Dress code for the UK...
 

Hi there,
Can I dress comfortably and casually throughout the UK and not scream tourist with every step? I am especially curious about London. The reason I am asking is that when I traveled through Spain and Portugal I often felt a little underdressed in simple skirts or shorts, T-shirts and sandals - while many of the locals and European tourists were dressed up (read heels and designer ensembles)
While in Peru we were totally comfortable in hiking boots and simple comfortable clothes. (This made it easier to travel with a backpack that?s for sure)

We plan to travel all over - cities and small towns and with backpacks. Besides one good outfit for Tea, Dinner or a show - Do we need to pack as though we are dressing to impress? Don't get me wrong - I do have taste (no black socks with sandals here ) and I would say even our casual is conservative, neat and clean?. I just don't want to stick out like a sore thumbs or feel uncomfortable.

Thanks in advance.

Lilly, Lilly, Lilly . . .

Prepare yourself. I know M_Kingdom is just waiting to pounce and berate you soundly for your question.

Have patience. There are people on this board who are actually helpful. Even to new posters like myself.

Of course you do not have to dress to impress. At the tourist sights and attractions - anything goes.

Just wear or change into "nicer" when visiting "nicer" places.

Given the anything and everything other tourists will be wearing, you're not likely to stick out.

And, nearly everywhere you go, your patronage is more important than what you are wearing.

Hey,
I know that my question sounds shallow or silly but I can?t be the only one here that has ever felt out of place or regretted their packing job once they arrived in a particular city? If I had dressed as I did in Spain in Peru for example I would have, for the most part, looked way over dressed.
Oh and for the record - I am not afraid of M_Kingdom. I have been a long time reader and I don't understand why anyone even acknowledges M_Kingdom?s mean, spiteful and mostly ridiculous comments at all. I think that everyone here is entitled to their questions as well as their suggestions and advice. But why let this obviously crazy and horribly rude person contribute at all? Why should we all be made to feel stupid or embarrassed or at the very least annoyed.

?There is no such thing as a stupid question?!!!!!!

Lilly, I agree with you totally, and I say bravo to you.

If we don't ask, then how will we know?

From my one trip to the UK, I can tell you that I observed many, many, many exposed pierced navels -- not that I want to emulate that -- but my point is that I felt comfortable wearing clothes as if I were sightseeing or visiting a destination here in the US. And if you are recognized as a "tourist," (gasp, gasp, back of hand to the forehead with a flourish) just smile and say, "Yes, and I just love being here."

Thanks Loisde, That's all I wanted to know. I figured the UK might be a little more laid back that Spain was, just wanted to confirm.

L

lilly: Your question is not silly. IMO, Brits tend to dress in a bunch of categorizable ways: 1) totally frumpy, so nothing you wear will look any worse than what they are wearing; 2) totally freakish, so nothing you are wearing will look as odd as they do, and 3) pretty normal, so if you wear what you wear at home you'll probably fit right in. You might want to dress it up a bit beyond shorts and t-shirts and sandals because in Europe in general things are a tad more formal than in the States, but I wouldn't change my wardrobe because of a trip to England. It's not Peru, but still, I'd modify the hiking outfits a bit.

Not to worry ... a smile and a postive attitude is really all you need.

In the 1930's Mahatma Gandhi, to publicise his poilitical objectives, frequently appeared in Britain wearing little only a dhoti.

One or two people thought he might have been a little under-dressed (especially during the pre-global warming winters we had in those days).

But no visitor since then has attracted a nanosecond's attention for their clthing deficiencies.

There are a couple of exceptions to what I'm going to say (like the posh bits of Royal Ascot, or the £120 and over seats at the Royal Opera House). But only the sillier tourist rip-off tea places are likely to be relevant to the average visitor:

Those apart, the British dress code is to wear what you like - and under absolutely no circumstances to do anything that implies disapproval of how others are dressed. It is simply impossible for a visitor to feel underdressed.

And we don't ever dress up to go to the theatre.

Commentators on this board who say "in London you should...." are always describing their own tastes, rather than the norm in the world's most tolerant (and frumpish) city.

