36 Smart Casual Outfits for Men + Key Pieces for %%year%%

We’ll help you nail this tricky look with 36 failsafe outfits and the key pieces to buy that make up some of the best men’s smart casual outfits.

Smart casual, the seemingly self-contradictory term that will cause most men a bit of confusion at some point in their lives. It’s so vague, so easy to misinterpret and it has also changed a lot over the past few decades, to muddy the waters further.

Smart-casual style is all about looking put together without being overdressed. It’s about balancing two opposing menswear forces to create something new for those awkward in-between occasions where a suit would be overkill, and a T-shirt and sneakers too sloppy.

When you can put together smart casual outfits with complete and utter confidence – then you’ll look sharp.

With that in mind, we’ve put together some of the best smart casual men’s outfits that will strike the right balance without leaving you confused.

36 Smart Casual Men’s Outfits

Brown overshirt with white chinos

Bonobos

Brown and white or off-white is a great colour combination, boasting a degree of sophistication, while being very easy to style.

Smart chinos provide the clean smart backdrop in this case, while the overshirt and T-shirt combine to give this smart casual outfit an off-duty feel, reinforced by the casual Chelsea boots.

The monochrome look

Suitsupply

Opting for an all-black ensemble is a popular mens smart casual outfit, and flattering too, since it makes you appear slimmer.

This look has been curated with refinement: the tailored trousers are sharp and sublime, bookended by the slick belt and loafers, while the fitted polo shirt plays down the formality.

Grey tonality

Suitsupply

Just as in the all-black look above, this particular outfit opts for tonal grey garments for a touch of casual uniformity. It’s casual, minimalist, easy to wear and perfect for summer evenings.

The tapered linen trousers bring the texture, while the soft crew-neck jersey injects a healthy dose of sports luxe.

Tobacco and black

Blugiallo

While these two colors make for great dance partners, what we love about this look is the edgy silhouette, which offers a much more contemporary form of elegance.

The jacket’s unusually wide notch lapels are complemented by the baggy silhouette of the black pants, while the simple black T-shirt underlines the casual attitude.

White shirt and grey trousers

Todd Snyder

One from the summer outfits archive that you can always fall back on. Grey tailored trousers are more casual than their black counterparts, especially when they come cropped such as these, emphasizing the leather loafers.

The linen camp collar shirt has been styled to perfection, with the rolled sleeves underlining the look’s off-duty sophistication.

The biker jacket

Sandro

The leather biker jacket, in whichever guise you take it, has an undeniable ability to dress your look up or down, depending on what you’re wearing.

Layer it over track pants and a white T-shirt and it raises the bar, but wear it with a smart pair of tailored trousers and a black crew neck and you add a rebellious yet elegant edge to something that would be otherwise conservative.

Black field shirt with grey trousers

Vince

Field shirts and safari jackets are usually associated with khaki and olive drab tones, but when they are given a black finish, they can look inherently modern and smart.

This smart casual men’s outfit hits the nail on the head, complementing the shirt with tapered grey wool trousers. Despite the monochromatic palette, the look succeeds because of the great textures.

Dressed-down tailoring

Reiss

Relaxed tailoring and casual separates are a must smart casual outfit to have in your wardrobe.

This outfit combines a black polo shirt with beige tapered chinos and signs them off with white sneakers. All very contemporary. But adding the mauve blazer raises the bar a notch or three.

Neutral tones

Reiss

If you’re ever in doubt when mastering men’s smart casual outfits, it’s always a good idea to be restrictive with your palette. It minimises the risk of error and helps you to create a well-rounded, seamless look, as evidenced here.

Neutral tones are a good direction to take since they provide a great canvas for accents of colour or pattern, such as this pistachio polo shirt and houndstooth blazer combo.

The collared jacket

Reiss

The base of this smart casual outfit is almost identical to the previous one with regards to the trousers and polo shirt. Still, the attitude is entirely different thanks to the textural field jacket layered over the top.

The neutral tones provide a soft understated style, while the pop of contrast in the jacket defines the silhouette.

Country, but make it urban

Hackett

The four-pocket field jacket is traditionally a countryside silhouette, but many brands have elevated it for a more urban setting by incorporating different colors and fabrics.

