How to dress in Vegas
 

Hi all.

I have what is probably a ridiculous question, but please forgive me as I'm going to ask it anyway.

Taking my Wife down to Vegas for her birthday this weekend, staying at the Aria.

As this is the first ever Vegas trip for either of us, I'm unsure how to properly pack for the trip. I work in a business casual environment (e.g. I wear a suit, but no tie, to the office every day).

Is that the appropriate dress for dinner and attending shows, or should I be considering something even more casual - e.g. sport coat and dark jeans? I'd rather be overdressed than underdressed, if that makes sense.

What about for walking around the strip/hotels during the day?

All advice very much appreciated.

Your version of "even more casual", "sport coat and dark jeans", will leave you better dressed than the majority of people in Vegas in all but the very nicest clubs, theaters and restaurants--I'm afraid you'll be appalled at what people will wear! You will look very nice, is my point.

I would suggest something a bit more casual still for walking around during the day.

Las Vegas is an extremely casual environment. However, there's also a huge range in the way people dress. What this translates to: with the exception of a few of the super hot and trendy dance clubs, dress codes are lax and even then tend not to be enforced. No place on the Strip even requires a sport jacket, much less a suit. However, at some of the finer dining venues some men will wear a sport jacket or suit (while others are wearing jeans and a button down shirt). Shows tend to be even more casual; the range is everything from suits to shorts and t-shirts.

If your wear a sport jacket and dark jeans (with no tie), you'll fit in everywhere. If you prefer to dress up more, or less, you won't feel out of place.

During the day, dress is very casual. You'll see lots of people wearing shorts, t-shirts and sandals or sneakers. Others will wear long pants. However, if you prefer to dress up more, you won't feel out of place.

In Las Vegas people wear whatever the hell they want to wear.

Indeed. Anything, anywhere, the tackier the better it seems. It wasn't always that way.

Not much change of being "underdressed" in Vegas, so don't sweat it.

<b>Women</b>
Feather earrings
Tube top
Hot pants
Flip-flops

<b>Men</b>
Stubble
A-shirt (PIC, "beater")
Jeans cut off high on thigh
Flip-flops

I beg to differ, happytrails: de rigueur clothing for men in Vegas is sloppy dirty bluejeans, buttcrack display mandatory. And a vulgar or racist inscription on a tee is especially helpful for the fashion forward look.
This season, both men and women can't go wrong sporting chains.

Thanks everyone for your responses (I think...)

Seriously though, is Vegas really that bad? You all have me picturing what's essentially a white trash Disneyland, and not the fun, romantic weekend getaway that I was hoping it would be.

<i>Is that the appropriate dress for dinner and attending shows, or should I be considering something even more casual - e.g. sport coat and dark jeans?</i>

The sport coat and dark jeans will be perfect everywhere other than Joel Robuchon (the fancy one, jeans would be fine at L'Atelier).

Ripped or baggy jeans might get you turned away at some of the top nightclubs, but slim, dark jeans would be fine.

FWIW, I think some of the people upthread are exaggerating about the dress standards, or stay at someplace like Excalibur. At a place like Aria, most of the people dress like the sort of folks that can afford a place like Aria. Yeah, some of the folks wear things that might be a bit questionable (e.g. their one "cool" outfit that isn't actually cool), but the idea that most of the people will be wearing dirty jeans, rocking a plumber's crack, and with a wife-beater sporting something racist is silly.

<i>No place on the Strip even requires a sport jacket</i>

Joel Robuchon requests a jacket for men. Not sure they would turn you away, but they request it.

<i> Seriously though, is Vegas really that bad?</i>

There are high-rollers and exclusive venues, but most of the tourists are a cross-section of what you would encounter shopping at the places average folks shop. In that way, it is very American. You can find romance in the right hotel room, the right restaurants, a quiet spot to watch the Bellagio fountains, etc.

HTtY

<i>Seriously though, is Vegas really that bad?</i>

Not in the least.

<i>You all have me picturing what's essentially a white trash Disneyland, and not the fun, romantic weekend getaway that I was hoping it would be.</i>

Unless you are the sort of person that is opposed to having fun, you will have fun in Vegas.

If your idea of romantic is a deserted beach, listening to the sounds of nature, then obviously it isn't, but I suspect you knew that going in. What you will get in Vegas are great restaurants with good service, good bars (or clubs if that is your thing), very good hotels (though maybe bigger than some might prefer), and quality entertainment. As with fun, unless you are opposed to romance, you can find it there.

