‘Smart casual’ evening wear for fat frumpy 55 year old

[Fishrepeating]

Slight curve ball for a work related ‘do’ I’ve been to before where everyone wore variations on evening party wear… now the venue has changed and the dress code is smart casual. I was going to wear an a line Hobbs dress (vinted purchase) but now it seems too bright, too short, too much a party
dress.

Could you throw me some suggestions for an outfit as a fat, frumpy 55 year old? All
weight carried on stomach, 5ft 4, slim legs and bum. I am 14 Next or M&S, 16’Hobbs. Too uncomfortable nowadays to wear no sleeves though I do have a Roman dress and jacket that I would wear but I am pretty sure I can’t get into. Don’t want to spend hundreds so high street or Vinted unless it is something I can wear again.

Snart casual for me is usually jeans as the casual bit and then an evening style top to smarten them up.
What shoes are you going to wear?

It sounds as if you’re struggling to get your head around the change of tone? 😄

Smart casual means normal clothes, @Fishrepeating - so by their very nature they’re things most people wear repeatedly.

The easiest route would be to pick a blouse + a pair of trousers from somewhere like:

& Other Stories
Cos
Arket

It’s grooming and fashionable shoes, (ideally with some nod to a heel,) that will make it ‘evening’.

I was going to say dark trousers with a top. I usually reach for a silk one but places like M&S have loads of options on their web site. I’d add a necklace and earrings.

That is exactly it! My head says smart casual jeans and a nice top. But I also know that It’s a big do in a wedding venue (but not a wedding) with about 100 plus people most of whom I know were at the previous event which was very much sparkly dress territory! I will have a plus one and I need to advise him too! I think he could totally get away with jeans, open shirt and a jacket. If I diid the same I think I would be under dressed compared to others. I think I am in the smart trousers and fancy top area and , yes, need great shoes (which I don’t have) to pull the look together.

these are the sort of trousers I like day to day.
https://www.uniqlo.com/uk/en/products/E483042-000/00?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21281051743&gbraid=0AAAAADM0H6jU3AjpzwdAgyOV7L9AzBXuL&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6MWr_P6tkwMViphQBh2uthxpEAQYAiABEgKiTvD_BwE&colorDisplayCode=09&sizeDisplayCode=003
could they be dressed up with a nice top that doesn’t make me fatter and frumpier? I do have some Kurt Geiger black heels that might work - whatever I paid for these 15 years ago wasn’t enough as I wheel them out every time….

I'm the same height as you OP and I usually avoid cropped trousers, because I think they make me look even shorter and dumpier than I am (I'm also middle-aged and pear-shaped). Plus, I would argue that those ones from Uniqlo are casual, not smart casual.

I have many pairs of jeans, some of which are smart. Wide leg are very in fashion atm and with a pair of funky trainers, a nice top and some jewellery can definitely fit the 'smart casual' vibe.

I would wear a top that has something interesting about it. I like this Me + Em one which can be dressed up or down and looks quite useful.

Women's Navy Cheesecloth Intricate Detail Blouse | ME+EM https://share.google/We3pc5H4CsMCCcC3S
And then maybe navy wide leg long flowing trousers.

Wear whatever non trainer shoes you feel comfortable in. Nice jewellery.

Your partner could wear chinos, shirt and a blazer or jacket of some sort. No trainers or jeans for smart casual I would think. People may disagree.

One more thing on the casual/smart casual theme - I find anything I go to recently there are always a real range of outfits - lots of people just ignore the dress code and wear what they want. I've been to formal things where I've seen women in jumpsuits and a Christmas Eve drinks where the hostess was wearing a fabulous dress. So wear something you're comfortable and feel confident in - that's the main thing.

I think i would still wear the hobbs dress if you feel comfortable in it

@zurigo thanks for the view on the Yniqlo trousers. I think you are probably right. Oddly, I think I look ok in cropped trousers and the wide, pooling trousers are what make me look dumpy. And yes, @Nitgel I think women may still dress as though the code was smart so the Hobbs dress might be a bold choice but not totally weird.

Briefly - full length trousers. And are your shoes truly up to date?

Neither you nor your plus one should be in jeans.

At a recent, similar event I worried far too much about what to wear, bought multiple dresses which I returned, and got myself in a right old stew.
In the end, I had a word with myself and decided that what I was most comfortable in would make me more confident, and that confidence was the key!
I like wearing white blouses, so bought a really pretty one with long sleeves, that wasn’t too long or too thick. I paired it with some wide legged dark blue high waisted trousers from M and S. They were a bit long so wore some lowish wedge sandals which improved my posture ….. and confidence. A great hair wash, minimal but lovely make up and lots of silver bangles finished it off.
I felt comfortable and confident and could just enjoy the event. Simple advice but it worked for me.

I don’t think smart casual means jeans - I think jeans are simply casual.

A Hobbs dress sounds about right. Perhaps post a pic of it so posters can have a look and see if it fits the bill?

Smart casual as a dress code is post-Hobbs.

👩‍⚖️

I really don’t think those legacy brands cater for 2026 dress codes. M&S for instance does ‘casual’ and ‘work’ and ‘party’. They just don’t sell the sort of louche everyday luxe that Cos, Stories, Massimo Dutti, Arket, Mango do well at mid-High St level.

I quite like the wide collar blouses around at the moment. M&S has some good ones. Nautical is a theme right now. Navy is slimming!

I'd lean into the smart bit of smart/casual. If you've got a nice dress wear that

You could still wear the dress you have already bought. I don’t see what’s wrong with that if you like it.

if not I’d still stay on the smart side of smart casual so nice trousers and a top or a dress. I’d not wear jeans.

Totally agree. But speaking as an older woman (ok pensioner 😁), I gravitate to M&S and the like, fashion laggards as they are, because at least they offer some clothes that work for an older body.

I don't want halter necks, one-shoulder tops, or anything that might expose a bra from front, back or side. I'm tall, and my once-proud bosom not what it was, so I need a cut that doesn't skimp on cut or fabric. I don't mind showing my arms but I still want a sleeve of some kind.

The other reason is cost. I like a lot of ME+EM and Massimo Dutti but they've gone way beyond what's affordable for me. My occasional purchases from Vinted, eBay etc tend to end up in the charity shop.

I hope someone from M&S reads this and they start doing a load of ME+EM knock-offs.

Well I’m certainly not suggesting the OP should go to her event in a halter top. That would be a little extreme, for a smart casual work do, in March. (Though I daresay some of her colleagues may be in waistcoats and trousers.) But, as someone considerably older than her, I haven’t found any difficulty fitting into Cos / Mango / Arket. And, more to the point, I really don’t feel attracted to the clothes at the legacy brands. So I don’t wear them.

This is v outdated advice - smart dark jeans, good quality shirt and wool or linen jacket with brogues is the very definition of smart casual for a man

Yes to this.

I worked in an area that defined dress codes very clearly as we had multiple dress codes within the same week

Smart casual is no jeans, no trainers.

I'm built like you and weirdly have found palazzo trousers from M and S work brilliantly for my shape.

Straight or slightly flared dark jeans, a cami top or silky vest, blazer, kitten heel shoes or boots with a clutch is my go to for smart casual

@Bulbsbulbsbulbs I agree about the trousers. I think swishy fabric hides a lot!

Not at the events Ive ever been to. Smart casual doesn't usually include jeans. The OP doesn't want to make her partner feel awkward so just in case, better to err on the side of precautionary chinos I'd say.