This light green style is perfect for the city, nicely complemented by the white jeans and tonal crew neck, while the suede boots add a slice of texture.

Navy cardigan with green cargo pants

Hackett

Combining navy and green is always a good idea when constructing smart casual outfits since they complement each other wonderfully.

Given that both tones are quite understated, they make a good canvas for contrast accents to pop against – in this case, it’s a simple pink pinstripe shirt.

Layered white shirt with green chinos

Thom Sweeney

Just as in the look above, a navy-green base combo does all the heavy lifting, while the addition of the unbuttoned white shirt lends the outfit a bold contrast.

The casual white shirt should be in everyone’s wardrobe, especially in fabrics such as linen and brushed cotton – both of which will lend your outfit texture and tactility.

The versatile zip-through

Luca Faloni

The zip-through top doesn’t get the credit it deserves for its versatility and ease of wear. As a smart casual styling device, the knitted types in luxury fabrics such as merino and cashmere are useful since they can be smart, preppy or sporty depending on how you wear them.

This beige style, for example, elevates a bog-standard polo and jeans look thanks to its rich texture.

A blouson rather than a blazer

Banana Republic

One very easy way to create a sophisticated smart casual look is to take a pair of tailored suit trousers and a dress shirt, and instead of layering over a suit jacket or blazer, go for a textured collared jacket instead.

The jacket’s silhouette instantly changes the dynamic. Opting for a tonal ensemble – in this case blue – helps underline the smart aesthetic.

The zip-through redux

Luca Faloni

A similar zip-through as before but styled in a slightly different way – this time it’s zipped up and worn with an open collar to hint at the pink shirt underneath.

It’s a good business-casual office device that you can throw over a shirt and chinos or suit trousers to give your look a soft textural dynamic.

Navy, white and green

Slowear

We’ve written before about the timelessness and elegance of the navy and white combination. However, to prevent it from looking too nautical, adding an olive green tone always works well.

In this instance, it comes by way of a smart notch lapel blazer. The knitted polo and navy suede sneakers complement one another and help make the outfit cohesive.

Great grayscale

Reiss

The color grey gets an unfair rap for being boring or dull, but it’s an excellent choice when it comes to pulling together a sophisticated smart-casual look.

Combining well with both white and black, as well as a host of pastel tones, grey performs a minimalist role in the modern man’s wardrobe, as evidenced here.

A simple long-sleeved polo is worn with light grey pleated chinos and bookended with black loafers. Chic and effortless.

The black turtleneck

Belstaff

As garments go, the black wool turtleneck is unparalleled in its ability to add a sophisticated edge to men’s smart casual outfits.

For whatever reason, it just works, especially with black jeans. In this case, the jeans, boots and leather jacket trio would be quite rugged, but the black turtleneck gives the outfit a certain finesse.

Midnight navy and beige

A Day’s March

Top-to-toe navy always makes for an elegant smart casual ensemble as this look nicely demonstrates. The trousers can be tailored to perfection or wide-leg and contemporary – what will really set the tone of the look is the jacket’s silhouette.

In this case, the workwear-inspired short collared jacket ensures the look is rooted in modern functionality, while the beige crew neck delivers texture and contrast in equal measure.

Suit separates

Pini Parma Canali Hackett Suitsupply

At the smarter end of the smart casual spectrum, we have suit separates. These are tailored pieces mixed and matched to create contrast within the outfit, which makes for a less formal look than being head-to-toe in one colour.

The word ‘contrast’ is key here. To get it right, the jacket and trousers should stand out against one another. If they’re too similar in shade, it won’t have the same effect (and can look like you made a mistake when reaching for your suit).

Some colour combos that always work well include: navy blazer + off-white trousers, grey blazer + navy trousers, beige blazer + grey trousers, light grey blazer + charcoal trousers, and green blazer + beige trousers.

Ivy League

Todd Snyder Ralph Lauren Todd Snyder Hackett

Preppy style is enjoying a resurgence, which spells good news for your smart casual wardrobe. By definition, the Ivy League aesthetic is smart casual, and so many of the pieces translate well when pulling together this sort of outfit. Think OCBDs, loafers, deck shoes, cardigans, polo shirts and chinos.

