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Casual vs smart casual

Retired 07

By Retired 07,
in Holland America Line

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Iamthesea

Iamthesea

Posted
Posted (edited)

DH and I attended a last minute invite to a neighbors house two weeks ago.  The host had made too much dinner after a trip to the farmers market, so he invited a few neighbors, including his in-laws, over to help eat up the food.  The invitation was done in person as a few of us were walking our dogs at the time.  We were told "come as you are."  I was dressed fairly nice and clean outfit, but was not even close to smart casual.  DH had on shorts and a nice tee shirt. We showed up to dinner less than an hour later in what we had on.  Everyone else had gone home and changed clothes before the dinner.  Smart casual, I might add. 😯

Edited by Iamthesea
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SargassoPirate

SargassoPirate

Posted
Posted

Ever notice that most of the angst is about how the men dress for dinner?  

 

I recall a line from "As Good As It Gets" where, after being turned away for dinner because he didn't have a jacket, Marvin says to his date something to the effect "They make me buy a new outfit and let you in in a house dress"

 

 

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TheMichael

TheMichael

Posted
Posted
30 minutes ago, SargassoPirate said:

Ever notice that most of the angst is about how the men dress for dinner?  

 

I recall a line from "As Good As It Gets" where, after being turned away for dinner because he didn't have a jacket, Marvin says to his date something to the effect "They make me buy a new outfit and let you in in a house dress"

 

Of course, he was insulting her with that comment, causing her to get up to leave... 

 

To be fair, we men tend to like to push the limits of "casual," much less "smart casual," way more than women do. Some guys seem willing to bring back the Boston Tea Party over their right to wear flip-flops and stretched-out t-shirts in the MDR.

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sciencewonk

sciencewonk

Posted
Posted
16 hours ago, lyndarra said:

Which is OK with me as I'm not real comfortable wearing thongs.😉

I'm chuckling because you used the word thongs in the Australian sense, while many of the Americans on this board might read it in the American sense, which would be a g-string to Aussies.  I actually debated myself about which word to use and ultimately went with flip flops.

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cccole

cccole

Posted
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34 minutes ago, sciencewonk said:

I'm chuckling because you used the word thongs in the Australian sense, while many of the Americans on this board might read it in the American sense, which would be a g-string to Aussies.  I actually debated myself about which word to use and ultimately went with flip flops.

A thong to most Americans would refer to a type of bathing suit or under garment.  When I was growing up thongs were flip flops.  I have not heard the word thongs used for flip flops in decades.  Good choice.  Cherie

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TheMichael

TheMichael

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, sciencewonk said:

I'm chuckling because you used the word thongs in the Australian sense, while many of the Americans on this board might read it in the American sense, which would be a g-string to Aussies.  I actually debated myself about which word to use and ultimately went with flip flops.

 

Google "Sisqo"...

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Fairgarth

Fairgarth

Posted
Posted
On 9/13/2023 at 8:44 AM, Retired 07 said:

I noticed on the itinerary on the Navigator app, they show 3 different options for dressing at dinner: dressy, casual, and smart casual. What’s the difference between casual and smart casual?

 

To respond to the original question, as I see it FWIW for gentlemen (can't advise the ladies).  Smart casual would be dress pants with a crease, dress shirt with long sleeves and a collar.  French cuffs, maybe?  Shoes, not sneakers.  Tie and jacket not required.  Casual would be none of the above.

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Toofarfromthesea

Toofarfromthesea

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, Fairgarth said:

 

To respond to the original question, as I see it FWIW for gentlemen (can't advise the ladies).  Smart casual would be dress pants with a crease, dress shirt with long sleeves and a collar.  French cuffs, maybe?  Shoes, not sneakers.  Tie and jacket not required.  Casual would be none of the above.

 

I haven't seen anything on HAL's website or any of the various websites that discuss dress codes that suggests that smart casual requires that men wear long sleeve shirts.  Do you have a reference for that or is it just your personal interpretation?

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lyndarra Holiday Sharing Rare

lyndarra

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

I haven't seen anything on HAL's website or any of the various websites that discuss dress codes that suggests that smart casual requires that men wear long sleeve shirts.  Do you have a reference for that or is it just your personal interpretation?

Wow. I haven't worn a long sleeve shirt since I retired from banking in 1994. I don't even own one.

My usual outfit for dining is clean, long pants, slacks or jeans (no holes) and a collared shirt. Sometimes a T shirt in the tropics.

I can't wear "shoes" due to multiple foot conditions so it's comfortable loose sneakers. (Foot conditions as in osteo and rheumatoid athritis, bursitis and sometimes a spot of gout).

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Caribbean Chris

Caribbean Chris

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 9/15/2023 at 2:56 AM, TheMichael said:

To be fair, we men tend to like to push the limits of "casual," much less "smart casual," way more than women do. Some guys seem willing to bring back the Boston Tea Party over their right to wear flip-flops and stretched-out t-shirts in the MDR.


Just disembarked Zaandam last Wednesday. Very few, if any, men in shorts, ball caps, sleeveless tees, etc. in dining room or around the ship in the evenings. However, near the end of the cruise, we crossed paths with a man, apparently headed toward the MDR, pushing the limits of “casual” in a HAL bathrobe and Crocs. 

Edited by Caribbean Chris
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0106 "Live from...." Rare

0106

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, SargassoPirate said:

Is there any actual enforcement?

I’ve seen people turned away from the MDR because they looked like they just came from the pool, actually wet.
 

FYI- In the Caribbean, my DH usually wears Khakis and nice “Hawaiian” shirts on “gala” nights and it has never been a problem

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IAcruising

IAcruising

Posted
Posted (edited)

 

I think if you choose to cruise Holland America, you know to wear pants and a collared shirt in the MDR.

 

I mean, seriously, this isn't freaking Carnival.

 

(yes, that's an ironic joke)

 

Edited by IAcruising
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