Joel Robuchon does not require a sport jacket; I have been there and asked them that very question. The same is true for Guy Savoy, Twist, and every other placed I've been to. Web sites for Robuchon, Savoy and Twist used to recommend a jacket, but it's not clear that's even true anymore. Last time I checked, MGM Grand/Robuchon's web site no longer listed a dress code.

<FWIW, I think some of the people upthread are exaggerating about the dress standards, or stay at someplace like Excalibur. At a place like Aria, most of the people dress like the sort of folks that can afford a place like Aria. Yeah, some of the folks wear things that might be a bit questionable (e.g. their one "cool" outfit that isn't actually cool), but the idea that most of the people will be wearing dirty jeans, rocking a plumber's crack, and with a wife-beater sporting something racist is silly.>

Exactly.

"...a white trash Disneyland..."

A very accurate description. Las Vegas is about the furthest thing from romantic I can conjure. Unless the all-pervasive smell of cigarette smoke turns you on. Even those venues described as more upscale are just more upscale trash.

FWIW, , the worst I've seen is not as bad as the absurd pictures htty and sylvia paint. Perhaps they choose to frequent the venues advertised on those flyers they hand out on the Strip? Full Nude, CoEd Escorts, that sort of thing?

Terrence, ignore MmePerdu. She enjoys trolling. Can be amusing, but not to be taken seriously.

Feel free to click on my name to read my posts and decide for yourself how not serious I am. But glad you're amused, NewbE.

<i>Feel free to click on my name to read my posts and decide for yourself how not serious I am.</i>

Frankly, if you are being serious, then that is even worse.

<i>Joel Robuchon does not require a sport jacket; I have been there and asked them that very question.</i>

Good to know. Our reservation confirmation (a year ago) definitely said something like "jacket requested" or "formal attire", but it could be that opentable hadn't updated their info.

I was in Vegas earlier this year for work. I dressed preppy. But then again, I always dress preppy. :)

I think you can get away with anything in Vegas. For a guy, dark jeans and a blazer is probably fine. We went to some nice restaurants and my colleagues in jeans were fine (you should be too, provided they are nice jeans). The better question is, why go to Vegas :) - Yuck!

I should have known better than to engage in a discussion about Las Vegas.

At the risk of more abuse, I'll add that I know whereof I speak in my comparison, having been married to an A-list musician in the good 'ol days. We stayed there from time to time when he was booked there and I don't think it was just youth that made it enjoyable, as long as I didn't have to stay too long. It was a small town, we knew lots of people whose names you'd recognize and while there was always a mob-oriented element, it could be fun. But no good thing lasts forever.

Things don't have to stay the same to continue to be good and there are certainly entertaining shows now. But the ambiance of the town is gone, everything huge and overboard to attract more and more people and you know what that does to a place, the pervading trashy feel. But maybe everyone needs to go once.

<I>and you know what that does to a place, the pervading trashy feel</I>

Now I get it. Nobody goes there anymore, it is too crowded. Sprinkled with some nostalgia.

FWIW, I grew up in a small town that nobody visits. I don't think you have any clue what trashy is, if you think attracting visitors brings it.

In VEgas people wear - or don;t wear anything you can think of. You will be overdressed for everything except one or two of the most elegant restaurants. I have seen people in the casino in what appear to be their pajamas - and no one cares as long as they're losing. for the shows many people go in shorts and tees.

Romantic in Vegas??? Impossible, unless you like the "slappers" handing out porn everywhere you go!!
Romance in Vegas is an oxymoron!

What a ridiculous thread. Las Vegas has a dozen or more top-flight chefs' restaurants, household name stars in residence and performing nightly, gorgeous new hotels, and I could go on and on. To say that it is nothing but porn and trash is utter nonsense, and says more about the way those people choose to spend their time in Vegas than anything useful about Vegas.

If you stay in cheap hotels, wander the Strip aimlessly, eat at buffets and hang around the one armed bandits, then yes, Vegas is tacky. But that's only your limited view. The OP will have a fun, and yes, romantic weekend.

Sorry - Vegas is no more "romantic" than the average strip joint or "gentlemen's clubs".

While there are several upscale hotels and restaurants - the entire atmosphere is tacky, tacky tacky! And the homeless persons wandering the sidewalks handing out flyers for "escort services" or similar to everyone from the age of about 10 up is really NOT the worst of it.

I can think of no place less "romantic".

Wear what you want, do what you want, be yourself and see for yourself. It will be romantic and fun not because of where you are but who you are with.

<Vegas is no more "romantic" than the average strip joint or "gentlemen's clubs".>

nyt, since you seem to be familiar with such venues, I defer to your opinion of them. I have managed to go to Vegas without encountering any.

