What brands do posh people wear in London

[MrsDeadlock]

I am northern, and not posh. However I do have a fancy job that usually requires a level of travel.

There is a dress code that I'm not very good at reading for my London based contemporaries. Think Meg and Julia in Motherland types.

What brands do these types wear? I can spot a Mulberry handbag at ten paces usually but the rest is baffling and I'm genuinely intrigued. They always look so well dressed!

Please help me, I can't ask in real life!

On Instagram I do like Sandra Rossi, Seared Min and Death by Elocution. If they don’t post their faces you can assume they’re doing proper jobs, rather than the affiliate link bollocks merchants trying to be famous.

I’m just trying to think how I’d feel with a doctor or medical professional who was very styled, even if it was for something not critical like dermatology, and I think you need to tread a very fine line. Your “clients” and stakeholders are vulnerable in ways that a marketing or private equity client wouldn’t be.

Sweaty Betty

I’m just trying to think how I’d feel with a doctor or medical professional who was very styled, even if it was for something not critical like dermatology, and I think you need to tread a very fine line. Your “clients” and stakeholders are vulnerable in ways that a marketing or private equity client wouldn’t be

Literally no one in clinics is very styled, unless they are in a private clinic where it would be more expected. Jewellry has to be kept to a minimum anyway for infection control reasons. Shoes are sensible and practical. Clothes are machine washable due to necessity. Long hair usually tied back in something unfussy.

Sometimes the first year med students try it on a bit with clothing and footwear but this doesn't last long.

We don't spend all our time in clinics though. Depending on your job you could be spending more time in the board room, or in and out of meetings all day.

So, when patient facing it is more practical dress if that makes sense. I find plain Boden jersey dresses, tights and comfy boots good for this. M&S and Next also.

Also, a stylist friend was really helpful in pointing out that certain labels are better suited to different body types. The kooples and claudie pierlot are quite teensy tiny, even in the right size - I’m scandi heritage so quite tall and busty (which is great in its way but I of course spent all my 20s LONGING to be a sultry/sulky little waify thing). But then Scandinavian labels tend of course to be a much better fit!

On Instagram I do like Sandra Rossi, Seared Min and Death by Elocution. If they don’t post their faces you can assume they’re doing proper jobs, rather than the affiliate link bollocks merchants trying to be famous.

Thanks, I will check them out. The influencers bollocks, algorithm changes & increased homogeneity is why I left. I actually miss magazines now!

Exactly what @ButwhereisMYcoffee said - I'm on the tall side and wide of hip and the French brands (most of which have been mentioned on here) look woeful on me. I too spent many years wishing otherwise but thank god the Scandi brands arrived. Hence I give an embarrassingly high percentage of my income to the H&M group, mostly Cos, Arket and & Other Stories (Stockholm collection only). Also Zalando for the other Swedish/Danish brands like Samsoe, Just Female, Second Female, Selected etc.

I work in the west end (in normal times!) arts/media and there is a lot of Zara, also the Cos/Arket/&OS trinity as well as Whistles, Toast (though this may be just my sector!) and Me+Em. Anything really. I do miss dressing for the office.

Interesting re body shape. I am tall with boobs. Zara and I do not get on at all re sizing, hence it is dead to me.

@Zinnia

Exactly what *@ButwhereisMYcoffee* said - I'm on the tall side and wide of hip and the French brands (most of which have been mentioned on here) look woeful on me. I too spent many years wishing otherwise but thank god the Scandi brands arrived. Hence I give an embarrassingly high percentage of my income to the H&M group, mostly Cos, Arket and & Other Stories (Stockholm collection only). Also Zalando for the other Swedish/Danish brands like Samsoe, Just Female, Second Female, Selected etc.

I work in the west end (in normal times!) arts/media and there is a lot of Zara, also the Cos/Arket/&OS trinity as well as Whistles, Toast (though this may be just my sector!) and Me+Em. Anything really. I do miss dressing for the office.

Haha we may actually be the same person.

Also - just to highlight what other pp has said - A LOT of women in london will be juggling a huge mortgage, phenomenal childcare bills and tube/train passes so the money left for high end clothes is not always huge. Certainly in media there would be love for Margaret Howell and Theory, but the financial reality is more high street.

Also the wear and tear ordinary commuters face to their cloths is big! Hence dark coats and flat ankle boots, there’s only so many times you can pay £20 for replacing one almost-new stiletto tip in a grate / cobble / tube stair before becoming strangely attracted to the upper end of the high street’s flat boot offering.

