Bloody hell. Queens garden party help!

[awesomekilick]

My DM has an invite to a queens garden party late May and wants me as her plus one.

What is expected? A frock?? I'm a jeans n sweater mid 50s woman, there is zero of the "S and B" about me. So I turn to you in panic for help.

I have fat calves and ankles. Good shoulders. 5 foot 7 and size 16 (14 on a good day). Hate heels of any description. I must feel as comfortable and relaxed as possible as I'll be inwardly stressed, dealing with my elderly DM and my inner revulsion towards this kind of "do". My DM has no one else to take really. Please help!

This would be lovely for garden party.

https://www.marksandspencer.com/v-neck-pleated-midi-dress/p/clp22528712?extid=psps-bplaagglwwwch--UK---testssc&gclid=CjwKCAiAo4OQBhBBEiwA5KWuu5AXhmfMfB7Fkro0loWRHG2LuEQBNVgRgELiHeCaSKtFF9JytIiohoCEPsQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

This takes me back - we went 12/13 years ago - I was DH plus one - a friend of mine was going 3 days before me (this was in July) and sadly her day and the ones either side had so much rain that they all wore raincoats etc and sunk in the grass

We were amazingly lucky in that it was sunny all day - it was amazing - I wore a peacock green/blue ombré silk dress and low block kitten heels , a thin velvet kimono type jacket , no hat - I think I pinned my hair back with a diamanté slide

Great time - I hope you have as much fun when you get to go

It’s a long time since I’ve been but people do make an effort. If you are used to jeans (me too) Id go for a summery trouser suit. It isn’t necessary to wear a hat.

What kind of invitation do you have?
There are two tiers & if you have the kind that means that you are in a lineup to meet the royal on duty then I would say a hat is mandatory. It’s super smart - you sound the same shape/size as me almost exactly. I wore a long dress with a short jacket & coordinating hat, my sandals had a low wide heel so I didn’t sink into the mud.

I’m lucky enough to have been invited twice. Most people wear really smart clothes, as suggested by others, suit or dress and jacket if cold.
However there are so many people that unless you go in ripped jeans or any jeans you won’t look out and of place.

Unless you are to be introduced to a Royal then smart casual is ok. Best to wear flat shoes because it’s mostly walking on grass and heels will aerate the lawn or you will sink in to far which spoils the effect. There’s a lot of standing round like queueing to get in.

The food is delicious and some lovely touches to the decoration of some of the cakes for example. The strawberries were very tasty.
Enjoy your day.

I wore a midi dress, it was nice and comfortable as well. I made the mistake of wearing heels and consequently spent the whole time sinking into the grass :D

Don’t wear anything made of linen, it will crease, especially if you have traveled some distance to get there.

Resurrecting this thread because DP has..... had a letter from the palace! It was expected, but I've been in denial, waiting for the invitation to arrive.

I'm a combination of excited and terrified.

For all you seasoned garden party attendees here I have a question. The dress code says that ladies should wear hats. Will I get away with a fascinator? I can't risk being turned away for incorrect headwear!

You'll get away with it but they are snobby about people who wear them. It should be a hat really.

I was always told you weren't allowed to go more than once, including as a plus one. Is that false then?! Wonderful!

How exciting! I’m still waiting for my invitation to arrive.

You really need a hat. I hired one, it cost me around £25 for four days.

Looks like I'm going to need a hat then! Gulp!

Just back from my trip and some pointers for everyone:

You are but one small cog - there are 1000 there you will be lucky to get a mini view on the distance of the Royals unless specially selected, wear something comfortable you can walk in whatever you do, there is alot of walking, standing and queuing, if you use a stick take it, if you re disabled use the relevant facilities for you, parking etc. We reckoned we did easily 20k steps and queued from 2.30 getting in just about 4pm in basically torrential or steady rain. The outside queues snaked back and forth several times. The door checkers (ID) were not sufficient for the job and it was slow progress getting through. There are first aid sites and also loos a plenty thank fully. The tea service is undercover and very slick service and sandwiches and little cakes and scones delightful. Chat to everyone, everyone we met and hatted too were delightful and we had a good giggle.

