Informal

Again, this term has different meanings depending on the time of day of the event. Before 6:00 p.m., the gentleman may wear a sport coat, either light or dark, depending on the weather and the geographic location of the event, with a casual shirt and no tie.

When my husband and I had lunch at the Savoy hotel in London, he wore his sport coat with a knit shirt and dress slacks. I wore one of my St. John’s sweater and slack outfits.

We had been sight seeing in the morning, but we knew that we would have lunch at a nice place so we dressed up a little to be appropriately dressed when we stopped for lunch.

For an informal event after 6:00 p.m., the gentleman should wear a sport coat with a dress shirt, slacks and tie. The lady should also be appropriately dressed wearing a nice outfit.

My husband and I were having a cup of tea at our hotel in London before we had dinner and went to the theatre. Dale is wearing a sport coat with a button-down collared shirt, slacks and a tie while I am wearing my tan cashmere sweater and long skirt with a little mink hat and some funky jewelry.

When we are traveling abroad, we are very conscious that we are representing our country to everyone we meet. Not only do we dress nicely, but we are also even more careful than usual of our demeanor and manners when we travel.

These days, so many Americans dress like slobs at home and also when traveling, wearing their usual blue jeans and ‘T’ shirt outfits. They dress like slobs, and even act like slobs, abroad causing people in other countries to look down their noses at us and to think that we are a bunch of unwashed barbarians!!.

When I started writing about American etiquette, a German friend of mine said, “American etiquette, I didn’t think Americans knew any etiquette!” Needless to say, his comment only encouraged me in my endeavor to educate Americans about the culture and etiquette of our country that seems to have been forgotten or never taught to so many of our people.

My husband and I are determined to let international people know that there are some Americans who know how to dress and how to behave. Those of you who have taken the time to read this article, I hope will also take it upon yourself when traveling to other countries to give a good impression of our country and culture by dressing and behaving appropriately. Of course, doing the same at home isn’t a bad idea either!

For a summer informal event, even though it is held after 6:00 p.m., a gentleman may wear a sport coat, knit shirt, linen slacks and no tie as my husband is wearing here. This photo was taken the evening of the Chicago office’s party, which was a dinner cruise on Lake Michigan.

A lady may wear a summer dress, slack outfit or a blouse and skirt, as I am wearing in this photo. Summer attire is less formal than winter attire, even in an area such as Chicago.