People who criticise how we dress in the UK

[LadyHenryofRawlinsonEnd]

I think it is due to the weather!

Today, quite mild here if you step out of the wind. If you step into it (as you will) and walk for any distance it cuts right through to your bones, intolerable.
So we went out for an hour's walk, padded jackets and wool hats. A bit depressing in April, but nothing new. I came home with something like a splitting ear migraine, it had cut right through my rather fetching little cashmere bonnet like a scythe

I don't run a vehicle at the moment, so it's good fun trying to determine how to clothe oneself when the bright, warming sun might topple out of existence 5 mins after you've rummaged around for an hour in the wardrobe, finally settling on a decent dress and light jacket.
Birkenstock sandals? But what if it rains!?
The care instructions advise you not to get them wet, perhaps they are volatile, like gremlins..

To carry an umbrella or not? Mmmm, decisions. Sometimes I might need to employ a well sized sack for all of those weather associated accoutrements I shall require - brolly, hat, gloves, mac, small tent

During the early springtime of 2013 I noticed more than one individual wearing plastic bags between their socks and shoes. This was the Lake District though.

So maybe this is why we dress as we do, we don't have the most laid back weather, it's so insanely changeable. Any decent combination of clothing can turn out to be wholly inappropriate in a heartbeat.

I wonder if that changeability affects our sense of style, our moods and expectations. People often seem more impatient and agitated on windy days. Aggressive even.
So it usually ends up being some sort of trouser/top/coat - men and women.
It's just safer isn't it?
I am a dress wearer myself, so today's swingy number tried blowing up my back for most of my time outdoors, thank heavens for thick tights!

I love living in a country with seasons, but they rarely behave as we expect them to, do they? I also love clothes, and I have come to the conclusion that we either obsess over our wardrobes to a shocking degree (and who could blame us?) or just give up entirely.

I am NOT being unreasonable!

Anyone who doesn’t quite fit the standard sizes in the shops that exist struggles.

If you've ever tried to buy men's shoes in slim fittings, you'll realise that the UK is exactly the same.

Most people dress down these days, the art of formal dressing is gone forever, I think. That's why there are people wearing nylon football shirts and jeans at the Savoy (true) and women in work out clothes and flip flops at a West End theatre.

I'm not a clothes snob, wear what you like, but I do think most people dress for comfort and that's a shame.

The worst dressed people I've ever seen is in America. There seemed to be a uniform of beige chino shorts or stonewashed jeans with a T-shirt with Budweiser or Coca-Cola slogan on it. Mullets, perms and bad frosty hi-lights. No individuality or style at all.

On holiday in the Caribbean, every European person got changed into smart outfits for dinner, all the Americans strolled in wearing their sand covered beach clothes.

And as for French being stylish, hmm - not in the villages I've stayed in, more like a time warp from 1978.

The women who look stylish seem typically slimmer and slighter. Much easier to look stylish when you don't have to fuss and faff covering up this or that part of you with messy layers, feel confident with bare arms and legs; and can throw on something simply cut and plain, and know your figure will make the clothes look good, rather than trying for the other way round.

Yes, it is easier when slimmer, but then I think one of the best dressed women on TV is Andi Oliver. She is wearing designer dresses that fit well on GBM though, so perhaps not an easy act to follow. She wore more relaxed things on the Caribbean programme though and still looked good.

@Rosehugger

Yes, it is easier when slimmer, but then I think one of the best dressed women on TV is Andi Oliver. She is wearing designer dresses that fit well on GBM though, so perhaps not an easy act to follow. She wore more relaxed things on the Caribbean programme though and still looked good.

Oh don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you have to be slim to be stylish, but I do think the effortless looking style people covet is very difficult if you're not, because dressing a more complex figure does take effort. A slim woman can throw on any pair of jeans, tuck in a fitted t shirt, trainers, nice bag and the jobs done. Whereas a larger woman generally has to try harder to find the right cut of clothes, and a lot have so much else to do, there isn't the time to faff about with all that.

Plus the fact every American I know is gobsmacked by the formality of dress in the UK

I like the way British people dress, especially what I would call "daytime smart." Except for fascinators. They seem very odd to me. I just watched Prince Philip's memorial service. Some of the women looked as though small birds of prey were about to take flight from their heads.

@Thewheelsfalloffthebus

New Zealand is an incredibly expensive place to dress stylishly, so most people don’t, they just go to the same few shops that sell the same poor to average quality basics that everyone else wears, hopefully in a colour they like. It really is a supply and demand thing. You often can’t get petite cut or tall cuts for example, because the shops don’t order them in because the market isn’t big enough to make it a viable option. Even things like teenage boys having to go to the women’s section for jeans because there is an awkward stage of not fitting into child sizing anymore but being too small still for the mens xs or s. There just aren’t enough skinny 13-15 year old pre-massive growth spurt boys in the country who want particular cuts or styles of jeans to merit the shops having them on the shelves. Anyone who doesn’t quite fit the standard sizes in the shops that exist struggles.

It's exactly the same in the UK...

SenecaFallsReduxFascinators are perfect for those of us with thin hair. I love hats and they really suit me but when I take them off my hair is flat to my head. Fascinators are very light so my hair stays reasonable looking . Others may have a different reason for wearing one, of course.

