What does smart casual mean in Pakistani clothes?

What the dress code is asking for

In Western terms, smart casual sits between jeans with a T-shirt and a full suit. The host wants guests to look as if they made an effort, without anyone feeling they should have worn evening dress. Smart means pressed, well cut and in good condition. Casual means no ceremony: no suit and tie, no gown.

Carried over to a kameez, smart is in the cloth and the cut, and casual is in the absence of heavy work. An outfit can miss in either direction.

Piece by piece: the smart casual kameez

Each part of the outfit has a setting that lands in the middle.

• Kurta: straight or A-line, around knee length, in cambric, cotton, linen or a winter cloth such as karandi. Plain, tonal or a small neat print.
• Detail: a placket, a collar, piping or covered buttons do more than embroidery here. Our guide to collar styles for kurtas shows the options. If you want embroidery, keep it to the delicate level.
• Trousers: straight trousers or cigarette pants, pressed. A plain shalwar in crisp cotton also passes; a limp one does not.
• Dupatta: optional. A kurta and trousers alone looks modern and sharp; a light, plain dupatta keeps it traditional without adding formality.
• Shoes and bag: loafers, khussas, block heels or clean flats, and a structured bag.

What tips it into casual, and what tips it into formal

The same kurta can land in three different places depending on what surrounds it. If you are torn between two outfits, choose the plainer one and lift it with good shoes and earrings.

• Too casual: creased or faded lawn, a house suit, stretched hems, rubber slippers, ripped jeans, a kurta that has lost its shape in the wash.
• Smart casual: pressed plain or lightly detailed pieces, tailored trousers, tidy shoes, small jewellery.
• Too formal: statement embroidery, shiny or heavily worked fabric, a sharara or gharara, a heavy embellished dupatta, a full jewellery set.

Four outfits that meet the code

All four can be worn to a dinner, a work event or a daytime reception.

• A co-ord set: kurta and trousers in one colour. Our co-ord sets guide explains why matching pieces look polished with little effort.
• A plain suit with texture: see plain suits with presence for ways to make an undecorated suit look considered.
• A kurta with dark jeans: the relaxed end of the code, fine for most restaurants and work socials unless the invitation rules out denim.
• A shirt dress: a Western answer to the same brief. Our shirt dress is one example of a made-to-measure piece.

What to ask for when ordering

Smart casual depends on cut, which is where made to measure earns its keep: shoulders that sit where they should and hems at the right height do most of the work. Through our custom stitching service you choose the neckline, sleeves, kameez length and trouser style on the quote form.

When you request a quote, ask for a crisp plain fabric, the embroidery level set to none or delicate, a knee-length kameez and straight or cigarette trousers. If the outfit is for a dated event, remember that making takes 5 to 7 working days from approval and full payment, with shipping time on top. Our work and campus page has more outfits at this level.