Smart and cool

As summer starts to draw to a close in the Northern Hemisphere, I'll take one last look at the whole issue of casual dressing. If you consult a dictionary, there are many definitions of the word 'casual', but when it comes to clothing, the applicable one is "designed for informal use".

This was always the real meaning of casual wear, that it was not the same as formal wear - suits, gowns, tuxedos, etc. - but nowhere in the definition of casual do the words 'sloppy' or 'haphazard' appear.

So I'm showing three more shots of how you can be smart and cool and still casual. One is of my friend Judy, when we went out to dinner. Judy has chosen a simple color palette, she has a very neat T-shirt in Cordovan Brown, which matches her sandals, and then beige-toned capris and sweater, along with a brown purse.

Her companion - in this case me - has similarly chosen a simple color palette: pair of black jeans, black sandals, black wrap (one of my own Harobed Designs wraps in Tencel, which are extremely light in weight, but add warmth when the air-conditioning is too strong) and a black bag, paired with a strawberry shirt and matching strawberry earrings. (Another observation: dressing well is not necessarily about having everything purchased in the current year; the earrings are some I bought years ago while the shirt I purchased about two years ago).

Both of us managed to say stay cool and comfortable, in spite of setting off in sunny, hot weather.

These outfits look a lot smarter than some I see on the street, which include pairings of scruffy jeans, T-shirts that are so faded you cannot read the words on them, sandals or shoes, purses and jewelry, in a complete mishmash of colors.

But, to show there is hope for the future, I'm showing this photo of a little girl is about eight years old. Whether it's the case that her pink Crocs were selected to match her dress - or her dress was chosen to match her Crocs - doesn't matter, she looks pulled together! A lot of people much older than eight would do well to follow her example.

You can BE cool - and LOOK cool too!

One of the more unfortunate "fashion" trends of recent years has been the tendency, in a warm climates, to equate staying cool in steamy weather with sloppy outfits.

Just because the temperature rises, doesn't mean you have to forsake your sense of style. It's perfectly possible to be cool while looking cool too!

As well as looking for people with zero sense of style, I often go out with my camera and try to snap people who have pulled off a great look with ease. Here are just three examples: the lady on the bus is very simply dressed, but her outfit works very well. She's paired a white short sleeved top, with a white skirt patterned in silver, a silver bangle, black high heeled mules and a black bag. This is a case where being well dressed, doesn't mean loading yourself down with lots of garments and accessories, it just means thinking a bit about how you're going to look in what you've put on.

The same is true of two ladies I met when I went to the theater the other Saturday. Both were able to stay very comfortable in spite of the high humidity. What's even more interesting is that one of the outfits (photo in the middle) shows how you can pair two seemingly different colors - like red and peach - in a single outfit. Even the sandals combine these two colors. What makes it work is that the skirt, as well as having red and peach, has a black background and splashes of other colors. She was still able to stay comfortable because the top is a camisole and the bottom is a skirt.

The other lady, on the left in the lower photo, is wearing black leggings, black sandals, and a multicolored top. Her purse color picks out the green color in the top. It's cool, it's comfortable but, above all, she looks pulled together. (The lady in the white long-sleeve T-shirt, black jeans, hot pink sandals and accessories, is me!)

There is no need when summer arrives to slip into a haphazard look. True style starts in the brain with how you think about your clothes, and how you put them together. In fact, looking stylish is probably more of a no-brainer than a brain-teaser.

Is gray the law now?

Once upon a time, there were laws known as sumptuary laws. Depending on where you lived and what you did in life, you were forbidden to wear certain fabrics - such as velvet being forbidden for the middle class - and otherwise forced to dress not just according to your means, but also to your station in life.

Supposedly, in the Western democracies, we have moved well beyond this stage and now allow everyone total freedom of expression. Trouble is, you'd be hard pressed to know this if you look around.

Just a couple of weeks ago, in what are known as the 'society pages' in my local newspaper, there was a write-up about an event that is described as an "80s themed pre-show gala".

Since I didn't attend, I'm not sure if the guests were perhaps forbidden from wearing anything but gray or perhaps they were told to dress in a way so they wouldn't conflict with the 80s themed decor. (Hello? As someone said, weren't the 80s all about spandex, color and big hair?)

What is most ironic is that one of the guests in the photos here (which I've cropped to protect the guilty as well as the innocent), is the president of a large department store, who is always going on the radio and urging shoppers to go in and buy the colorful patio furniture her company has on offer.

This makes me wonder: is it now okay for the patio to be colorful but not humans?

In the spirit of doing something about color, we've recently re-launched the Harobed Designs website, and already have quite a list of colors: apricot, primrose, teal, sunflower, scarlet and ivory, to name a few. We also have quite a few more waiting in the wings: deep coral, ultra royal, emerald, cerise...

We encourage everyone to go beyond the gray and sashay forth in color. Not only will you brighten up the world, you'll feel more energized!