My company doesn't have a dress code or if we do no one cares - LOL.

We have one guy who rarely wears shoes in the office and another who wears t-shirts with holes in them. Most people wear jeans or khakis and shirts with some sort of collar.

Today I'm dressed a little nicer - cotton pants, sweater set, loafers with a bit of a heel. My office mate is wearing jeans and a sweatshirt.

For us, getting all dressed up to go out to dinner is part of the "experience."

We eat out every Friday night (date night) and go someplace nice on Sat. night. Even on date night at the local seafood joint, our idea of dressing down is dark denim boot cut jeans and strappy sandals (or boots if winter), and a blouse for me, and pressed dark denim or khakis and a white dress shirt under a sweater, and dress loafers for my husband.

On Saturday nights, it's always a sport coat or suit jacket, white or colored dress shirt and dress slacks and dress shoes for him, and a dress or dress slacks and blouse and dressy shoes or boots for me. Wow - "dress" 6 times in one sentence! :)

The key is - it's what we like to do. We were both raised that you dress for dinner, and getting ready to go out is a big part of the whole thing for us. We like to look nice and compliment each other on our "fashion selections."

I think people should wear whatever they want to and are comfortable in - while realizing that some establishments may not welcome their "comfort statements" and may want to project a certain image and atmosphere through their clientele.
It's a personal decision. We also get all dolled up to travel, but that's something not many people choose to do either any more.

Choosing to dress outside the norm - either way overdressed or way underdressed is going to garner some looks. One can either dress as the other patrons do, or be the subject of scrutiny. If being looked at doesn't bother you, dress the way that makes you happiest...

Hi J... thanks for the support.
I am a California type, that's for sure. I find restaurants are not at all pretentious in CA. Now some of the people may be but I have never had any trouble getting in great places. The same quirk that makes me not notice others (as described above) also seems to keep me from worrying about what others think. I don't notice them noticing me... if it happens.

In Florida, you'll see a lot of signs at restaurants that say "No shoes, no shirts, no service".

Our standards are much lower here.

Diana - I think you said it all. It's all about what you like to do and what you are comfortable with.

I am a very casual person and in general I would rather find a hole in the wall restaurant with terrific food than go to a 5* restaurant. That's just me. If I were to go to a 5* restaurant, I would dress up - I promise :))

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