Disclaimer - pre Covid I had started co-locating between london and a upmarket seaside town hundreds of miles away where people have a lot more disposable income and the clothes are much more fashiony and expensive than most of my successful london friends. It makes me analyse the factors that influence each place’s style a lot!

@MrsDeadlock

Interesting re body shape. I am tall with boobs. Zara and I do not get on at all re sizing, hence it is dead to me.

Really, gosh that is fascinating, I couldn’t live without it! It just goes to show!

AnaisNun I'm surprised Joseph hasn't had more mentions. Superb tailoring, minimalist, laid-back luxe. It tends too much towards oversized for my taste at the moment but it still does fabulously cut coats, jackets, trousers etc.

OP thank you so much for starting this thread! I am following avidly. I'm v late 40s & work at a senior level in a creative sector & thanks to recommendations here I've just ordered the Ally Cappellino pale blue leather tote bag for my laptop & other work stuff! I adore it
I wear mainly whistles, jigsaw, some anthropologist, some cos, the kooples, a little wolf &badger & I'm tempted by me+em but have not bought from there yet
I'm 5ft 9" & size 12.
I wear mainly flat ankle boots - Chelsea style or brogues. I bought some v nice leather boots from whistles recently. Plain black leather laced up style & the leather high heels in plum
I love annoushka for jewellery - mainly gold / diamond
This is such a great thread!!

Could anybody direct me to any Scandi brands?
I AM 5'8'' and a sz. 14/16.

OP, thank you for the thread! Amused to see how many of the brands I wear/aspire to on my smart London days are coming up here.

I don't think you ever want to wear entirely new clothes, so I'd have a look round the charity shops in Kensington to see what you can find. I've had some very nice Chanel trousers and an old Burberry Mac from the Oxfam on Ken High St.

On the French haute high street brands, like Sandro and Maje, I'd add Claudie Pierlot for slightly more sober/classic work clothes. The fourth floor (? top with clothes) at Harvey Nicks is a good place for all of these. But these sizes are very limited. I would be considered thin by most people (size 6-8 in M&S, 8-10 in H&M) and I usually take the middle size (2). If you are over a size 12, none of it will fit because there are only three sizes. The difference between the sizes is also weirdly small!

Try one of the central T K Maxxes, too. Once they're open again. Hammersmith sometimes has good shoes! Isabel Marant boots etc.

As a Londoner, I can equivocally say we wear what we want. And not everyone is groomed at all times unless of course you have an actual "city" job which requires you to be presentable. And, there are many different parts of london...

I personally wear A LOT of Zara, and other stories, M&S for underwear and cashmere jumpers, cheap jeans (Zara or Topshop mainly), trainers (superga or golden goose).

@FANTINE2

Could anybody direct me to any Scandi brands? I AM 5'8'' and a sz. 14/16.

I like By Marlene Birger, or Wild Swans have lots of different Scandi brands.

I'm tall although not particularly booby. Me&Em is always too short in the body for me. I do have a jumpsuit from there this year which is quite tricky to wear. I like the dresses but can't wear the tops.

On the Longchamp bag front - my teenage girls have those and so do their friends....

I really miss dressing for work too.

Currently the city is wearing lounge wear!

Emma Hill on Instagram? Love her coat/ blazer /bag/ footwear combinations and she marries high end and designer very well.

I love Joseph. I am not professional at all but buy Joseph on Ebay at bargain prices. Very easy smart nice look, but I don't think for the large breasted or necessarily the tall. I am flat chested and small and everything fits well.

Whatever I put on from Cos or Toast is far too long and big

Brill suggestions on here.

I'm a Cos/Kin/Arket/Modern Rarity/Other Stories addict. I find Reiss a bit bleh as I lean towards a more interesting, architectural shape and cut. I really like some Me+Em pieces but the prices are high. I think it's time to set up some ebay and Depop alerts!

I gave up on Insta "influencers" because I found them all vacuous and annoying as fuck. They were so plastic I ended up preferring to just follow the actual brands, which were at least clearly marked as advertising. But if there are any people on there who actually just wear nice clothes and like to talk about fashion without trying to flog shit every thirty seconds, I may reconsider.

F

@BangingOn
Thank you. Will have a look.

Cos and Sweaty Betty

I looked up Emma Hill, think she was mentioned earlier. I want more fashion then that if that makes sense, she's very safe.

What a fab thread. So interesting to hear about different brands other than the ubiquitous high street ones.

You all sound so stylish. I would love to see some outfit pics from you all, heads cropped away of course. Love real people fashion. Used to adore Instagram, but as others have said, the advertising is so tedious now.