is this a Northern thing - Saturday nights out

[EmmaGrundyForPM]

We're staying in Leeds for the weekend, visiting DS who recently moved here. Fabulous city, loads going on.

We went out for a meal last night and I was amazed at what people were (or weren't!) wearing. The women were all amazingly made up and wearing incredibly skimpy outfits. I'm not criticising, but I was amazed that they weren't frozen (no jackets). They all looked incredibly glamorous.

The cities I'm used to are Cambridge, Nottingham, Bristol and London. My dc, now in their 20s, and their friends are in jeans, t-shirts, maybe a pretty top on a Saturday night. These women looked like they were going to a cocktail party but were only going to the pub.

The men also looked a lot smarter than I'm used to - they were in shirts rather than t shirts - but not as dressed up as the women.

I've got a friend who lives in Liverpool who is always talking about her daughters taking 4 hours to get ready for a Saturday night out, but I thought that was just confined to Liverpool. However, the women in Leeds look like they have spent hours getting ready. Lots of them also had a fake tan and their nails done beautifully.

So are northern lasses much more glamorous than us scruffy southerners? And if so, why?

Ok I am sure I am going to get flamed but here goes:
It takes about 3 generations to change behaviour. Many Northern and Welsh communities have a historical reliance on heavy industry and a proud working class heritage. Although many/ most people now don't work in factories or mines or steel works the social rituals associated with that lifestyle persist. One of these is going home and getting properly dressed up before going out.

In contrast in the South East ( I am leaving the South West and Midlands out of this) that type of heavy industry hasn't been prevelant since the second world war. Since the 1950's most people have worked in offices with a smartish dress code, socialising with work colleagues straight from the office ( and prior to 1992 going out for a boozy lunch) is often very much part of this culture and has been for sometime. As others have said a more causal vibe denotes being off duty, not having to wear your heels or your lipstick.

Young men and women who are dressed up but not in office attire stick out as out of towners as that simply isn't something Londoners do.

As a previous poster astutely observed as with so many things this trend is reversed for the extremely weathy who don't work in any meaningful sense and presumably wear casual clothing in the day time and very dressed up glamorous clothing to go to exclusive night clubs with private drivers.

Should have said nothing to do with how much you get paid.

Excellent post Goldencup

On nights out back in the 90s we used to say if you were feeling the cold then you hadn't drank enough. Getting ready was sometime more fun than the night out, we would all get ready and start drinking together. I'm from northern Scotland and I don't think I feel the cold in the same way as some people.

That's probably because they are students?
When I was a student nurse in the mid 90,s my nights out were mainly spent in rock ,world ,the venue ,the Ritz etc in Manchester ,I could be found in my long skirts an Doc marten, boots and leather jacket

There were other far more glamourous ,place s I just didn't frequent them.

It’s like that in my area of South East London. I was brought up there too, and was instructed when younger to dress up very well if going out, and make a real effort. This involves dressing in proper evening or cocktail type dress, evening style make up, doing hair and nails (or going and getting them done).

When I moved to other areas of London, I was shocked at how people were dressing to go out, and I used to look so dressed up in comparison, as they just looked as though they had daytime clothes on, and often no make up etc. When we used to go out amongst them, I felt kind of flat, and as though I couldn’t enjoy myself as much as where I live again now.

People of all ages dress really well here, and I love being part of that ‘culture.’ Everyone looks like they’re properly enjoying themselves, and that effect is like a smile; it’s contagious - well, for me anyway.

Maybe we're furiously agreeing with each other? I don't think either approach is wrong. Me personally after the first 25 years in NW/midlands and the last 25 in London, I've never gotten the hang of the latter dress code. Wish I could've worn a dress and heels to last night's drinks instead of failing once more to pull off the right level of non-try-hard night to day casual.

Normal !! I've lived and been out in Sheffield, Leeds and Newcastle.

I was always led to beloved that the reason for not wearing a coat was so that you could show that you weren't concealing a weapon.

I was always led to beloved that the reason for not wearing a coat was so that you could show that you weren't concealing a weapon.

And you believed that?

