WIW...dressing up a casual outfit

The first Friday of each month DH and I get together with a bunch of our bridge playing friends for a buffet dinner at 'Red Rice' and a couple rounds of bridge. The event is 40+ years on, though originally the venue was fancier and folks used to get REALLY dressed up. I want to honour the spirit of the occaision, so try to gussy up my casual apparel. DH took one look at my clutch and asked if he should change! LOL!

You can't go wrong with Colour, Texture, Pattern, Shine - to upgrade super casual separates. I figured the gold clutch worked with the yellow in the shoes and the gold in the scarf pattern, and the scarf picks up the wine of the sweater. The trousers are light weight and silky feeling and somehow just work as an evening pant. (Shout out to Lisap who first mentioned them last year.) Have a great weekend!

Wine cotton knit sweater - Denver Hayes/MWWH - 2018
Black crops - 'On the Fly' Lululemon - 2018
Leopard point toe flats - Town Shoes - 2016
Gold clutch - Jessica/Sears - 2016
Silky scarf - thrifted - 2019

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6 years ago

Anonymous

You look fabulous in your dressed up casual. I realized a few years ago that holiday get-together were getting more casual. My metallic jeans with some tops with sequins under a jacket worked well . To be more casual, I wore metallic jeans with a cashmere pullover sweater and maybe some sparkly earrings. Next year I hope to use velvet pants if I can find the right ones. I have worn a velvet jacket with blue or black jeans and felt it hit the right note. For summer, natural linen with some metallic threads or sequins or beading would be good. A classic silk shirt with a great fitting pair of pants is another idea.

Carla

Veteran

Joy, you have hit the nail on the head vis-a-vis dress-casual for 'going out' vs 'going to work'. There has been casualization of both, however I feel there are less rules (or maybe I just don't care ) when it comes to social occaisions. In this fist year of retirement, I have found lots of occaisions (weekly, really) where casual dressing would be acceptable, but making more of an effort and adding a little something extra elevated the outfit and made a somewhat ordinary outing a little more special.

Jenni NZ

It all goes so well and looks awesome. Your DH’s reaction made me laugh, it’s the same reaction mine often has. Essentially I prefer to dress up more than he does but he does try. He gets so many compliments when he wears something a bit dressier but it absolutely must be comfortable, that’s his most important thing. After 32 years of marriage I don’t really try to change his preferences but he does ask me sometimes

Toban

Lovely! I especially like the pairing of animal print loafers with wine sweater and gold clutch. You look fantastic.

nemosmom

You look so pretty, Carla!

SarahD8

I love this look, Carla. The pattern mixing is fantastic. You are so good at elegant ease.

Bonnie

Love how your scarf, bag, and shoes work so beautifully together. I have those pants. I got them last June and have worn them 50+ times so far. You are giving me ideas on how to style them.

kellygirl

This is a perfect example of polished casual. You look fantastic. Taking notes on this one--I just love this!

Gennifyr

Active Member

Those shoes are killer!

Lucy

Perfect example of kicking it up a notch and YLF!

Cardiff girl

You ve gussied up that outfit beautifully.I think it’s much harder these days to do smart casual than it used to be as that can mean different things to different people but you look great and very appropriate for your night out.

Jaime

(website)

Gorgeous! Elegant, interesting, elevated but appropriate. And curls !

Katerina

Love it! Power of accessories and great shoes. You look gorgeous.

Staysfit

I love how much difference a set of accessories can change the look of an outfit. We should do a challenge where we wear the same outfit two or even three ways and change up our accessories.

Style Fan

Great outfit Carla. I love the shoes.

I bought those pants a few years ago and I love them. I can dress them up for a dinner date or wear them when we are in the car for long hours. Also good for packing in a suitcase because they take up very little space.

rachylou

Lovely rich colour!

Angie

Fashion Stylist

KILLER

Good grief, you're looking fab this year, Carla. The hair looks gorgeous too.

Thanks so much, Angie! Life is good and I'm in a very happy place these days with my closet. I think I finally got my BA from the U of YLF - majoring in Smart Casual

I agree with Angie - you are on a roll ! Great pants eh? I keep buying them

An you passed cum laude

Chris987

What a great outfit! I love that the leopard shoes are partly solid black, makes them a little less bold which IMHO balances them really well with the rest of the outfit. My first thought was that these are fall colors, but who said colors have to be season-specific? I can totally identify with the casual vs a-little-more-polish debate. And totally love the idea of U of YLF

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