You’re going to the Ivy Brasserie…. What do you wear?

[Poppyblush]

You’re going to the Ivy Brasserie with friends for lunch. What do you wear? I need inspiration to buy a new outfit! I’m tall and a size 14.

Some people just enjoy trying to make others feel bad. It might be "a chain" but it's certainly not like Pizza Express! Some people are bloody miserable.

I love going to the Ivy.

I normally wear some kind of nice dress, but dress it down a little with heeled boots instead of dressy going out heels. Hope this helps and enjoy yourself! Very jealous!

I went recently to a new one in my city and most people were dressed up ish.

I remember the other Ivy thread where the op was made to feel really small for wanting to dress up a bit for a special occasion.

I would say it’s nothing like going to a Pizza Express where I would take the kids and I would definitely make a bit of an effort although you could wear jeans if you wanted to.

Hey, if I'm going to pizza express and I want to dress up I do. Life's too short not to look fabulous when you want to!

@Poppyblush What sort of things do you like? How about a satin skirt, with a fine knit turtle neck and heeled boots? The skirt will feel dressy, but the jumper will give it a more casual feel.

Thread hijack - is the original Ivy worth going to? Is it very dressy?

@Porcinimushroom if you can't tell the difference between someone saying 'there's not really a dress code, some people dress up but it's mostly jeans and a nice top' and someone saying 'OMG why are you making such a big deal! It's just a chain like pizza express ' I feel sorry for you.

One is unkind and belittling, the other isn't. I'll let you try and figure which is which.

Or I saw this yesterday and thought it looked/felt really nice for the price. Might be nice with heeled boots and a biker jacket or cropped faux fur bomber-type thing?

I went in jeans and a top to the one in York
P.s the eggs benedict and chips is amazing

Went there on Friday and it’s hardly pizza express 😂 most people were dressed smart casual. Yes it’s a chain but still a lovely place to go that for most is a bit of a treat. We certainly couldn’t afford to go there much!

You can wear jeans and trainers. It doesn’t matter in this day and age. Just wear whatever you feel suits the occasion. Perhaps the outfit you will wear on Xmas day if you’re buying new.

Wow, what snide bitchy responses. I have been to posher places in my time, but recently celebrated my 50th in the private dining room at the Ivy Brasserie in Oxford. It was pretty special and wee all dressed pretty smartly, and no the diners in the rest of the restaurant weren't wearing jeans and trainers Far from iy.

OP - I wore a black, sleeveless jumpsuit.

What I mean is in central london the fashion is smart (clean) trainers. as opposed to my “school run, dog walk” trainers.

Ive been a handful of times and would always dress up. It’s nice to dress up 😘

I'm thinking that which city you are in is going to make quite a difference OP.
I wasn't being snide when I said I wore Jeans and sneakers, I did and this seemed to be pretty normal.
But London tends to dress casual, a more regional venue may well be dressier.
Ultimately I would wear whatever you feel comfortable in.

(Also they were pretty nice sneakers)

It's just the Ivy Brasserie . Wear whatever you like. They might turn you away if you're in a track suit or beachwear. Otherwise ... it's hardly Claridges!

The Ivy in our City does have a dress code, it states smart casual, not too sporty (so no leggings, tracksuits) , smart trainers ok. So all those jeans and trainers people are probably talking expensive jeans and trainers and a cool jacket. I very much doubt they look like they were walking the dog. London is more casual for sure but all this inverse snobbery is tiresome.

Claridges does not have a dress code...but suggests smart casual...same as the Ivy. Hilarious.

I would go dark jeans, new boots, casual jacket, cute top, jewellery, or perhaps black long sleeved dress and cool boots. I'm very into boots!

I just wore jeans & jumper last time I went, but I didn’t expect to go, was taken for lunch (Soho branch) so wore what I was wearing. But I’ve worn skirts & polos in there, dress & boots, various combos. Wear what you want I say, no one bats an eyelid & if it’s a special occasion for you, dress up to celebrate. Why not! But don’t feel you have to if you don’t feel comfortable.

on another note, James Nesbitt was on the next table over last time and my boss had SUCH a go at him for not having his phone on silent. What a prized prat, my boss (not JN) as proved by being just one on a vast list of twattish incidents by him.

@KnickerlessParsons exactly!!! Just cos some people go to the Ivy Brasserie every week for some people it’s a special occasion. That’s what I feel when I’ve been OP. We like to take clients for lunch to our local Ivy Brasserie. There are a lot of office workers during the week. Nice top/trousers or dress. I’d say most people are smartly dressed. The service and staff are better than Cafe Rouge! Food is fab too.

Really does depend. Some people go there straight from work others go before a fancy night out so all range of dress codes

@Poppyblush buy yourself a new outfit if you can and make a day of it with your friends. I wouldn’t say it’s a chain like pizza express it’s a number of nice restaurants

Why do people feel the need to sneer like this?

I don't know either. Like PP I remember the previous thread and (without looking) this one seems even more unpleasant. Maybe it would be better if people just didn't name the venues at all and stuck to the occasion.

I'm surprised we haven't had anybody post that they go every week in their decorating gear or straight out of the garden with mud all over them yet, since it's all soooo tedious and pedestrian

Oh and the Pizza Express around the corner from me is excellent, with the tiramisu alone being well worth putting a few baubles for 😀

I'm going for lunch at the weekend with friends and I'm looking forward to it. I love their courgette fries.

I'm going to wear a blazer, silk top, jeans and boots

Enjoy, op

That's deliberately missing the point.

The issue isn't people responding genuinely to suggest smart casual clothing. The issue is people responding with sneers.