New York in May - Dinner at Bouley,
 

Female 70yo, looks 50 (?), 5'4", 125lb, natural long, long blond hair

What should I wear to an "early" 5pm-7pm dinner at Bouley's in New York in May?

Is basic black preferred or color since it is late spring and "before dark" dinner?

Husband wearing black pin-stripe suit.

What day of the week?

Wear whatever makes YOU feel gorgeous.;)

Does the day of the week have special color codes? Who knew?

what mclaurie said

Perhaps it is different now in NYC, but Saturday night always was a bit more upscale than weeknight.

Oh for peets sake, you are 70 no matter what you think about looking 50. That gives you the right to wear what you want and what you know you look good in.

When I started reading this I thought this had turned into a dating service and expected something about walks on the beach and warm puppies instead of questions for Tim Gunn.

Hiss, hiss, girls!

Pull in your claws! There are women of 70 who don't wear polyester pants suits and get their hair done every week.

This OP asks very sensibly what would be appropriate at a fine restaurant in NYC on a Saturday night.

Seems a perfectly reasonable question to me, and I think Deb responds appropriately.

Should she wear leggings and running shoes like the woman going from Florida to Paris over on the Europe forum? That poster thinks she looks good in that getup and was encouraged to just wear what she likes.

goldtwh, thanks for asking. If I were your husband wearing a black pinstripe suit, I would like to see you in something dark and simple with a.modest amount of gold jewelry.

If I were a fellow diner, I would think, "What a great looking woman!"' unless my stunning 70 year old wife were there, in which I would of course say, "Two fabulous women! She's looks almost as good as . . . .Wow, what a great place! And the food's good, too!"

The detailed self description was unnecessary, and unhelpful for suggesting appropriate attire, unless you were hoping someone would send you an outfit.

The OP joined just to ask this question.

Since the husband is going traditional - a dark suit - I assume she will not be wearing the infamous pink polyester pant suit and keds. Just wear a nice tailored dress or pantsuit that you are really comfortable in. (Agree New Yorkers tend to wear more black but any non-garish color will do just fine.)

It's not a fashion show and you will be outdressing most other diners

"It's not a fashion show and you will be outdressing most other diners"
Really? I disagree. Most women will be well dressed for dinner at Bouley.. Some might wear a LBD, some may be dressed in Wall st. type business attire if it's a weeknight; some will wear something springier. I still say wear what makes you feel attractive. Color doesn't really matter.

It really does not matter much as you will encounter people dressed in a variety of styles with varying results. Weekends might have more out of towners than locals but that should not matter much. (I live here and try to avoid dining out on weekends).

My usual attire would be black pants, even black "designer" jeans and a "nice" top with stylish flat shoes. I never feel out of place and I believe that I always look pretty good. It is more the fabric and fit of clothes that matters.

Is a nice tailored dress or pantsuit not equivalent to business attire - no one said business casual.

I must say I NEVER see anyone eating out in NYC - even the best restaurants - in more than this. I know in some places people wear cocktail dresses out to dinner but this is not common in NYC unless it's some sort of special event/gala. And it; not like Texas, where I have seen women having dinner in a public restaurant in ball gowns and dripping with diamonds - one even in a tiara.

WOW, I'm impressed with the response to my question.
Thank you "every" one for your thoughtful responses.
We will be dining on a Friday, early evening.
Because of your kind posts, I will stick to something
black, medium length (knee), & will avoid the glitz,
although I have always loved glitz. LOL

Again, thank you very much for taking your time to respond.

"Perhaps it is different now in NYC, but Saturday night always was a bit more upscale than weeknight."

Interesting, but I wonder if that's different for men than women. We've always noticed that Saturday night (along with Sunday) seems more casual for men than the weekdays. We've guessed because normally during the week they meet at dinner in their work suits, but on Saturday tend not to dress up that much unless it is required. We tend to see more sportcoats as opposed to suits, and many more jacketless gentleman on Saturdays.

You won't go wrong with a LBD, but if you want to wear something a little more glitzy (maybe a colorful or beaded jacket?) that would be great too. You don't want to be very underdressed for a nice restaurant, but the advice to wear what makes you feel great and what you'd enjoy is true too.

I hope you have a wonderful time and enjoy your special night!

I think that Manhattan draws a lot of suburbanites on weekend nights and perhaps they tend to dress up more for their "big night" in the city, as opposed to locals who might be more understated. Styles are all over the map in Manhattan these days, and that is probably true in most urban areas.

I had dinner last night in an upscale (but not as upscale as Bouley), very buzzy new restaurant and I noticed men in baseball caps and denim and men in suits. Lots of men in jeans with sport jackets. Women in black dressed and women in skinny jeans. With the possible exceptions of me, and the baseball-capped guy, everyone looked super stylish.

ekscrunchy--which restaurant was that? How was the food?

Good Lord. This is just NOT the forum for fashion advice, lol.

The restaurant was UPLAND. Casual place with very good service; well-respected chef (Justin Simillie, formerly of Il Buco Alimentari)

It is billed as California cuisine but it has Italian leanings, too. Excellent chicory/Little Gem salad and squid with fresh fava beans; one of the best pieces of pork (the "porcelet") I've had in a long time. Sinful dark chocolate/orange tart for dessert.

http://uplandnyc.com/

I think the city is really on a roll in the restaurant sense..there are just so many great places around with more opening all the time. (I thought Upland was very, very good, but I am not sure I would call it "great," and even so, I only had one meal there so too early to really comment. But certainly a very solid place that is proving to be very popular. I have to go a few more times so I can sample more dishes.)