Our London hotel had a tennis court, so I decided that my white tennis shoes would also be my walking shoes on our trip last month. I wasn't about to take up valuable suitcase space with dark shoes just to appease the fashion police. But eventually, despite myself, I found myself wishing I had dark shoes. It's shallow, I know, but the feeling of being branded begins to seep under your skin. It's not quite like wearing an "I'm With Stupid" T-shirt, but on the verge.

>....the world's most tolerant (and frumpish) city. <

True. Our last trip, in the Notting Hill area, we found restaurants in the 20-35 GBP pp range where the staff wore Tee shirts.

One reason I love London is that it is indeed so unfashionable and frumpish. I can be myself! When I lived there as a graduate student, I fit right in with my penchant for the subfusc, roomy frocks, matte tights, and sensible shoes. As a tourist in London these days, I still find I fit right in.

It's back to our old friend "smart casual" isn't it?
Plain T shirts, skirts or lightweight trousers are fine. So are sandals. You'll see all sorts of badly dressed people in the UK, but why emulate them?
Personally, I think that baseball hats look stupid on people over 12 year old and that shorts should only be worn by people under 30 in age and waistline but that's just my opinion.
As for m-kingdom, he/she is pulling the collective leg. He/she is doing an Anne Robinson and each posting has a large wink attached. It's that British irony thing again.

Hi Lilly,
You need not worry too much.
Uk people are notoriously badly dressed.
The very worse thing is a 40-50 something man with a huge belly wearing his local football teams shirt !!! AAARRGGGHHH.
Sports track suit and expensive trainers are also frequently worn by these people and look terrible IMO.
If you want to look smart just wear comfortable smart casual and you won't look out of place.

Muck

Just got back from London, and I have to say I felt quite "overdressed" at times. I had the(my) obligatory black pants, shoes, and trench coat. I felt like I should attend the opera or something ;-)! Brought blue and black jeans and felt MUCH better wearing them. Went to see the Complete Shakespeare in said black pants sweaters and blazer and FELT much too overdressed, next play, I wore jeans!

Since you are a tourist, there's really not a big problem looking like one.

But anyway, people in the UK and Ireland have absolutely no idea how to dress in the summer. Men like to wear dark socks with shorts (usually too small) and trainers (sneakers/tennis shoes), often pulled up. Older men like to wear dress shoes with shorts. You'll also see men of all ages wearing those nasty short-sleeve dress shirts with a tie, and even go so far as to wear them with shorts (at least no tie).

Women here seem to handle summer a bit better.

People in the UK and Ireland seem to breathe a sigh of relief when autumn comes, and they can start to dress better again.

Re "flanneruk" and "ann41"

I could not agree more with you. What tourist fail to understand is that unless they talk the talk, and walk the walk, my apologies for using such a dreadful expression, they are always a tourist.

I am fluent in French and Spanish, yet when visiting France and Spain, I will be seen as a tourist, by the way I act, my accent, etc. Back home in London i can always tell American tourists as they are the polo shirts tucked into trousers brigade - trying too hard? As for "designer ensembles" only the more fashion concious and well heeled Londoners do this. If you are neither fashionable nore well heeled then why make an effort to pretend you are when in London? As two previous posters have said London is "frumpy".

Dressing up to go to a relatively casual place looks so much more naive than dressing down to go to a smart one.

Hopefully all these dressing dilemmas will disappear, can people really be so blind as to post the same question over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again? (how naff and American my style of writing is becoming)

We are planning a trip to London, Poole and Scotland in June. I have been told not to wear t-shirts, etc. with writing on them (i.e. Harley shirts, restaruants, bars, etc.) Is this true? I am most comfortable in jeans or shorts and t-shirts. (Even though I'm over 30, I still wear shorts!)

Yep, m_kingdom, you're right. You are definitely naff.

You called it, Loisde.

Dan - why would you not wear a t-shirt with writing on it? They are everywhere, usually with semi explicit logos such as "FCUK" and "Sex on the beach" etc.
Also, nobody should worry about looking like a tourist in Central London at any time because the whole place is packed with them. Even the Brits look like tourists when they go to London as they clutch their maps and get lost on the Underground!
Mind you, shorts really are a give-away (PLEASE don't wear white socks with sneakers/trainers)!! LOL

It's almost impossible to ube nderdressed in the UK. Unless you are planning to dine in posh restaurants or attend some sort of special occasions where one is expected to dress up, in which case you should dress appropriately.

