What to wear to Mary Poppins?
 

Hello all!

I am thrilled to say that my family and I will be experiencing our very first "real" theatre performance in a few weeks. We have Wednesday evening tickets to Mary Poppins in London! My sons are 12,10,and 7. What should we wear?? The kids and the parents? Please be specific, I have no experience to know!
Thanks so much!
Katy

If my own previous London theatre experiences are ANY example I think you'll end up seeing a wide variety of dress. Don't go expecting that everyone will be "dressed up" with men in coats and ties, etc.

I'll leave it to others with children to make specific suggestions for them.

Regardless of what you wear i doubt you'll feel "underdressed" and no this has nothing to do with what a bunch of folks EXPECT when they go to the theatre and everything to do with what ACTUALLY HAPPENS LOL.

Enjoy the show.

There is no real dress code for London theatres.
I think that our old friend smart casual is the answer.
You don't really need to dress up.
For mum, a simple non-dressy dress, or a skirt/trousers with a nice top.
The boys just need to look neat and tidy.
I would avoid jeans or silly tee-shirts although no doubt you may see some in the theatre.
You will get people pouring scorn on me and telling you to just wear what is comfortable, but it's good to make a little occasion of it, especially if it's your first visit to a theatre.
I hope that you will all have a great evening.

Wear anything you wish....I usually go in a clean tee shirt, blue jeans and sneakers and don't feel one bit underdressed. I am sure your sons will be most comfortable going that way...of course you must also consider where you're going to eat but believe me I've yet to be thrown out a restaurant yet (although I don't go to top of the line restaurants few of which are worth it in London) dressing like I do (nor in New York either).

If it was the sing-a-long version then dressing as a nun, Nazi or a brown paper package all tied up with string would be de rigueur.

I think you'd feel very out of place doing that at Mary Poppins, Alan.

As I said earlier, KatieBelle..you'll see everything and possibly a few things you'd rather not. IMO "the show" should be on the stage, not in the seat next to you.

Ignore me, I'm thinking of SoM

Dress casually and bring an umbrella w/ a parrot head top!

I'm pouring scorn on Miss Prism.

Forget about "smart casual", and forget even more about dolling your children up.

First, we don't do dress codes here.
Second, if you want to put your children off going to theatres for life, getting them dressed up is a pretty good way to start. If they're led to believe there's some kind of rule you've got to adhere to before being allowed into a musical, what on earth are they going to think they've got to do to be magnanimously tolerated in a theatre where there's a real play going on?

No-one had any such fanciful notions in Shakespeare's or Socrates' eras. Maybe that's why people went and watched their plays.

KatyBelle: It is really up to you entirely. You say this is your family's first theatre experience - so if you want to make it a bit of a "special night" then maybe dress up just a little bit. Collared shirts for the kids, dress slacks or skirt for you w/ a silk blouse and pashmina, jacket for your husband -- but no need for anything fancier.

But, you will see absolutely everything from couples celebrating and dressed to the nines to torn jeans/T-shirts, and crocs. Well maybe not the crocs so much :)

So don't over think it too much - just wear what you want to make it easier on Mom . . . .

Oh dear, flanneruk! I always read your posts with interest, and usually agree totally with what you say, but SOCRATES' plays??? You meant to write Sophocles, didn't you??

I bet that people put on a clean chiton to watch a Sophocles play and the hetairas would have been dressed up to the nines.

The show is on the stage only! Fiddlesticks.
What on earth is wrong with looking nice?
I like being surrounded by well-groomed nicely-dressed people when I go to the theatre.

AlanRow isn't mad - there is a sing along Mary Poppins that people dress up for - It's at the Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square.

Yes, but the nuns, nazis, and brown paper packages are from Sound of Music, not Mary Poppins.

Is it true that you "don't do" dress codes in London? When I lived there, people made very clear class distinctions based on dress. One man told me that he would never wear a pinstriped suit, as that would be "putting on airs" for a person in his position (salesman). Pinstripes were reserved for professionals.

