How To Dress Casual

How to dress casual is about the clothes and also about the attitude of the person wearing the clothes. Dressing casual also depends on the event and the situation. A suit may be totally dressy for meeting friends at the local burger place, but a suit is considered informal for a black tie-only event. Casual, as with most things, is in the eye of the beholder--and in the eyes of other people who behold you. Using the top to bottom approach to casual dressing, you'll need a few things to get your casual look, including;

To dress casual, you will need:

• hats
• casual footwear
• casual cotton clothing
• full-length mirror

1. Determine your formal look. Some people only have a casual look, so the options are for casual or ultra-casual dress. Most people have at least up-scale and casual choices. If you're in business where dress is required, you'll need to determine just what casual clothing means to you. 
2. Select items in your wardrobe that are in the for-sure casual classification. Once you've determined your definitions for formal, dress-casual, casual and round the house dressing, look in your closet and dresser drawers and pull everything out that you normally wear during the year. 
3. Make clothes groupings. Once you've pulled all your clothes out, start the piles. Put anything that is generally considered formal into one stack. If you have a spare closet, it might work to simply remove the more formal items to that location. That way you have a formal wear closet and a casual closet. Start the pile work. Put all casual shirts together. Do the same with pants. Get everything organized. If you're unsure if something is casual, it probably is too formal. Put it with the dressy wear.
   
4. Subdivide the casual wear. Once you've finished the major grouping, subdivide your casual gear into dressy work casual and just plain casual. Divide each of the categories: pants, shirts, etc. 
5. Make up the ensembles. Casual is a state of mind, as well as an unplanned look. This does not mean that you don't plan when you wear casual dress. How to dress casual means figuring out what outfits make the best statement for casual. Organize the things in your casual piles, or closet, according to color and texture. Hate to break it to you, but plaid shirts do not go with plaid pants. Stripes are the evil cousin of other stripes. 
6. Make a note of the general rules of casual dressing. Refuse to wear anything that needs ironed. Ironed things generally mean dressy casual. That doesn't mean you need to dress in the dreaded polyester, it just means don't iron anything. Wrinkles are hip casual. For those easily offended by this philosophy, take an iron and do a touch up, but don't add creases to anything with the iron. 
7. Add a few casual accessories to your wardrobe. Top of the list is a group of casual hats.
8. Develop your own personal casual style. Some general suggestions for how to dress casual include wearing slippers when inside and flip flops or thongs for outdoor events. Sandals are a staple of casual dressing. Clogs work well, if you like to wear jeans. Go without socks for the extreme casual look. Go commando or feature just the hint of a cotton boxer above the chino line. If you're into the Abercrombie look, feature a whole lot of boxer. 
9. Take a look at yourself. Look in the full-length mirror to make sure nothing is too tight or binding. How to dress casual is all about a relaxed look.