need for a tie.

Whilst the sandals will probably be ok for dinner - maybe he could swap his shorts for a pair of trousers (or even jeans) to wear out at night.

I don't know of anywhere in Sydney where a tie is a required unless it's a function that states it is (ie. formal or Black Tie) or a very exclusive club.

I still think shorts and t.shirts are maybe just a little too casual to wear anywhere but the cheapest and most casual of restaurants at night. I'm sure I don't want to be looking at a pair of hairy old legs while I'm eating. Whilst he probably won't be turned away it's just the look!

Agree with the above. Tie will not be needed at all....shorts maybe taking it a little too far at night in a restaurant even for here ! Cheers...come , relax and enjoy !

carty, to put it in a nutshell (and gently), Australians are dead casual and not at all averse to wearing shorts ... but our commitment to them is (ahem) not quite as strong as that of Americans. If your husband doesn't mind standing out a little (as in distant chortles sounding like "Har, har, check out the Yank tourist!&quot we won't care, but as the previous posters have suggested indirectly, if he hasn't got a hide like an elephant he may feel a wee bit uncomfortable on some few occasions. If you're going to wear shorts, sandals are a very reasonable accessory - but take notice of Leisa - forget the socks. In general the only time you have to wear a tie is if you have a printed card telling you so - i.e. "lounge suit" (business suit) or "formal wear" (tux). "Smart casual" is the order of the day in the more pricey restaurants. Or so I'm told - I can only afford to press my proletarian nose against the window of such places. I own one suit (that fits me, anyway) and everything else qualifies as "dumb casual".

Don't worry, though - whatever the old man wears you'll both enjoy yourselves.