To want to Dress like Londoners

[TheSuze]

I have found myself getting more and more frumpy since i moved out 18 years ago. Whenever I visit the capital everyone including people of my age (mid 40s) looks sleek, expensive and classy in style.

Aibu to want to dress like Londoners, Parisians and New Yorkers.

I'm an ex-Londoner who now lives in the midlands.

I think that one of the differences is that in London, a lot of people don't have cars, which in turn effects what they are wearing when they leave the house in the morning for work on public transport. It may be that we put slightly more thought into workable coats/jackets/shoes/bags which are both stylish and practical for running through Bank tube in rush hour etc than you would need to if you were driving door to door all the time and only dressing for 'indoors', if that makes sense?

You're also more likely to go out straight from work in London/any city, rather than trek home to change and then drive out somewhere afterwards, so again, it's possible that you are considering slightly different possibilities when you get dressed in the morning...?

Op I know exactly what you mean.

I understand what you're saying OP. I am not from London but have worked here 17 years and lived in various points around and about. One main advantage is the freedom to dress exactly how you want - people seem to have the courage to experiment in a way that they might not in other places. You then have a number of different tribes who may well fall into the category of people you are talking about - blow dried In Chelsea, design types from Clerkenwell, fashion types from wherever the hell they come from - who can all look very well groomed and pulled together in their own way. They are not looks that I see reflected in my home town when I visit. ( that tends to be more " done up" - stilettos, hd brows, fake tan, tight dresses). Of course this is a fashion that you see in London too but the greater diversity dilutes it a bit so it's less noticeable.

Be thin.

Wear bonkers hats.

People definitely go out straight after work - I hated that when I first moved here. ( accustomed as I was to going home to get dolled up ) but most people live some distance from work ( in central London) so it's just not practical.

I'm currently rocking the "Dressed By Aldi" look... Black cargo shorts (with lots of pocketses and a black t shirt from their work-wear range. Total cost: under a tenner. Is that what you had in mind OP?

I don't get it. I live and work in London. Then go see my parent who live out of London. We all dress the same.
Mostly a casual dress/ jeans/ t shirts / playsuits or something. If I am going out straight from work then I will make more effort.... Most people in my office are jeans/leggings and a t shirt. People only seem to dress up if they have a meeting.

I'm starting to think you are imagining it, or just looking at the 1%

I live and work in central London and commented the other day how casually people dress (myself included)

When I visit London from my yachtie tourist town I'm always amazed by how much black everyone wears. When DD comes to visit from London she gets stared at because she's in full slap and head to toe black.

Just get a bowler hat and say 'what what what'.

That's Londoner's right?

"I'm starting to think you are imagining it, or just looking at the 1%"

Or they were hoping to start a bunfight and have failed miserably

You want to dress like a Londoner?

Just walk through your local charity shop with your eyes closed and grab half a dozen random items - voila!

Indeed,

to be honest the way people dress is all relative. One mans 'casual' is another mans 'formal'.

I reckon it's all in the "extra". The fashionable shoes, scarf, necklace, hairstyle. People aren't afraid to give it a go.

I agree Londoners dress far more casual than northern counterparts. But they more individual and have a slight edge.

I'm speaking as a Scot who lives in London currently wearing leggings and a baggy white t shirt. But today I threw on a pair of silver espadrilles, raybans, leather jacket and red lippy. Would never accessorise like that up north.

(Prays I looked cool and not as shattered as i am)

So you'll be needing lots of black tshirts, and birkenstock then :)

Be thin

Wear bonkers hats

I am always surprised how dull people dress in London. Lots of black, dull beige coats, black tights, black shoes.
Tourists add a splash of colour but mostly I am unimpressed.

Noticeable on the regional TV weather/ news reports too. Look really cheaply dressed.

Achy I too have watermelon socks! Are they from Top shop?

Currently on the tube (the overground bit in West london). Wearing a French connection dress and converse. Definitely not down with the youth but I like the casualness of it.

Agree with the be thin and channel your inner charity shop advice.

I tend to think Londoners are less dressed up than in other cities; it's one of the reasons I feel I fit in a lot better here than in my home city of Newcastle where women are dolled up to the nines.

I wore a bright orange, v-backed, mohair sweater to Kentish Town last week. I was also rocking a pair of shoe boots covered in bright multi-coloured stripes. (And jeans.)

I was the only person in the whole of North London wearing a colour that wasn't black. Or possibly grey, if they were feeling a bit racy.

Ha. Some of us look like unmade haystacks. Which particular square inch of London are you thinking of?

I'm a Londoner, and I'm definitely not chic!

I'm a Londoner and a total scruffpot. As long as it's clean and relatively crease free it's on.

Maybe you bumped into the Pearly kings and Queens? That's a distinctive London look.