Tea at the Ritz - what to wear?

[Prforone]

Going for afternoon tea next week with MIL and friends for her surprise 70th birthday treat.

What should I wear? I know jeans are a no-no but do you have to get really dressed up or does smart/casual suffice?

Thanks in advance!

[Bartlebee]

Smart casual is fine.

Too dressed up would be conspicuous.

[Floisme]

Just watch your shoes. We tried to have morning coffee there last year and were turned away because our son was wearing trainers!

[polyhymnia]

Definitely smart casual. Agree obviously 'dressed up ' too try-hard.

[Floisme]

What does your mother in law want to do? Personally if it was my 70th, I would say bugger the dress code and dress up.

[Floisme]

Ah sorry, just realised it's a surprise so you can't ask her. But I still think a 70th birthday calls for a bit of dressing up.

[Framboisier]

A tea dress

You should definitely err on the smarter side

Jealous - love afternoon tea

[willowisp]

For the money it costs I would say smart-er. I went about 10 years ago & men were expected to wear ties.

It's so gold & over the top there, being casual would be odd.

[willowisp]

Have a fab time btw !

(Take a toothbrush & paste - I was desperate to clean my teeth after we left !)

[polyhymnia]

Why??

[polyhymnia]

A simple jersey dress or similar with nice but not blingy accessories would be fine.

As for dressing up more than that, I think the key thing is what your MIL would like and feel comfortable with.

I recently went to the 70th ( not at the Ritz) of a friend who hates dressing formally so we were all casual, but 70 yr olds have as varied views on these things as anyone else. You and your DH will know best what she'd enjoy.

[BackforGood]

I too was going to say that surely this is the occasion for a tea dress

Surely, if you are marking a special occasion, in going for afternoon tea at the Ritz, then part of the whole "sense of occasion" is dressing up a little ? I mean, maybe we have a different idea of what 'casual' is, but I'd have though this would have to be a "dress occasion" for me, which puts it a step considerably above 'casual'

[Sabrinnnnnnnna]

Others have beaten me to it - but a tea dress of course! Love a tea dress, me.

[tipsyloolah]

I was meeting someone for work in London a couple of years ago that I'd never met before. Had no idea that he was rolling in it, that he'd send his assistant to meet me off the plane, or that we'd be chatting at the Ritz.

I was pregnant, feeling vile, and had just left NE Scotland where it was about twenty degrees colder and pitch dark when I got on the plane.

Ritz let me in wearing leggings, muddy biker books, a bit scarfy wrap thing and a woolly hat. I was also at the loo vomiting so much that someone actually came in to check on me and was so lovely that I started crying.

So, to me, it's a marvellous place that doesn't care what you wear .