Attire
 

I'll be travling to London this February and was wondering what type of attire I should bring. I realize sweaters, etc. But do they dress nicer in London as opposed to the US? Are jeans acceptable?

Yes, jeans are acceptable in most places except trendier restaurants. We usually wear layers since you never know about the weather. We don't wear tennis shoes but wear a nice walking shoe that goes with most outfits. If you dress in layers you can take a lighter coat or jacket. I don't necessarily think they dress any nicer in London than in the U.S. Don't forget your umbrella!

We absolutely never dress "nicer" than the US: as a general rule, we almost always dress a great deal less formally than Americans.

The general rule (one or two self-conscious restaurants, the very expensive - over £120 - seats at Covent Garden, but nowhere else,and a very few formal occasions apart) is to wear what you feel comfortable in. So nothing is "acceptable" or "acceptable": there simply isn't anyone to determine acceptability.

And you'll almost certainly be surprised at how badly we all dress anyway.

Offhand, the only exception I can think of to the "always scruffier in England" rule is if you're invited to the Director's Box at a football match. Some sharper observers might be able to suggest some other exceptions.

I guess that means if you dress too "nicely" in London then they'll know for certain you are a (gasp)......TOURIST!!!!!

I guess the thing I don't get about posts like this is that I never know what one means when talking about how people dress in the US either. On any given night in any city in the US in any restaurant or theatre, for example, some will be in jeans, some will be formally dressed, some will be very casual, some will look nice, and some will look like slobs. It's that simple. And those "rules" won't change in London or Paris or Rome or anywhere else in the world. I have yet to find a city in the world where the standard of "dress" is even remotely uniform among its inhabitants.

For god's sake we have the same question twice from two different people, see my other comments. Please get a life and worry about other things, what is "nicer"? If you hate formal, dress suits are not "nicer", if you are a punk, ripped jeans and Viv Westwood is "nicer" so think, be specific and grow up.

Have you ever seen the way the Queen of England dresses? I think they dress worse in England, and not just the queen.

For example, I had box seats at Royal Albert Hall for a concert last summer, and it was shared with an English couple (maybe last 30s or so) and the guy wore white cheap athletic shoes! With some ugly pants and shirt, but it was the shoes I couldn't believe, they weren't even new or one of those brands that is more like walking shoes. So, I would not say they dress "nicer" there.

People dress how they will, the Albert Hall, unless for a gala function, is not smart. Nice is a perception. I don't particularly like a certain scent for myself I don't regard it as nice, but some people do.

DRESSCODES IN PUBLIC PLACES DO NOT EXIST!!!!!!!!

oooohhhhh, I hate it when people yell.

Bill

this will probably be my first and last post on the overall issue of dress in europe...

we go europe at least twice a year. we don't wear fanny packs or cross trainers or jeans. we dress like we do for ordinary business just like the rest of londoners or parisians or fiorentini dress on a daily basis.

this has always seemed to me a particularly stupid topic given the general phobia about "looking american/touristy. they'll make you first word outta mouth (and i have a very good florentine accent).

the point here is: don't go out of your way to buy new shoes if you've got some which work perfectly well in the "real" world at home. hell, they're already broken in.

the other point is: wear clothing that works in a business situation (at night) and try cordaroy and chino...but no denim...for daytime.

the real gauge is how much do you really walk or how do you dress at home?

I agree - don't wear denim jeans. They are heavy, miserable to pack, and take forever to dry. I guess I'm old fashioned, but I'm bugged by people who wear jeans to the opera, a nice restaurant, etc. Take some pride. There are very few people who can pull off the "I am cool in jeans" look.

JonJon:

No, Dress formally (or as you put it "nicely") and the one Londoner in a million who notices at all will think you're dressed formally. For which there are hundreds of explanations: you might be going to work, coming back from court, going for a visa interview at the embassy of a country obsessed with the clothes people wear... Hundreds.

Brits dress to please themselves, and it's no damn business of anyone else what they wear. Nor is it any of their damn business what others wear. Most tourists in London follow the same convention.

Try environmental scanning. Next trip to London, visit Victoria station about 8:30 AM. Take pictures of the crowds on their way to work. Next, visit Covent Gardens and take pictures of the tourists, try some more shots at the British Museum. Now! study them..what are people wearing?

Reba,
wear what you feel comfortable in. Wear what you would wear at home in the US if you were visiting a large city. As it will be February, make sure you wear layers...so you can peel off/put on depending on the weather.
I travelled in the tube early one Monday morning with Rupert and his girlfriend Emily...they were both beautifully dressed in evening wear, having raged all night! No one gave them a side way glance.
Just have a lovely holiday and don't sweat the small stuff.

I lived in London for 20 years and a lot of places DO have dress codes though not as strict as they used to be. This Summer for example we were not allowed into a Luton club which was not in the least bit exclusive just because one of our party was wearing what they called "trainers" (the fact that they happened to be a very smart pair of Prada trainers didn't seem to matter). So it all depends where you go and who's at the door.

I am well aware places in London "DO" have dresscodes, as I have pointed out on several occasions, but public places do not. I admire the audacity of a venue in Luton having a dresscode, grow up, it's Luton!

I just wanted to say that I don't understand the negative reaction to this question. I think it's a sign of respect to ask things like this before visiting another country the first time around. And I REALLY don't get people who come onto these boards just to ridicule the questions and tell people to get a life. What the heck is the board for, anyway, if not to ask questions like this?

Here, here, rainysunday. This is an ADVICE forum. Not everyone lives in a large metropolitan city and knows how to dress for one. What may be appropriate for the Walmart in Little Rock may not be appropriate for a London venue.

There are those who don't want to look like "home-spuns." This is their right.

I suggest, Reba, that you dress appropriately for your activity. Sightseeing?? Wear jeans and trainers. Going to the theatre?? Wear slacks and shoes. Going to Gordon Ramsay for your tucker?? Dress to the nines.

But, darling, you don't have to run out and buy a Balenciaga dress to fit in. That would be daft.

You should dress smart casually for Gordon Ramsay's eateries, there's nothing worse than being overdressed. Overdressing is more ignorant than underdressing, whereas one shows a rebellious arrogance, the other just demonstrates ones green attitudes.
If you're doing touristy things dress how you would at home, if you're going out in the evening dress as if you were going out in the evening.

It is so simple, really it is. This forum is for advice, and opinions related to travel, not one for public dresscodes (an oxymoron?) in Paris, London, Rome, any city in the whole universe people have no collective style. So for all Americans and others from small/big/non existent towns wear what you want in public walk around in your underwear if you so wish, Red Ken won't throw you out the city, and that is a promise.

I think reading all of these posts on Fodor's about how to dress when one travels has upgraded what I wear at home! I now think more about how I look to others when I go out and find I'm a bit more critical of what others are wearing in public here at home.

I no longer go to WalMart in sweat pants and quit wearing them anywhere other than at home. The old oversized TShirts also stay at home. I always think "If someone from another country were visiting San Antonio (which is sometimes known as a toursit spot) and saw me, would they think all Americans dress like slobs?"

So, now, when I travel, I do wear things I would be wearing at home (except for the blue jeans but that's because of the weight and drying time which don't matter at home). And I've quite wearing white tennis shoes except for exercise but then I have more comfortable shoes (Merrells and Clarks) than my tennies anyway. :)