Another core part of the preppy look is color and pattern. Bold stripes, madras checks and collegiate lettering are all signatures of the style, so incorporate them (sparingly) to help bring your smart casual attire to life.

Dressed-down tailoring

Reiss Boglioli Todd Snyder Brunello Cucinelli

One particularly simple way to nail the men’s smart casual look is to start off with a traditional suit and introduce casual pieces to dress it down.

This can work with any color, but for the sake of argument, let’s imagine a navy suit with a white poplin shirt and a pair of black leather Derby shoes. All that needs to be done to take this outfit from ‘smart’ to ‘smart casual’ is to swap the shirt for a tucked-in T-shirt or a knitted polo and trade the Derbies in for some minimalist sneakers or brown suede loafers.

By changing just those two details, the whole vibe of the outfit is completely transformed.

Minimalist smart casual outfits

Vince Club Monaco Reiss Hackett

Men’s smart casual outfits even when stripped back can still look incredibly sharp. For a minimalist take on the smart casual style, stick to monochrome and neutral colours, keeping layering and accessorising to a minimum. Think grey wool trousers, black long-sleeve knitted polo and suede Chelsea boots.

To pull this off and make it look smart enough, the few garments you select should be high quality and fit like a glove. If in any doubt, things like trousers, shirts and tailoring can always be taken to your local alterations shop to be tweaked by a professional.

Key smart-casual pieces for 2024

Countless garments can be worn to form men’s smart casual outfits, but a few key pieces stand out and embody what the smart casual dress code is all about. These are the most versatile, failsafe and timeless smart-casual garments, and the ones no man should be without.

Unstructured blazer

Lardini Unstructured Textured Cotton-Blend Blazer Boglioli K-Jacket Garment-Dyed Unstructured Cotton-Blend Suit Jacket

Some blazers have padding strategically placed to make the shoulders appear broader. These should be avoided when combining the jacket with less formal pieces like jeans, chinos and casual footwear.

Instead, look for blazers that are ‘unstructured’. These offer a more relaxed alternative to traditional suit jackets, with no padding, minimal lining and soft, natural shoulders. They still have the power to dress a look up, but won’t look jarring when worn next to casual-leaning garments.

Oxford cloth button-down (OCBD)

Asket The Oxford Shirt L’Estrange The All Day Oxford Shirt

The Oxford-cloth button-down shirt (or OCBD for short) is perhaps the ultimate garment for this style and even perfect for men’s smart casual work outfits. It features a similar cut and overall design to its dressier poplin counterpart, but with a textured fabric and additional details that give it a more informal feel.

It’s the sort of thing that can instantly pull an outfit together and make it look like you’ve made an effort. Wear it instead of a T-shirt to turn a bog-standard weekend fit from sloppy to sharp, or layer it under some knitwear to give a simple look a sense of depth.

Chinos

Luca Faloni Lightweight Cotton Chinos Asket The Chino

These preppy trousers occupy the middle ground between jeans and dress pants. They’ll happily combine with anything from T-shirts and sneakers to soft tailoring, making them the ideal candidate for your go-to smart casual legwear.

Wear them with a fine-gauge turtleneck, an overshirt and loafers for a contemporary take on smart casual, or team them up with an OCBD, deck shoes and a cardigan for a bit of mid-century Ivy League cool.

Polo shirt

Billy Reid American Pique Sweater Polo Aurelien Extrafine Merino Polo Black

The polo shirt first started life as a button-down collar shirt, invented by British officers stationed in India, before the French tennis icon René Lacoste later developed what we know to be the modern cotton piqué polo shirt.

That sporty version with the soft rolled collar is still as relevant today as it ever was, and is an essential part of the modern casualwear and sportswear canon of men’s clothing. But evolution hasn’t stood still with regards to the polo shirt, with both short-sleeve and long-sleeve styles developing a more elevated line of knitted options using luxury fabrics such as merino wool and cashmere.

