Is there a strict dress code at Harrods / Fortnum & Mason for entry? My friend who visited a couple of years back claims to have been stopped by an usher at Fortnum , since he was wearing shorts + a T shirt.

no, maybe your friend was talking about entering one of the tea rooms or restaurants?

harrods is a tacky tourist attraction rather than a store for well, healed british shoppers so it would be bad business if had a dress code. f&m as well is mostly tourists in at least the food hall.

as for whether you would feel out of place, you don't need to worry about this either. the people you will see in the queue for the london eye (shorts, trainers, t-shirts) will be the same people you see in harrods and f&m (to a lesser extent). if you venture deep in some of the departments and you start wanting to try things on, then you might get some condescending looks from staffif you aren't dressed correctly, but most people just go, look at the price tags, buy a harrods t-shirt or tote bag and return to minnesota to tell their friends that they saw a $2,000 dog collar at harrods. don't worry about how you dress.

"Harrods is a tacky tourist attraction rather than a store for well, healed british shoppers so it would be bad business if had a dress code"

You're talking rubbish, many "well, healed (sic) british shoppers" hold accounts there, and shop there too. The ground floor has a couple of areas selling Harrods branded merchandise, this is for tourists. However, the rest of the store has wonderful buyers, the clothes are well chosen, as is the furniture - a store does not dedicate a huge floor to furniture if it is only catering towards tourists, nor would it offer a pet department.

Fortnum's is what I'd describe as a charming, and well edited store. It's not large so the stock is chosen carefully, and with thought. As a result, everything has its place in the store. They haven't tried to go "trendy" either which is a good thing.

Now for dress codes, Harrods has one against shorts/vests/ripped jeans, however, this is exercised with discretion. And to be honest with you, there is no need to wear shorts in London in the summer. You're not on a beach, you're not at a swimming pool, it is not necessary to walk around a city looking like you're about to strip off and go for a swim. Sadly most people seem to treat Piccadilly as some beach in Benidorm.

That may have been true in the past, but Europe is a lot hotter than it used to be. And in any case, I don't see why a "need" must be demonstrated for shorts before they can be worn.

Most of us cancelled our Horrids accounts years ago. In our case, because of the forest of "Don't do this here" signs that appeared at its front door within a few seconds of the Phoney Pharaoh taking over control.

At the time, there were actually more such signs than at the entry to Communist China or Uzbekistan. Even the late German "Democratic" Republic greeted its visitors with more warmth.

Horrids DO have the impertinence to tell its customers how to dress. And the bouncers at its front doors operate the code as intelligently, sensitively and politely as bouncers at the Soho clip joints that are the Pharaoh's spiritual home.

Fortnum's, on the other hand, is still run by professional retailers who understand they're there to serve us. And in my experience, especially since the latest generation of Westons started asserting themselves, they're unfailingly helpful and civilised, however we choose to dress.

Unless you want to be amused by wall to wall tackiness, avoid the mausoleum on Knightsbridge altogether. London has too many real shops, run by the honest and competent, to waste time with this idiot's inanities.

Oh, thank you, mkingdom for starting my day off on a bright note! Your scathing diatribe against the poorly dressed is a grand accompaniment with my morning bowl of gin.

Why is it that certain people are not happy unless they've shown us all their hairy legs, cellulite, and vericose veins?

Frankly, I think we should take away the LOOK RIGHT/LOOK LEFT signs so these mindless, head-lolling-about-on-a-stick tourists get sideswiped by a bus.

Cheers,
Slimshady

Hi SV,

>My friend who visited a couple of years back claims to have been stopped by an usher at Fortnum , since he was wearing shorts + a T shirt. <

Perhaps, wearing shoes would have helped?

I believe he was wearing shoes; but being from LA, the overall appearence was too casual for the bouncer - according to him

MagicKingdom has a friend... isn't that nice. (Maybe they could go find a board where "common" folks aren't allowed.)

FYI. Harrod's also has a thing against backpacks. (It is interesting how when I was in Harrod's however, LOTS of the shoppers seemed to have British accents??)

I have witnessed people being stopped from going into Harrods because of their dress. Shorts or ripped jeans seemed to be the problem.

Why is it that certain people are not happy unless they've shown us all their hairy legs, cellulite, and vericose veins?

That is a basic American freedom - get used to it!

Harrod's also has a thing against backpacks

Of course they do; people with backpacks are not allowed in the store for obvious reasons. Sometimes an overzealous doorman will stop someone with a small backpack, but that is not who the rule is for.

And locals do shop at Harrods. I don't understand why Harrods always attracts such negative remarks here. If you want to go to a department store that doesn't cater so much for tourists, go to Peter Jones.

I think the only problems that you might have at Harrods is if you are wearing ripped jeans or shorts and I don't think they will allow you in with a backpack.

Locals must shop there, how else would they get plastic Harrods carrier bags to take around London and put their Tesco purchases in?

I'd guess -- Shorts and a t-shirt w/ some tacky printing on it.

Fortnum's doesn't usually pounce on visitors and kick them out like Harrods will. But if his attire was a yucky as I suspect he may have done something else to be barred.

You can take a backpack into Harrods, you just can't wear it on your back. It must be carried at your side. The reason for the rule is that people carrying huge backpacks on their backs have turned suddenly, injuring shoppers and knocking over merchandise. Aunt Pat told me that several people were injured years ago when a backpacker fell backward on an escalator, knocking over about six other shoppers.

What nonsense that only tourists shop at Harrods. That is like saying only tourists shop at Saks 5th Ave. or Bloomingdale's in Manhattan.

I worry about shops (or any other businesses) that have bouncers at the door and dress codes.

Huh? What kind of "worries" do you have? That same worry extends to bars which have bouncers or people who enforce dress codes?

The Knightsbridge Netto certainly does have a dress code. It is also enforced by Al-Fayed's goons with vigour.

But in any case give it a miss - it's just for tourists and coach parties of easily impressed northerners.

Yes, it extends to any establishment that sorts customers by attire, or feels the need to hire people just to keep out undesirables.

The best stores, clubs, and other establishments have no dress code, because there's no correlation between dress and patronage. And they have no bouncers because low life are disinclined to enter. A place that has a dress code and/or bouncers is thus a place that pretends to be something it is not and attracts low life in consequence.