This is a very interesting post.

I think it depends on what you’re used to. I live in London and I visited friends in another city and we all went on a night out. It was actually fancy dress so there was no issue around being under/over dressed, IYSWIM. But I actually felt quite uncomfortable with how familiar people (men 😒) were being. I’m not a prude, I actually like a bit of male attention haha, but it just made me uncomfortable. I also wanted to hang out with my friends that I had visited but they spent a lot of the evening trying to chat to strangers and make friends - again, not averse to this per se, but it shouldn’t be a big part of the night out.

Anyway, what I’m trying to say is there is something to be said for the slightly reserved, low key night out where you hang around with and chat to your friends, if you’re that way inclined. It’s not necessarily less fun for the people that choose it over the kind of night out that has been described on this thread. 🙂

Incredible.

😂😂😂
Normal up north where I am.
In fact the further north you go, the skimpier and shinier the outfit, in my experience.
We never took out coats, I remember snow and being in skimpy fancy dress. Froze my tits off. There were always young lads offering up their jackets!

https://graziadaily.co.uk/fashion/news/style-tribes-londoners-always-dress/

Obviously I agree with the North/South divide, I lived in Cream/Hacienda in the 90’s, so going to London for weekend’s in my 20’s it took a bit of getting used to not bothering to bring clothes for the night, but I’ve had weekends in London ie Shoreditch were I do see groups of girls with southern accents dressed like girls up north and I’ve often wondered were they are from im completely ignorant but I can only guess Essex from my vague awareness of TOWIE

🤣🤣🤣 Corporation - the one nightclub where anything went. You could turn up in a bin liner, haute couture, s&m gear, bring your skateboard, anything went. Was bloody brilliant back in the day when it was on Bank St. This was where it is now (with no PlayStations and sadly no half pipe) and probably 20 odd years ago.

I also.!lived in Manchester and only went to.the Hacienda once I was more of a rock World ,venue type of girl.so very much not glamorous ,surely it is as about what type of club people went to ?

Obviously there has never been any money further north than Watford. It certainly makes Mr Darcy and Mr Bingley look a less attractive prospect. 😵‍💫

I'm from the South , but live in the North.
In our town its a mix...either glam up and no coats, or dress for comfort! As it's on the coast, I have never understood how these girls can go out with next to nothing on and not have some sort of jacket! But I'm getting on a bit now....😏

It’s not just a London thing, Paris is the same. Parisians will be out in sharp white shirt, jeans and leather jacket, rather than bodycon and heels. Dresses would be Kooples, Maje, Isabel Marant etc. NY used to be the same but it’s a long time since I was there.

It’s not cool to try be too try hard - and tight dress, fake hair, brows, nails and tan is not chic.

Might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb- when you sau South East London, did it actually have a London postcode or are we talking what I would describe as North Kent eg Dartford.

Also 2 more thoughts before I really beed to get on with my cleaning:

1. The low key night out where you talk to your mates and have no desire to pull or be pulled I think is a consequence of living in a busy city where you meet maybe 50 people through work or friends of friends who you almost certainly have more in common with than some randomer, so nights out are for bonding not pulling.
2. If you are splashing out for a South East rent, travel and a " work wardrobe" you are going to want as many of those pieces as possible to be possible to wear " out" rather than having a completely separate category of clothing.

Yeah completely normal. We were doing this in 90s in Liverpool and I know my mum and her friends used to do it in the 70s and 80s.

The hell are taxis cheap and plentiful. They're like rocking horse shit in most of the east, west and north Yorkshire regions. In the event you can even get one they are disproportionately expensive, even when travelling a relatively short distance.

I was blown away this year with how inexpensive taxis were in NYC (of all places!) by comparison.

Yes, and the public transport is poor to nonexistent. When I visit London, I can't get used to the tube trains coming along every five minutes or so - it seems like a miracle.

@x2boys ah I was a student myself. Also student nurse! In the 00s though, not far from Manchester either. In Blackpool, which as we all know is the Vagas of the North 😂😂😂😂.
My friends who moved to London did the much more fashionable and trendy media and film studies.