# Men's dress levels vis-a-vie women's **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 21, 2009, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-dress-levels-vis-a-vie-womens/511002 "2009-09-21T21:49:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-dress-levels-vis-a-vie-womens/511002/21 "2009-09-24T19:01:16Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > 1. Are khakis dressier than black slacks? > 2. What do men wear with sports jacket? > 3. Can men wear jeans at higher levels than women? 1.) Slacks of any kind are dressier than khakis. Khakis are exactly one step above jeans. 2.) Men can wear anything with sports jackets. 3.) Women and men can wear exactly the same things with jeans. The key to dress level is the combination of clothes and accessories. So, if you can wear jeans with a sports jacket, she can wear jeans with a blazer. ---
**Author:** ![fubbleskag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fubbleskag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fubbleskag)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-dress-levels-vis-a-vie-womens/511002/22 "2009-09-24T19:03:51Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Also, every time I see this thread title, the pedant in me screams in horror. touche ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-dress-levels-vis-a-vie-womens/511002/23 "2009-09-24T19:50:18Z")
My husband and I went to Fogo de Chao here in Baltimore. Neither of us wore jeans, but many diners did. There were also many diners in very casual clothes. (shorts and flip flops, baseball hats on in the restaurant…) When I was on jury duty recently there were jurors in sweats, and jeans. I can’t necessarily add anything about the disparity between levels of dress between the genders, but will comment that I think all of our levels of dress have slipped. Sometimes it makes me wish I’d been born in a different era. ---
**Author:** ![LunarPlexus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@LunarPlexus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LunarPlexus)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-dress-levels-vis-a-vie-womens/511002/24 "2009-09-24T20:29:42Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Turns out, I misunderstood the khakis vs slacks argument. She was saying that khakis equal a skirt, which falls in many different places on the ladder. OTOH, if she wears a skirt on a ladder, you may not even get to the restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2009, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-dress-levels-vis-a-vie-womens/511002/25 "2009-09-25T09:01:54Z")
Great thing about a blazer, it can make most things seem more dressy. I have gotten into places which are strictly no jeans by wearing a blazer with a collered shirt and jeans. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2009, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-dress-levels-vis-a-vie-womens/511002/26 "2009-09-25T17:58:00Z")
I use this trick to get away with t-shirts at work: I wear them under blazers, sweaters, or collared shirts. ---
**Author:** ![Sue\_Duhnym](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@Sue\_Duhnym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sue_Duhnym)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-dress-levels-vis-a-vie-womens/511002/27 "2009-09-27T02:40:00Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > 1. Are khakis dressier than black slacks? > 2. What do men wear with sports jacket? > 3. Can men wear jeans at higher levels than women? 1. No. Khakis are between jeans and black slacks. 2. Depends on the sport coat and your profession. My husband wears black slacks and a dress shirt with French cuffs (no tie) with his sport coats. His father, a professor, wears khakis and a chambray button-down with his. 3. No. Women can wear jeans at a higher level than men can, _if they’re the right kind of jeans._ They must be a very dark wash, with no fading or tears, worn with heels and a slinky top. They also have to fit perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-dress-levels-vis-a-vie-womens/511002/28 "2009-09-28T19:02:02Z")
> [@Sue\_Duhnym](#): > > 1. No. Women can wear jeans at a higher level than men can, _if they’re the right kind of jeans._ They must be a very dark wash, with no fading or tears, worn with heels and a slinky top. They also have to fit perfectly. Wearing a trouser jean could also help jack the level up. ---
**Author:** ![Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speak_to_me_Maddie)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-dress-levels-vis-a-vie-womens/511002/29 "2009-09-28T20:41:44Z")
IMHO: Men’s dress goes in order lowest to highest: 1. jeans & cargos 2. dark “dress” jeans 3. pressed khakis 4. casual slacks of any color 5. dark slacks and suit pants 6. black dress pants & tux pants One can wear a sport coat or suit coat with #2-6 according to the style of coat and it kicks the level up a notch, though with #6 it is best to wear the matching coat so as not to look like the help. I eat at _Fogo_ often and your wife would have been fine in a nice pair of jeans and a nice top. Of course I live in Texas and the jeans with a sport coat thing is common for men and is typically accepted at the same level as, say, khakis and a blue blazer. Unless you were wearing a sport coat with your jeans I’d say your wife would have been at the same level of dress as you if she wore a nice looking top. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-dress-levels-vis-a-vie-womens/511002.md?page=1)