Wow - I leave the thread for a night and come back to a... very diverse and somewhat heated set of responses.

Here I pictured our long weekend as consisting of some fine dining, seeing a few shows, hanging out by the pool, and maybe a bit of shopping.

Now I guess my wife's birthday will consist of us getting kidnapped by homeless people and being held for ransom in sleazy strip clubs surrounded by tattooed thugs in tank tops and sleazy women wearing too tight pants with "juicy" splayed across their rear end.

And to think, all I wanted to know was whether or not I should pack a suit.

You don't need to pack a suit.

HTtT

Pack your oldest suit and give it to a homeless man. Do your part to make Vegas less tacky.

Well, that's one way to look at it.

What I'm taking from this thread is that should I ever find myself in Las Vegas, I will pick a nice hotel with a quiet pool scene, take part is some of the fine dining available, and perhaps take an excursion for a bit of sightseeing.

I don't really see myself there, but I'm sure I could put together a nice weekend.

MmePerdu: due to an accident of birth, I experienced "old" Las Vegas a few times while I was growing up and in my twenties. It was certainly clubby and atmospheric and glamorous.

I don't want to go back but might have to fly in and out of there on a hoped for trip to the Utah and AZ parks. I would treat myself to a nice restaurant if I do end up there.

If one selects carefully one can avoid much of the tacky. But that is what many people go for - and it is everywhere. I have been to several casinos in europe - and they are nothing like this (more like the James Bond version of a casino). And in those other cities we were not pursued by mobs of touts handing out flyers for X rated "entertainment".

It just depends on what you want.

If ind Las Vegas to be a very sad place - but then I'm not a gambler.

I've never been 'pursued by mobs of touts'. They don't chase people around the city, they stand around and pass things out to people as they walk by. Are they everywhere? No.

Wear what you think would be appropriate for the situation, regardless of the city. Period.

So,
<the entire atmosphere is tacky, tacky tacky!>
turns into
<If one selects carefully one can avoid much of the tacky.>

nyt, do you even try to make sense, I wonder?

<i>Sorry - Vegas is no more "romantic" than the average strip joint or "gentlemen's clubs".

While there are several upscale hotels and restaurants - the entire atmosphere is tacky, tacky tacky! And the homeless persons wandering the sidewalks handing out flyers for "escort services" or similar to everyone from the age of about 10 up is really NOT the worst of it.

I can think of no place less "romantic".</i>

By this logic, New York City isn't romantic.

<i>I've never been 'pursued by mobs of touts'. They don't chase people around the city, they stand around and pass things out to people as they walk by. Are they everywhere? No.
</i>

Agreed. I didn't find the touts that bad to be honest. Certainly way better than someplace like Southeast Asia, and plenty of people think Bali is plenty romantic.

<i>Here I pictured our long weekend as consisting of some fine dining, seeing a few shows, hanging out by the pool, and maybe a bit of shopping.</i>

I think you have a fine plan and the right attitude. For that sort of itinerary, Vegas is perfect. The only thing I might want to caution is that I'm not sure what the pool scene is like at Aria. From what I've read, it isn't terribly crowded and isn't basically a nightclub like some of the other hotels, but it is a big pool for a big hotel. If you wanted something more low-key, with more attentive service, you'd probably want to look into the Mandarin Oriental.

<i>What I'm taking from this thread is that should I ever find myself in Las Vegas, I will pick a nice hotel with a quiet pool scene, take part is some of the fine dining available, and perhaps take an excursion for a bit of sightseeing.

I don't really see myself there, but I'm sure I could put together a nice weekend. </i>

Your attitude is exactly right. If you can't put together a nice weekend in Vegas, it is only because you refuse to have a nice weekend there.

<<Here I pictured our long weekend as consisting of some fine dining, seeing a few shows, hanging out by the pool, and maybe a bit of shopping.>>

Easy to do. I don't love Vegas, but it's one of very few direct flight options from where I live, and my husband and I have done a couple of weekends exactly like you describe.

I do prefer the north end of the strip a little better (Wynn area) than the south end because I like being closer to the shops at Caesars and the mall that is across from the Wynn hotel.

MEN

Feather earrings
Tube top
Hot pants
Flip-flops

<I>I do prefer the north end of the strip a little better (Wynn area) than the south end because I like being closer to the shops at Caesars and the mall that is across from the Wynn hotel.</I>

We stayed at the Wynn last time but prefer City Center because we prefer the restaurants at Aria and The Cosmopolitan. That being said, we ate off-strip a lot last time (Raku, Kabuto, Fat Choy), so not sure it mattered that much. FWIW, though, I think the Mandarin Oriental is way better than the Wynn.