4 Casual Elegant Outfits

casual elegant outfits

You’re probably thinking to yourself, 'how can an outfit be casual and elegant?' As the modern woman juggles more and more responsibilities, day-to-night outfits look more like exercise-to-work-to-night outfits. Of course, you can change your gym clothes before heading to the office and change your work clothes before going out at night, but what if you didn’t have to? With casual elegant outfits, you can dress elegantly while still feeling comfortable and casual.

So, let’s recap a few reasons why casual elegant outfits work for women:

  • When you want to dress elegantly, you can still wear casual outfits and comfortable pieces

  • You can repurpose what you’re wearing from morning to night

  • You can follow your work’s dress code and wear classy outfits without sacrificing your casual style

  • Wearing casual pieces with dressy ones is a trendy business-casual look

What is casual elegant dress code?

Elegant casual clothing ensures that you look sophisticated and classy for work or a fancy occasion while wearing a few casual pieces. The perfect example of a casual elegant look is black leggings with a blazer. You don’t need to wear chinos or pleated pants. You can even wear a t-shirt under your blazer instead of a button-down. These simple swaps can allow you to wear casual wear mixed with a few dressy pieces. You can be laid-back while still looking professional and elevated.

How can I dress for a casual elegant dress code?

By combining classy pieces with casual basic pieces, you can easily achieve a casual elegant look. For example, you can wear a tank top (casual) under a blazer (elegant) instead of a collared shirt (elegant). You can wear dark skinny jeans (casual) instead of slacks (elegant). In today’s workplace and social functions, this is totally acceptable. You don’t need to look ‘stiff’ to follow a sophisticated dress code.

Ahead, we’ve curated five outfit ideas with Back2Basics clothing for women who want to achieve a casually elegant style.

1: Black Leggings with a Tank Top and Blazer

casual leggings outfit

This leggings and blazer look is a classic. In 2021, Margot Robbie wore a pair of red leggings with a matching red blazer on a press tour for Suicide Squad 2. Her laid-back but polished ensemble is the perfect example of a casual elegant outfit. In lieu of dress pants, she wore something that was comfy but still stylish. The deep v-neck blazer showed off a dainty gold necklace. She could have worn a tank top under but her choice of going bare under is smart casual.

At Back2Basics we have tons of fancy leggings that double as workout clothes and dress pants. If you want to look casually elegant for a work event or after-work drinks, we suggest wearing these shiny black leggings from Heroine Sport paired with a blazer of your choice and Thrive’s black racer-back tank top underneath. Top off the look with an elegant gold necklace and short heels.

Shop the shiny black leggings here.

Shop the racerback tank top here.

2: Jeans Outfit with Blazer and Knee High Boots

 EDWARD BERTHELOT/GETTY IMAGES

                               EDWARD BERTHELOT/GETTY IMAGES

You’ve probably seen this fall outfit before in the streets of New York, at office parties, and girl’s night out. It’s seriously a classic! All you need is dark skinny jeans from your closet, a blazer of your choice, and knee high boots. This dressy casual look is dressy because of the blazer but casual because of the jeans and t-shirt underneath. To turn this look into elegant sans casual, you can pair the blazer with matching dress pants and heels. Swap the t-shirt with a silky tank top underneath. Date night is the perfect time to pull off this look or a holiday office party. Wear it during the day and freshen up before wearing it again at night.

Shop Pistola dark cropped jeans here.

Shop Monrow vintage tee here.

3: Sweater Over a Midi Dress

midi dress and sweater outfit

 Katiesbliss.com

This outfit choice might not seem like your typical ‘casual elegant’ ensemble, but with a fancy midi dress (or midi skirt) and casual sweater, you’ve got yourself a LEWK. You won’t have to wear a shirt underneath your sweater because the top of the dress will act as a tank top. We suggest wearing a sleeveless midi dress with hems below the knee so you won’t be too hot with a sweater on top. If it’s really cold, you can wear stockings, too.

For this outfit to work, the midi dress should be tight and look like you’re wearing a skirt. What are the perks of wearing a dress underneath a sweater versus a skirt and sweater? For one, when you lift your hands up, the dress will cover your midriff, so cropped sweaters are totally fair game. Secondly, it will keep you extra warm and you won’t have to add a tank top underneath — the look is easier and way more seamless.

Shop this Varley Gracie Knit sweater here.

4: Polo Shirt With Fancy Pants

polo sweater

Ladyaddict.com 

By now you’ve probably got the formula down down pat. Casual piece + Fancy piece = casual elegant outfit. Let’s build the look together, shall we? First, we’ll take a polo shirt. This short sleeve top in sweater material looks sporty but becomes fancy with a collar. The collared shirt isn’t a full button down shirt ‚— it only has one button at the collar — which makes it less stiff. Pair it with any chinos, slacks, or even silk pants. Once you start classifying polo shirts as ‘fancy,’ you’ll never look back. To turn polo shirts into a casual-wear outfit, you can pair it with shorts.

Shop the Monrow polo sweater t-shirt here.

Want to see more casual clothing that you can use as part of casual elegant outfits? Look no further than Back2Basicsbyjm.com. We sell high quality basic clothing and athletic-wear that you can wear every day of the week — and even at night with our helpful tips above. For more about Back2Basics, check out our Instagram here. We also have a store in Oakhurst, New Jersey where you can try on your favorite looks and bring them home right away.