My dear Papa who lives in the Netherlands and is in his late 70’s has little interest in fashion. But my Dad has a great appreciation for good quality and also believes that “het oog will ook wat”. This directly translated from Dutch means that “the eye wants something too”. So Papa humoured my late Mum and dressed in exactly what she told him to wear. And now that my Mum has passed on, my Papa humours me and wears exactly what I tell him to wear. So for my sake more than for his own, my Papa is well tuned out and keeps his style in good shape.

Even though my Papa has no interest in fashion, I really enjoy hearing what he thinks about fashion in general because his perspective is entertaining and quite refreshing. For example, my Papa doesn’t get why women want to wear jeans and pants most of the time. He’d love to see more women in skirts and dresses. He loves the equestrian look (tucking jeans and leggings into knee-high boots) probably because we were an equestrian family growing up and it’s close to his heart. He enjoys brightly coloured clothing and loves boots, tailored blazers, leather jackets, pearls and pretty red shoes.

One thing my Dad cannot get his head around is layering. He still reminds me to tuck my shirt in if I’ve left it hanging out and peeking through from under a jacket. He also doesn’t understand why people wear flip flops in the city, or why his daughter matches dressy blouses with jeans. And leggings are dance attire so why would you wear them if you’re not dancing? These are just a few examples.

Of course, my Papa is really respectful and sweet when we discuss fashion. He never makes me feel bad about my fashion choices even if he doesn’t understand them. In fact Papa is always full of lovely compliments and that’s one of the things I love about him.

So over to you. Do you have stories to share about how generations other than your own view fashion?

If you’re tired of wearing dress slacks and don’t feel comfortable in skirts and dresses at the office, you might like to try a pair of dressy Bermuda shorts for Spring and Summer business casual dressing. Dressy shorts combine the practical comfort of slacks with the breezy, playful and more alluring elements of a knee-length skirt.

Choose a style in a dressy fabric like a cotton spandex with sheen, or silk and linen blends. Keep the waistband wide and alter if need be. Since the item is for a professional setting, keep the length either on the knee or just above it and no shorter. Go for styles with flat fronts because they’re definitely more flattering than side entry pockets with annoying linings that peek through.

I adore the look of shorts with heels like pumps, peep-toes, sandals and cage sandals. So modern and sassy. But dressy flats will also work if heels are not your thing. Combine dressy shorts with tops, blouses, shirts, jackets and accessories the same way you’d dress up a pair of dress slacks. All you’re doing is baring your lower legs but with a little extra coverage than if you were wearing a skirt.

As a fashion stylist, dressy Bermuda shorts absolutely work for my dressy yet creative business casual style. What do you think? Are they a Summer substitute for dress slacks and skirts in your business casual setting?

A selection of dressy Bermuda shorts. Black gets my top vote as the dressier colour, but brown, caramel and grey are nice options too. You’ll need to use your imagination with this item. The pictures aren’t very attractive and the shoes that they’ve used would not be my first choice. But I assure you that the product can work when matched with the right items.

All-in-one jumpsuits and rompers have been a fringe trend for a few seasons and they’re still trending. I’m definitely seeing more people actually wear the look both casually and in dressy ways than I did a year ago, but they are still few and far between.

I haven’t worn a jumpsuit since I was eight years old and I don’t see that changing. While I don’t loathe the look — it has a certain glamorous disco 70’s James Bond and Charlie’s Angels charm about it — I still vote nay for practical reasons. I cannot get my head around the the laborious effort of taking it off every time nature calls, not to mention the chilly draft.

How do you vote?

A recent post on the reasons that high heels are fabulous yielded some interesting comments. Most readers agreed that wearing high heels makes them feel and look fabulous. A few of our readers went on to bring up the topic of occasionally feeling “high heel hostility” in the form of comments from total strangers like:

“I used to wear ridiculous heels like that until my knees gave out”

“your feet must be killing you”

“how do you walk in those?”

“you can’t possibly wear those all day?”

“beautiful shoes…hope you don’t break your neck”.

I’m intrigued by the notion of this hostility. In the fashion and style world, fashion experts, catwalk shows and magazines constantly encourage us to wear high heels because they make outfits look better. High heels lengthen the leg line and make calf muscles look shapely. They offer height and prevent us from looking and feeling dumpy. In fact many trends go hand in hand with super high heels at the moment, to the extent that without them you won’t achieve the same look.

In light of the above, I was surprised to hear about the “high heel hostility”. If anything I’ve felt quite the opposite. As a fashion stylist who enjoys wearing trends, I often have to bypass a look because I can’t wear the high heeled footwear that finishes it off. That’s why I mentioned in the post that as a stylist I dare to be different by wearing flats and very low heels most of the time. I guess I feel “flats hostility” instead of high heel hostility.

I’d like to live in a world that is accepting of all heel heights. In the name of fashion and style there is a place for flats, low heels, three-inchers and skyscraping platforms. The choice is yours as long as you can comfortably and confidently get on with your day. Have you felt or noticed heel height hostility? Do you feel antagonistic towards high heel wearers?  Do you feel hostile to those who wear flats?