'dressing up' vs. 'dressing down'

[Focker]

Business Idiom in English, Intermediate level

ESL/EFL Test #174 "Dressing expressions", question 2

To French people, the American idea of ......... looks like a homeless person who just finished a once-a-year trip to the laundromat.

(a) dressing down
(b) dressing up
(c) dressing gown
(d) dressing room

Business Idiom in English, Intermediate level

ESL/EFL Test #174 "Dressing expressions", answer 2

To French people, the American idea of dressing down looks like a homeless person who just finished a once-a-year trip to the laundromat.

Correct answer: (a) dressing down
_________________________

'dressing up' VS. 'dressing down'

Focker

[Conchita]

To dress up is to put on a costume: the children dressed up as policemen. It can also mean to wear formal clothes for a special occasion.

To dress down is to rub down (a horse). It also means to intentionally wear informal clothes. In colloquial speech, it means to beat or scold.