Recently, I was with a client and noticed her glasses kept slipping off her nose. She was constantly pushing them up. I know this problem intimately because I have a flat nose with a very low bridge. Eyewear choices were limited for me because my eyewear needs to have nose pads that can be pinched to keep the glasses from sliding. Warby Parker just introduced a new line of eyewear so people like me can wear glasses without nose pads.

Not long ago, a major US airline stopped two young girls from boarding their plane because their attire did not conform to airline policy. The problem was their leggings.   There was some back and forth on social media, but libertarian impulses tended to dominate and the airline took the brunt of the social verdict. But every once in a while we should use an incident like this to reflect a bit more broadly on how far we have come, and where we are heading in the realm of casual dress. My answer to the first question is that we have come a bit too far and a bit too fast. For example, the time-worn rule of thumb, “No shirt, no shoes, no service” has been up for grabs for many years.   What qualifies as a shirt or blouse these days is not much more than a couple of square feet of strategically stitched fabric. What qualifies as shoes would be called a thong on any other part of the body. It will be difficult or impossible to reverse the trends we have experienced over the 30 to 40 years that casual dress has taken hold in the professional environment. But each of us can do our part to hold the line against future erosion of dignity and good taste.

A recent Tribune article asked if a man can wear gym shoes with a suit. In celebrity magazines, we see actor’s wearing funky shoes with suits and tuxedos. If you are in the fashion or marketing industry or a billionaire why not? For everyone else, if you want to be taken seriously and not be the focus of conversations about your shoes, stick with traditional footwear. For pizazz, mix it up with a different color leather (not red!).

I am continually amazed and reminded that timing is everything on style choices. A recent magazine featured the latest styles. They included a patterned top with a printed bottom (both for men and women).

This reminded me of the first store-bought blouse I wore (orange and yellow flowers) with a plaid blue and red skirt. I was so proud of my ensemble until I was told you never wear two different patterns or colors not in the same color circle together.  Maybe that is why I wear only solids to this day! Seriously, today, what I find most interesting is that it seems that anything goes. Still, I believe style should always contain an element of elegance.

It is interesting to see flip flops become somewhat of a main footwear choice on Main Street. Flip flops are designed now in every material from rubber to upscale leather. Recently, at a 5-Star restaurant for dinner, I was disappointed to see men wearing leather flip flops! It was a dinner not lunch. There are so many cool casual shoes that resorting to flip flops is not necessary.

Recently, I was traveling on a combination of work and vacation time. Several parts of the trip went well. The travel itself was easy and many resources were available to help navigate between work and pleasure. However, when the weather did not cooperate it became challenging leading to lesson number one.

Lesson number one is to never make a decision in haste. For example, take my hasty haircut adventure. The weather plays tricks on my hair. It causes it to lose body resulting in a very flat and straight appearance. So, instead of investing more in products, like a Paul Mitchell Daily Body Boost, I went and got a haircut.

Never go to a salon thinking you will get lucky on a haircut! In my case, what was supposed to be a slight trim turned out as a very bad cut. It took my own hair stylist, who used her magic scissors, to make the cut work. Even with her skills, it will still take a few months, if I am lucky, to get my hair style back to normal. Sub-lesson one…never get an out-of-town haircut unless it’s from a stylist you know or received a reliable recommendation on.