New orleans dress this time of year
 

Daytime seems "warmish" ...70's......but I don't assume summer clothes are worn.....are light sweaters and dark colors appropriate for this time of year? I am from NY and our sudden snowstorm has thrown us a little bit.

Thanks

I've been 3 times to NOLA, always in November, since I'm from Los Angeles, and wear summer clothes pretty much year round, I do the same in NOLA. Most likely it will be warm during the day, you'll probably need a sweater during the evening. Pretty casual for the most part, I'm taking a couple of sundresses, jeans, black pants and t-shirts, and a couple of dressy tops. I usually take a jacket that can worn in case of rain.

I have been to NO at almost every time of year - and it has never been anything other than warm during the day - the Feb it was still in the high 70s. I'm not saying it never gets chilly - but don;t let the snow in the NE trick you. NO is still likely to be warm during the day and not much cooler at night. I would die during the day in a sweter - but would want a very light jacket at night.

I can only add that NO is one of the more formal cities in the United States for dining out. People still like to look good, and they dress up for the better places. Not a problem for a New Yorker.

It has been a little chilly there lately. I brought a light jacket that I wore some days, and not others. I was glad that I had it most nights.

I might modulate Ackislander's stateement about restaurant formality a bit. I agree that NO may be one of the more formal cities in the U.S. for dining out, but I'd say that it is far less so than New York, and my usual clothes for dining in New York are too dressed-up for routine use in NO.

I only know of one restaurant that requires jackets for gentlemen (Galatoire's), and there are only a few others where I wouldn't want to show up without a jacket (e.g. Arnaud's, The Grill Room, Commander's Palace, Stella!) But at a place like August, I'd say at most half of men are wearing jackets. I apologize for my male-centric fashion advice.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the violent crime rate in NO is very high. The French Quarter is both a major tourist destination with fancy restaurants and a seedy, violent place, a combination of features that don't really coexist in the same place in New York. A person with New York street sensibilities is likely find himself or herself occasionally walking down streets that feel uncomfortably deserted, with nefarious-looking characters lurking in the shadows. I'd recommend avoiding items like expensive watches or jewelry that might attract criminals' attention, or at least stashing them in a purse until you get to your destination.

Thanks for the refinement of my comments on men's clothes.

Anyone reading your advice would now know that a man should expect to take a jacket if he wants to eat in the better places, not something that seems to come naturally to some readers of this forum.

Andres Duany, the architect and urban planner, says that NO is the northernmost Caribbean city, and that makes a lot of sense. Your advice on crime is among the least hysterical of any I have read in a long time.

When I die and go to heaven, I am going to have lunch at Galatoire's every Friday, downstairs. In the winter, I will wear a navy blue suit. In the summer, say April thru October, I will wear one of my seersucker suits or a pewter cotton suit. I will wear a starched and ironed shirt in both cases and a nice foulard tie. If God wants to come along, he will have to dress similarly. I'll give him the better seat so he can look in the mirrors and see everyone in the room at the same time and make sure they are on their best behavior. Standards are high there.

Ackislander, you make a good point. Individual standards of dressiness vary widely. I recently checked in at a hotel in Seattle, and asked the concierge to recommend a restaurant where I might have dinner. I told her that I'd like to visit the best restaurant that I could possibly get into without an advance reservation, but it would have to be a place where no jacket was required, because I hadn't packed one. She recommended a place, and noted that it was only a few blocks away. "So you'll be able to walk there without a jacket and not get cold."

The elegance and civility that prevail perpetually at Galatoire's are, in light of its location, one of the many small miracles of New Orleans. God bless Galatoire's.

hawksbill: Dinner dress, generally speaking, is no longer required to be 'dressy' in NYC except for, what might be considered the obvious places. (I'll let you decide which I'm referring to). Nobody would look askance at anyone wearing jeans for a 10:00 dinner reservation in NYC. That wouldn't be true in similar restaurant settings in New Orleans.

Anyway: Bring a jacket, throw in a tie, make your partner proud to be with you and order the more expensive bottle. :)
Don't all women pack a sweater or light jacket?

Don't you also check wunderground.com for historic worldwide weather patterns? Nobody will care if you wear your granny's bloomers in New Orleans (and they'd be a fashion statement in NYC) so wear whatever you're comfortable in during the day once you check the weather. I never wear light colors when I travel because they show the schmutz one picks up during a city visit.


God Bless New Orleans.

You wrote: ".....are light sweaters and dark colors appropriate for this time of year?"

short answer: 'yes'.

I guess I must be frequenting the dressier places in New York, because I frequently go to restaurants where I'd feel slobby showing up for dinner in jeans. Whereas I'd say jeans or even shorts are the norm at, say, Herbsaint or Louisiana Bistro.

Darker colors are a fine idea. There's no shortage of schmutz in New Orleans.

Dark wash denim trouser jeans would be fine for most places in NYC but I agree that it's nice to get a bit dressed up for weekend dinners in the city. NOLA is more formal at dinner, however.

***Another thing to keep in mind is that the violent crime rate in NO is very high. The French Quarter is both a major tourist destination with fancy restaurants and a seedy, violent place,***

Boy am I glad I went before I read this!