Interesting, I had assumed that the UK was considered relatively stylish. Certainly, what people wear in the part of Spain my family are from would NOT go down well in the UK, much more like what we would call downmarket or chavvy clothes.

Oh and the myth of French style is like the myth of French food. Tell enough people that your people are stylish and you become the cliche of what 'style' means. Same with how they convinced everyone that classical French is the best and only way to cook and everyone else should be measured by that standard even though I can name at least 10 countries straight off where I've had vastly superior food to France.

I'm foreign, living in Southern England, and I joke about how English people dress. It's very unique and I'd say quite different from mainland Europe, at least the younger generation.

Each to their own of course.

I know what you mean. I have lovely clothes, and two events coming up that I’d like to look nice at. But, the weather’s gonna be crap... So, straight away that’s shoes out of the game. Hair / tan seem pointless, too!

What's this about everyone in Spain dressing so wonderfully? Plenty of bad leasurewear exposing bad tattoos, just like the UK! And it's hardly the case that everyone is slim either.
Honestly do some people form their notions of other countries just from films or something?

Even at events with our royal family, the European royal families look awful.

I disagree. There are long-running threads in Style & Beauty that discuss style choices of various royals in detail. Queen Letizia of Spain, Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, just to name three, are far more stylish than any of the UK royals.

I don't think any of the UK royals dress badly, but most are somewhat predictable and not very interesting from a style standpoint.

Agree it's a myth that the French are stylish. Have had many holidays in France and was in Paris a few years ago for the first time since I was quite young: had expected ultra-chic but for the most part, it wasn't at all. I think young people in the UK dress with more style than young people in Paris: there's certainly a lot more individuality and, I think, less pressure to conform here. You do see chic women in Paris, but their look is generally quite a 'safe' one.

@Scianel

What's this about everyone in Spain dressing so wonderfully? Plenty of bad leasurewear exposing bad tattoos, just like the UK! And it's hardly the case that everyone is slim either. Honestly do some people form their notions of other countries just from films or something?

Lots of people really only see one tiny part of a foreign country and think it's representative. And then there's those who have never seen it at all, but form a view based on media portrayal or just plain old reputation.

I've worked in Madrid, in a very well-paid industry and environment. The people I worked with just oozed class and style in absolutely everything.

I also regularly go to Lepe, Gibraleón and Cartaya in Andalusia. The kindest thing you could say about these places is that it's... agricultural. To compare them with madrileños is an exercise in pointlessness, exactly in the same way a Cumbrian sheep farmer is nothing like a City banker when it comes to style.

What makes me smile is the way we are less influenced by time of year in the UK and more by the weather, when it comes to clothes. I was in Belfast several years ago with a colleague from Germany. It was mid-April and unseasonably very warm: colleague was aghast at all the shorts, sandals, mini dresses and general flesh on display - in April!! She couldn't comprehend anyone dressing like that in the early spring. I pointed out to her that those couple of hot days might be the closest to summer that the people of Belfast would get that year, and possibly the only opportunity to wear their summer clothes. She thought people had lost their minds! It did make me chuckle

@Otherpeoplesteens very well summarised. We do a lot of campervan travel so obviously a lot of supermarket shopping in less than glamourous areas of France/Spain (and in fact a lot of time in Andalusia), and people are, well, ordinary people! All ages, shapes and sizes.

Just like I wouldn't expect everyone at the local Asda to be all glammed up or spend a fortune on designer gear (but I think some people are comparing that to the most glamorous parts of stylish capitals and thinking the Brits are therefore all frumps).

Now we are getting into city v rural and informing posters that rural dwellers dress differently is akin to telling us to put up our umbrellas in the rain. I think it’s safe to say we are aware and have allowed for this and are taking and referencing street style and not rural or beach resorts.

Just like I wouldn't expect everyone at the local Asda to be all glammed up or spend a fortune on designer gear

Haha. When I first came to England (I'm Portuguese, born in Macau but later childhood in Hong Kong) my mum advised me to dress down to go to Asda in case I got mugged!

@Thatswhyimacat Totally agree!
I live in Europe and find this mythical stylish dressing so boring. Everyone in black tailored clothing, scared to stand out or wear a colour.
If that's what chic is, well, it's really not very difficult to emulate.

my mum advised me to dress down to go to Asda in case I got mugged!

That's maybe not the worst advice for some of the Asdas near me!

Overall I think we in the UK think the rest of the world thinks about us a great deal more than they actually do

I agree it’s a hangover from the days when we ruled much of the world but most often said by those who are embarrassed by being British

We don’t constant look to what’s going on in other countries or how they act what they wear so why do some many think other countries look to us

I can tell a British person abroad it’s not just clothes it’s mannerisms too this is the same for other countries

@Scianel

What's this about everyone in Spain dressing so wonderfully? Plenty of bad leasurewear exposing bad tattoos, just like the UK! And it's hardly the case that everyone is slim either. Honestly do some people form their notions of other countries just from films or something?

No, from living there and there is a difference.

When i was in Turkey, I was amazed at their ability to tell nationalities. As you are walking along choosing where to have a drink/sit they call out to you, guessing where you're from and wow they are good at it. I was with my x who was English and they could tell he was english and i was irish (even though i had lived in uk for years and my ancestry is not a simple as 100% irish)
He wasnt wearing a football shirt. He dr3ssed well! And im fair but so are lots of people. I dont know how they do it!