I’m often asked about appropriate attire for “casual Fridays”. It’s quite simple: keep things smart casual. This is the easiest way to tone down the formality but maintain a professional look. It ensures that you are prepared for an unexpected event. You might even like to dress smart casually on a daily basis if your dress code or lifestyle allow it.

Here’s an update to refresh your memory on this flop-proof outfit. At a high level, this is the simple formula:

Smart Casual dressing = Dressing up smart denim

Here are the components in more detail:

• Smart jeans or denim skirt: get the darkest blue wash that you can find. Trouser cut denim styles are also great (grey and black are other colors to consider). No rips or fading.
• Dressy top: select styled knitted tops or pieces of knitwear in better-end fabrications, woven girly tops, tunics or tailored collared shirts. Plain T’s are not smart enough, unless they’re in a luxurious fabric and used as a layering piece. You’ll want to look professional when you take off your jacket, so the dressier the top, the smarter you’ll look.
• Camisole: pop a camisole under a dressy top as an interesting layering piece and color vehicle. It’ll also work wonders to smooth out and narrow your silhouette.
• Jacket: layer a structured jacket over your first layer (or second layer if you’re wearing a camisole) when it starts to get chilly, or when you need to look extra smart.
• Trench coat or coat: you’ll want something warmer than a structured jacket in Winter, so pop on a trench or coat instead of a jacket as it gets colder. Add a dressy scarf and gloves as temperatures begin to plummet.
• Shoes: wearing dressy shoes is key. They can be heeled or flat, but not casual. Knee-high boots and hose are an ideal choice for denim skirts.
• Bag: adding a small or large dressy handbag completes the look and without it your style quotient will slip.

Opting for smart jeans is the obvious choice for the denim component, but adding a cropped, tailored denim jacket to a dressy skirt or dress works equally well. Tweak the formula and create a funkier look by wearing a dress over jeans, tucking skinnies into dressy boots or adding a dramatic, waist-cinching belt to a voluminous top. Once you have all the pieces, smart casual will become like a uniform that you can put together creatively every day. You’ll always look naturally pulled-together, appropriately dressed and effortlessly stylish.

Feel free to interpret smart casual dressing according to your fashion persona. These funky smart casual ensembles are from BCBG. It’s refreshing to see fancy flats incorporated into the look.

The space age trend started coming through last year and there’s no stopping it for 2008. Metallic trapeze jackets, biker styles, blazers and trenches are an ultra modern, fashion forward look that has just recently gone mainstream. Metallic jackets are not created equally and you’ll find that some are more overtly shiny than others. If you like the idea of wearing a silver or gold jacket that’s not that shiny, choose one in a natural fiber like cotton or linen. The effect of metallic fiber (lurex) woven together with natural fiber is more subtle, than metallic fiber woven together with non-organic fiber. I purchased a metallic linen jacket last season and it’s an indispensable neutral in my wardrobe for both daytime and evening.

A collection of subtle and very shiny metallic trapeze jackets, bikers, trenches and blazers. I like this look best with jeans or over a dress.

Last night’s Screen Actors Guild award ceremony marked the beginning of the red carpet season. Metallic dresses in silver, bronze, pewter and gold ruled the show. There was also quite a bit of black and, to my surprise, not much colour. I was pleased to see that strapless styles and half shoulder styles were in abundance, which makes a refreshing change to the “Grecian Goddess look” that’s been popular the last few years.

Overall, I wasn’t wildly excited, but three fabulous ensembles stand out:

• Javier Bardem was smooth and perfect in his tie-less tuxedo, patent shoes and swept back hair. He gets my vote for best dressed person of the night. And his acceptance speech was brilliant.
• Ruby Dee was an inspiration accepting her award at age 83. If you can look as graceful and elegant as she does at that age, you’re truly stylish.
• Cate Blanchett, who is usually among my favourites at any red carpet event, blossomed beautifully in her very pregnant body. Florals are one of the biggest trends for 2008 and who other than Cate to sport it with style.

Debra Messing, Eva Longoria and Ellen Pompeo all looked nice. A little too sparkly for my taste, but I liked the cut of their dresses. Let’s hope that the Grammys and Oscars provide a better selection of fabulous gowns.

Click on the thumbnails to see larger images, courtesy of E! Online and People.

I encourage my clients to create an individual stamp by throwing that “something special” into their clothing and accessory mix. Style is a celebration of individuality and no-one should look like a cookie-cutter version of someone else.

This “something special” can be one thing, or it can be a multitude of things. It can also be a decision to refrain from wearing something. For example, I intentionally never wear earrings or bracelets. I prefer to make a statement with specs and necklaces. And when it comes to necklaces, I’ll narrow down my selection to some form of funky pearl and virtually nothing else.

There are countless ways to introduce a personal stamp. Some people choose to wear a lot of one particular colour in their clothing or accessories. Others add an ethnic flavour or stick to neutrals. You might like to be adventurous with many colours, or wear lots of vintage clothing. Perhaps you’re known for dramatic hairstyle changes, wearing a scarf every day, opting for dresses instead of pants or sticking to classic, clean-cut clothing. Your personal stamp can and should evolve over time.

This is how people create a recognizable signature style. After all, personal style begins and ends with a strong sense of yourself.

I’d love to hear about your signature style in the comments, or on the forum.