Dumb Casual

Ready for the symphony?

I guess I've been living in Maine for too long. That would explain my surprise at hearing that a NYC restaurant my husband is going to for dinner with an old friend has a dress code of "smart casual." We had to google it and learned it requires a shirt worn with a blazer or sport coat for men, despite the oppressive heat of August.

Here in Maine, the only dress code is that everything you wear must have an LLBean label. Just kidding, but only sort of. People go to the symphony, the opera, and all sorts of stage performances in t-shirts, jeans, shorts and flip flops. Once I saw young 30-something woman at the symphony all decked out in a black cocktail dress with a lace bodice, a pretty silk shawl and stiletto heels. I thought, "How lovely and refreshing," until I realized it was her Halloween costume.

Unlike in Manhattan, the dress code in Maine for even the fanciest restaurant  is along the lines of "come as you are," or as I call it, "dumb casual."