sister|brother: "RESORT CASUAL" DOES NOT MEAN RESORT CASUAL

PROPER FOOTWEAR

FOR A DAY AT THE BEACH WITH YOUR BOSS

I recently received an invitation to attend a work meeting in Curacao a tiny tropical island just north of South America. The invitation was to spend a week with colleagues attending casual gatherings for a few hours each day followed by various island activities. The wardrobe it read was "Resort Casual". I immediately laughed when I read this.

The reason this is funny is because the term "Resort Casual" is completely and totally up for interpretation. "Business casual" for example means wear what you wear to work only dress it down. Take off your tie for example, or loose the blazer. "Resort Casual" however can't really be broken down that way. Think about it - you're at a resort, what do you normally wear? Shorts, a t-shirt, maybe some flip flops? Now if you're following the rules of logic, "resort casual" would mean that you take what you wear at a resort and dress it down. Show up to the meeting barefoot, shirtless and reeking of mai tais. I dare you. Not so much.

You get my drift. For a man, Resort casual means you wear khaki pants or chinos. That's it. You come in slacks you look like a square. Come in jeans and you're slacker. Wear shorts and your fired. Plain and simple. Any shirt but a t-shirt is more or less ok. Preferably wear an oxford with the sleeves rolled up or a crisp clean polo. The tricky part is footwear. I for one am not a loafer guy. I don't wear them because i frankly find them to be the most douchebaggy item of footwear on option. I am not Thurston Howell and I don't want to look like him. For this particular occasion however, there are really only two options, loafers or boat shoes. No socks should be worn, and color is permissible within reason.

This does not work.

So, with the task of finding shoes appropriate for a day at the beach with my boss, I began my search for the right completely un-sensible shoe for the beach that would have me completely nauseated. Combing through what seemed like a billion hideous options, I found a few surprisingly cool options. Check them out below - and if you find yourself in a similar situation feel free to contact me for advice. I feel your pain.

- brother