The photos below show the diversity of dress at the Fourth of July BBQ we attend every year. Half of these friends get together for various celebrations throughout the year, every year, and will dress differently for the occasion. That said, we live in a beach community in the greater Los Angeles area, and the standard dress approach is as casual as one might imagine. What you don’t see is the broad support for everyone’s approach. Despite being dressier than anyone else there, I was actively encouraged and supported to keep dressing as myself. There was a constant flow of compliments and several women noting how I am motivating them to want to dress up more. Several of these folks do dress well for work (law firm partners, physicians, and the like), but have enjoyed not needed to dress up so much at a gathering of friends.