There is a specified time when the Royals appear with their entourage and everyone waits in front of the main doorway onto the Lawn to see them, if its raining being tall is an advantage to see over the brollies!!! We could then have lined along the edges and waited (queued) to see more up close but as the weather was so poor we chose to skip out and head for the tea tent before the masses and also to get under cover. The seating wasn't alot of use as it was not under cover at all, and I felt very sorry for those that were struggling to stand for such long periods after such long walks. Food was an absolute delight and plenty of options for all and good hot tea was very welcome. Proper Urns right next to the food so piping hot. Food and tea was offered all afternoon with no restriction and it is served on a rectangular saucer with room for the food on one side and the cup on the other and most people ate/drank standing up. Lots of waiters and waitresses around who were very helpful and right towards the end we had little icecream pots which was a nice touch despite the weather.

Once we left because of road works and preparation for the Jubilee alot of the roads around the Palace were closed so there was a bit of a jaunt (well more walking on pretty much numb feet by this time) to find a cab on a none closed road.

Was it worth it - well we were pretty sensible, no mega pricey outfits/handbags/hats/ shoes etc and brought brollies and festival macs/capes and had a plan. I do suffer with my feet and towards the end was pretty sore so maybe would have chosen a trouser suit or something where I could get away with more flat comfy shoes. We planned a couple of other things around the trip and booked a restaurant for 8pm which was pretty perfect (although being told to "Hashtag Enjoy" raised a Mumsnet like eyebrow and a snigger later, nr the hotel etc but v nice and part of the treat, we also had the next day (today) in town despite still sore feet and took in a few sights and popped into Harrods for a drool around the food halls (2k for Manuka honey anyone). I wouldn't have missed it and we had a fantastic if Wet time.

Comfortable flattish shoes with a heel that won't sink into grass are a must. Other than that I can't help you!

I wouldnt choose a jumpsuit as it might be difficult to manage in the loos

Hats - there was every variety of head gear from none to Kirsty style fat headband, to small/large fascinators and Hats from ascot to flat cap on one chap. Dress code was pretty loose too and no one was pulled on this at all.
Scone - cream first
Ladies wear - everything from jumpsuits and Primarni to couture, lots of uniform and work wear (Vicars, Priests and their heirarchy too)

I might be biased as I don't like jumpsuits, but I don't think that is nearly dressy enough.

I have just read the whole thread and enjoyed living vicariously through those who have been! I would have struggled with shoes though as waiting for an ankle replacement and even flat granny sandals are a bit of a struggle!

I was really hoping the culmination of the thread would be a photo of you in your finery @awesomekilick (non-subtle hint!)...

@AllLopsided how kind! The official invitation arrived yesterday. It's 25 may so photos may be posted (if I can do so without trashing my reputation)

@RB68 wow that's a great record of your day. I'll add "spare feet" to my list of things to take. What a shame you had so much rain though. And I'm agog as to which royals will turn up as the Queen is off duty for garden parties (fair enough). I'm hoping William but anticipating Edward :(

I can echo @RB68 with all she said. We queued from 2.30pm and just got in at 3.50pm. We had a fabulous time and just caught a glimpse of Charles and Camilla through the crowds. We chatted with lots of really interesting people and took lots of photos. The loos were plentiful and the food was lovely.

The weather was pretty dreadful really, and although we took lots of photos, I look pretty bedraggled in all of them. We had to vacate our hotel at 12pm, so were spent three hours on the top of a London bus, trying not to displace my hair/make-up/ladder my tights. Despite the weather, we had an amazing time and the rain has given us some funny memories.

I wore a hatinator, so not quite a hat and it didn't look out of place at all. Most women wore fascinators. I just loved looking at all the outfits and shoes, I could people-watch for a living.

It was an amazing experience and I know how privileged we were to be invited. Happy days.

I was there this week and they seemed to have sorted the security issues as we didn’t queue! They had police/ security as we walked up the mall doing checks and then we were straight into the palace.

Oh and got to see Kate close up although didn’t get to speak to her!

Some great advice here but on the subject of SHOES:

How long can you stand in high heels?
And how long can you stand in high heels on a squishy lawn?
Both are harder than walking in high heels.

The solution is… wedges!

• Wedges don’t slip into the turf or get stuck in the turf so you can’t move
• Wedges don’t give you uneven weight distribution.
• Wedges support your whole foot so you can relax rather than balance on tippy toes or lean back on your heels when your legs get tight and feet start to ache.

My wedges are known as my cocktail party shoes and have made me much more sociable.

Don’t forget to break them in first.

Hope you all have a marvellous time. I’m going to do some fantasy shopping and plan my garden party outfit now for the invitation that will never arrive.