Hi
As a mother of 2 very fashionably dressed children (aged 18 and 20) I'd advise anyone coming over here to pack jeans and then dress them 'up' or 'down' to cover most occasions. Jeans seem more popular than ever before but often teamed with quite dressy tops.
We go to America most years and I do notice that what is in the high street shops one year in the States tends to find its way over here the following season. For isntance last summer Abercrombie, American Eagle etc were full of 'vintage' and slogan T shirts. Wandering around shops yesterday with my daughter I noticed that the trendy high street clothes shops such as Top Shop are now full of exactly what I saw last year.
Also the colour this spring is lemon and yellow - racks of lemon T shirts, jumpers etc. Plus neat, close filling cardigans with tiny buttons.
Women's shoes seem to be 'pump' style or kitten heel with a slightly pointed toe, worn under jeans of course! But I do hear wedge sandals are making a comeback (circa mid 70's!). In the summer flip flops are very popular, often with beads and flowers on them - not the rubber plain ones!
M

Have you noticed lately how HRH Queen Elizabeth "dresses" much less those doughty relatives of hers..get real..you felt comofrtable in hiking boots in Paris???? then I rather doubt you'll feel the least bit uncomfortable in the UK. And what is this phobia about being "identified" as a "tourist"??? Are you ashamed of the fact that you ARE a tourist? Do you think American tourists look different from all the OTHER tourists that will be there? Do you have any EUROPEAN shoes???..if you don't then no matter what you wear they'll know you aren't from there..they'll also know it the minute you open your mouth and the "American" English comes rolling out. All this talk about being "proud to be an American"...sure you are!

jonjon,

Don't get me wrong. I am proud to be an American, but we will be travelling with another couple who can be a little paranoid at times. They claimed they were told this, but it didn't make sense to me. I felt like you did, as soon as we open our mouths, all will know we're "dreaded American tourists"!LOL

m_kingdom,

Are you sure you don't mean nalf instead of naff? I presume you were using this to describe your naivete?

No hard feelings on this end!

I definitely feel you can wear denim and be comfortable. I wore capri's with gym shoes and felt just fine. Now if I was in Paris I would never wear gym shoes. I think London is more casual than Paris.

Hi there, I love the candidness of this thread. All I can say is leave your British and English stereotypes at home. You know the thing; like the parody in the Simpsons of the gent sipping tea from a china cup in a bowler hat and suit. Ahem.... we are notoriously bad at style, unlike some of our European counterparts. Very sloppy most of us, I am afraid to say. But thats what is so cool. Most of us don't give anyone else a second glance if they are wearing trainers and tracksuit bottoms. So what. Another under-dressed bod. ;)

Flanneruk:

You never dress up to go to the theatre? (I was sort of looking forward to it.) I am not so concerned about looking like a tourist as I am with dressing appropriately for an event, just as I would be in the US.

Also, do you recommend any good places for tea? Is there any avoiding " the sillier tourist rip-off tea places", or do mean to imply that "tea places" are silly and touristy? Please excuse my naivete, but I really love tea and would like to have a good experience.

Thanks for all of your advice.

Panda:

No, of course I've never dressed up for the theatre. Have you? And if so, why? Do you dress up to go to football matches or to go to a lecture?

Do other people dress up? One or two, but they're mainly visitors (not necessarily Americans: visitors from some of the stuffier bits of Europe do sometimes, and visitors like the Milanese dress so sharply all the time you can't tell if they've dressed up or not)

I can'recommend anywhere for tea because it's not a "meal" I ever eat. Ask me about where to eat real meals real people eat - breakfast, lunch or supper, for example - and I'm all yours.

Yauatcha in Broadwick Street, for example, does better dim sum than I've ever had anywhere - including Hong Kong. Open all day Sat and Sun, so if you want a mid-afternoon meal, there's a chance of truly scrumptious stuff. And no impertinent dress code either.