That part of the polo shirt lineage has found home in the more sartorial and elegant spring/summer wardrobes. Whichever you prefer, both families of polos can be easily incorporated into a modern smart-casual outfit.

Turtleneck

Asket The Merino Roll Neck Private White V.C. The Cashmere Submariner Rollneck

Knitwear is an essential element of the smart casual wardrobe, bringing vitality, color and texture to your outfits. One of the key knitwear silhouettes is the turtleneck, which has an innate masculinity and can be extremely versatile depending on the style.

On the smarter end of the turtleneck spectrum, you have fine-gauge fitted knits, woven to fit snugly over the torso to be worn beneath tailoring or a blouson.

The more off-duty styles tend to be chunkier knits, such as Aran styles with cable knit details. These styles are punchier, more colorful and better paired with denim and chinos than tailored pants.

Grandad collar shirt

Boglioli Grandad-Collar Garment-Dyed Linen Shirt Flax London Heavy Linen Grandpa Midnight

A workwear icon, the grandad collar shirt has its origins in blue-collar life, back in the days when shirt collars were mostly detachable. Whether an act of rebellion or just sheer common sense, the working classes had little occasion for wearing ties, so they began to eschew wearing collars.

Then, in World War I, the grandad shirt became a standard issue undergarment. In the 50s, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s preference for muslin mandarin collars brought the shirt back into favor. Then four guys called John, Paul, Ringo and George did their best to promote it.

Today, it’s a great option to wear with relaxed tailoring and smart-casual attire.

Quarter-zip sweater

Aurelien Extrafine Merino Zipper Sweater Steel Blue Luca Faloni Pure Cashmere Zip-up

The quarter-zip sweater was originally conceived as a functional sportswear piece before being appropriated by collegiate types in the 50s and 60s, becoming part of preppy lore.

In recent years, the quarter-zip has found a new generation of admirers who have invested in the genre-mixing aesthetic of modern preppiness, with the likes of Aimé Leon Dore leading the way in how to style it in a contemporary way.

Collared jacket

Billy Reid Patch Pocket Suede Jacket Velasca Dozza Safari Jacket

‘Collared jackets’ is a broad and eclectic menswear genre, including everything from blousons to overshirts to safari jackets. Ultimately, what they all have in common is a certain smartness and refinement in the silhouette.

Naturally, the turned-down collar gives the jacket a formal start, and typically the jacket might borrow certain tailoring principles, too. However, the off-duty appeal comes from the relaxed or cropped silhouettes, as well as the fabrications, from cotton and linen to suede and wool.

Minimalist sneakers

ETQ Amsterdam LT 01 Court Lite White / Ink Oliver Cabell Low 1

It’s only really in the last decade or so that sneakers have become truly accepted as part of the smart-casual dress code. Still, to work, they have to have certain qualities about them. We’re talking a clean minimalist design, premium materials and a subtle, low-profile silhouette.

Suede can work, particularly in dark colors, but something leather in black or white tends to be best. Think Adidas Stan Smith if you’re on a budget, Common Projects Achilles Low if money’s no object.

Loafers

Bass Weejuns Layton II 90s Kiltie Loafer Trickers Harvard Loafer

Loafers are comfortable, easy to wear, versatile and have a special ability to dress casual outfits up while bringing tailored looks back down to earth. They’re an invaluable tool in any man’s smart-casual footwear line-up and work equally well in suede or leather.

Loafers come in various styles, all of which are perfectly appropriate, but to keep it classic, a traditional penny loafer is our slip-on of choice.

Chelsea boots

Velasca Ofelè Kleman Tonnant

Popularised by the Chelsea set in the 60s, the eponymously named leather shoes actually evolved from ankle boots designed for riding. The elasticated panel was invented to make it much easier to take on and off.

These days, Chelsea boots set the bar for smart-casual footwear, with just about every shoemaker and luxury fashion house making their own high-end versions using soft calfskin leather. The classic black styles have a certain rock ‘n’ roll appeal to them, which works well with tapered black jeans, whereas brown suede and neutral tone styles are more versatile, especially in this age of quiet luxury when texture and fabric quality are everything.

Still need some final dress code styling tips? Check out our Smart Casual Dress Code For Men: The New Rules