Another time I heard a man exclaim "Oh, God, he's got his stripes on!" as a mutual friend from the Foreign Office hove into view, encased in Gieves and Hawkes, and sporting a Briggs umbrella. His alarm apparently based on his having brought a couple of office girls along.

This leads me to suspect that dress plays rather a larger role in London tha Flanner's post would suggest.

...while dress may play a role in London society it certainly has absolutely nothing to do with how a tourist dresses to attend the theatre!

Also I am quite well groomed in my clean t-shirt, clean intact blue jeans and white sneakers I might add (although on occassion I might substitute a knit shirt for the t shirt, a pair of dark pants for the blue jeans and a pair of black shoes for the sneakers but that's as far as I'm willing to go!)

xyz123..what a flirt you have turned out to be!

MissPrism...if you REALLY want to go to a theatre where "the show" isn't just on the stage, I can recommend a couple in London...bring a torch...

>>the hetairas would have been dressed up to the nines<<

Yes, but they were there to be on show themselves, for their own professional purposes.

In situations like this, I remember the old tale of the little girl who fussed about what to wear to someone else's birthday party and was crushingly told "Don't worry, dear, no-one's going to be looking at you anyway". (Somehow I feel sure that would have happened to the original Miss Prism - quite a lot!)

If the children feel like dressing up because it's a special occasion, let them, but there's really no need.

Is it true that you "don't do" dress codes in London? When I lived there, people made very clear class distinctions based on dress. One man told me that he would never wear a pinstriped suit, as that would be "putting on airs" for a person in his position (salesman). Pinstripes were reserved for professionals.

Was this in 1940? Did he tug his forelock and call you 'guv'nor' as well? Otherwise he was pulling your leg.

Katey,

Have a lovely trip and I know you'll really enjoy Mary Poppins.

As others have said, if you want to dress up to make an occassion if it, you can. If you just want to wear casual clothing, you can.

Just try and get back to the hotel to freshen up a little after you day's sightseeing and off you go!

Totally agree with Miss Prism. After all, she wasn't recommending ball gowns & black tie.

Following some of the logic here, why not just wear your pajamas?

The idea of a dress code is that everyone wears the same, so that social and class distinctions are lost. If there is no dress code, you wear what you like, and show the sort of person you are. Dress up, and you may be thought to have an exaggerated idea of your own importance. Dress down, and you show you have no sense of occasion.

If this is your first visit to a "real" theatre, then you should make an occasion of it for yourselves by wearing something special but comfortable. You will be better dressed than many, but by not going over the top, you will show how at ease you are in sophisticated society.

There has been a big fuss in the right-wing UK press recently about Gordon Brown, Prime Minister in waiting, and his refusal to wear white tie to a posh dinner. Personally, I am not sure why I keep a suit or two in the wardrobe, as I only wear one for funerals. For virtually any other occasion, it would seem far too formal.

you go to a theatre to be entertained. You pay for that by purchasing tickets. That's the deal. There is no deal on how you dress.

What you wear is down to you, and it is to be hoped that you have a little consideration for others -- a modicum of decency, nothing smelly, no big hat to obstruct other people's view. That's about it.

Oh, and please do not unwrap sweets while the show is on: I hate the crinkling of cellophane.

Nona1 wrote:

"Was this in 1940? "

1987. And I'm pretty sure he believed what he said to be true.

ha ha ha, no, he was definately pulling your leg.

I don't think so. The circumstances under which the interview took place would have made it extremely unwise of him to play games.

Then he had an extremely strange opinion.Don't take one person's view as necessarily relating to reality.

Even way back in 1987 pin-stripe suits were worn to work by all sorts - as long as their job required a suit of course. I don't think they were particularly fashionable though, seen as a bit fuddy-duddy, not worn as much as today. Perhaps that is more his intended meaning - other people didn't WANT to wear them as much as the stuffier 'professions'. What I remember of 1980s suits then it was double-breasted baggy chino trousered wide-lapelled plain patterned ones that most younger/trendier men were wearing.

Honestly, to believe that you are not 'good enough' or 'getting above yourself' to wear is suit is quite a peculiar thing.

"Then he had an extremely strange opinion."

That is certainly possible.