Or for breakfast, the wonderful (but hideously ugly) Cock Tavern in Smithfield. Blood-stained white coats aren't de rigueur, but usually get you better service.

pandaschu, dress up for the theatre, many others do as I observed this past weekend in London but don't be surprised if more people are wearing jeans than dressier clothes. I dressed up and my husband wore a sport coat without a tie because the theatres may not have air conditioning and we felt perfectly insync. I admit I enjoy the fashion discussions because attitudes vary so. Wear what makes you comfortable which I know everyone says but the couple I saw eating breakfast at our hotel, she in her lime green palm tree print capris and he in his shorts and sandals looked better suited for the carribean beaches than Mayfair but it sure makes for great people watching. Enjoy the theatre however you may dress. Deborah

I honestly believe there is only ONE person in GB who follows a "dress code": HM Queen Elizabeth and we all know what that's about!
Enjoy your trip.

I have been to many parts of Europe numerous times and dress as I want. I dress in clean nice clothes but do wear shorts, t shirts (sometimes) and sneakers. I look like a tourist because I am one and really do not care who knows it.

My backpack, language, camera, and body-language are dead give-aways.

What many people travelling there do not consider is that the Europeans that they see wailking in dress clothing or designer wear are doing so because it is their work day just as I wear different clothing to my work.

If someone is paranoid about what they wear there is nothing anyone can suggest that will resolve this issue, but dressing for comfort is the most important cocnern especailly as it applies to shoes.

Be yourself and do not let the little things bother you. Have fun.

David J

David J, good point, of course comfort is an important factor when traveling and choice of where and how you travel should be the determining factor when packing for traveling. Backpacks are no longer just for the hiker/camping set, I saw many "suits" carrying backpacks in London as well as brochure packing tourists. As much as I would have loved to ramble around the Dartmoor area my travel gear did not include heavy hiking shoes but I was ready for any weather between 30 and 95 degrees :[ Comfort, comfort. Deborah

Thanks for the feedback. I live in a smaller city on the west coast of the US where people wear whatever they want- from pearls so surf shorts- to wherever they want.

I feel comfortable with my everyday traveling wardrobe (same as I wear here!), I was just specifically wondering about the theatre on a Saturday night. It sounds like there is a great deal of individual interpretation which I think is fantastic. Sounds like home! Thanks again.

david j sorry the :[ was supposed to be ;;)

pandaschu, we were at the theatre Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings and I couldn't tell a difference in dress weekend vs weekngiht. It will depend not so much on the night as possibly which play/musical you will be attending. Have fun. Deborah

<i>&quot;Not to worry ... a smile and a postive attitude is really all you need.&quot;</i>

And really comfortable walking shoes. :D

oh, and to dan-B-your question to MK2 regarding the word &quot;naff:&quot; &quot;Naff&quot; is British slang for &quot;tacky&quot; &quot;in poor taste&quot; or &quot;inferior quality.&quot;

so when someone says &quot;how naff&quot; they mean &quot;how tacky!&quot;

Please, please, please do not let the people that post here saying you need to dress like you're going to a wedding scare you. You'll be right at home in jeans and tennies regardless of anything that is posted here. Trust me. This is true of London, Rome, Venice, Florence and Paris from my personal experience. Be comfortable and don't overpack. I would leave the shorts behind and the weather in London usually doesn't get warm enough to justify them anyway.

Hi Lilly. It sounds as if you saw people more trendy on your travels than you felt you were dressed. Having having traveled frequently in England, I found that in big English cities, those who live and work there will dress differently than they do when they come to south Florida on vacation. So don't feel out of place because you don't dress as they do where they live - the reverse will be true and you would be kind to them regardless. We travel to discover what's different, sometimes we discover we're different! Having said all that, I've found mature English adults to be more conservatively dressed; young English adults to dress the gamut from nihilistic punk to stodgy banker styles. For myself, I don't wear shorts or T shirts when I travel unless I'm going to the beach or hiking, but that's me. Just move carefully when wearing your backpack in a crowd - being slugged by one can be painful. Have fun on your trip.