What I wore yesterday...to a wedding.

I wore this outfit yesterday afternoon/evening. It was for a solemnisation ceremony that started at around 530pm which continued with a dinner later in the evening. It was a momentous occasion for the newly weds and according to the invite we were supposed to be dressed 'Smart Casual'. 

Why do we dress up....

..or more specifically, why do I dress up these days?

I don't really need to as my work these days are rarely about corporate board meetings or trying to impress bankers or government servants. And one has to note that here in Malaysia the office attire is business casual. I.e. a long sleeved shirt and a pair of trousers with or without a necktie depending on how conservative your office is. Occasionally the senior management would be seen with a blazer or a suit jacket (that almost never is used with the suit). Aside from that, you could come in short sleeve shirts and khakis for all the management cares as long as you come to work.

Some Colour to Brighten Up Work Attire

A friend took this photo of the lower part of my ensemble recently. He was slightly taken aback by the many colours I had on me. My dress shirt was a mid-blue shade, grey slacks, green socks, and chocolate brown shoes with blue shoelaces.

The shoes are branded Andrea Cammelli, Firenze. These are 6 year old pair of cheap Italian shoes - thin glove-like leather which the Italians seem to like putting on their cheaper shoes (but extremely comfortable from the start as you don't need to 'run them in', slightly shoddy stitching, stuck on sole that I've added thin Vibram rubber soles and a Vibram re-heel. These were  bought from CK Tangs during its first sale (when it first re-opened in Malaysia some years ago) for an incredible RM150.00. Tangs are one of those stores that stock Italian shoes, usually from those smaller shoe makers that Italy has thousands of. Sometimes, gems could be found even if they are not the usual brands most of us hear of.

The choice of green socks made me seem a little Irish (whereas I am as Asian as most of the people in this parts of Kuala Lumpur) as I reminded him of a Leprechaun. Don't mind actually as Leprechauns have a pot of gold lying somewhere around. Actually the only thing Irish around my office would be Guinness Stout sold in nearby shops.

Anyway, I suppose it IS a little distracting if you work in a total business environment and everything is all protocol and what-not. But I work in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur where things are a little less formal and I dress to please myself. So expect purple, orange, red, maroon, green, blue coloured socks and a lot of patina in my shoes. And shoelaces of various colours too!