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.

I once got refused entry to a Chillis in Reading where a friend was having a birthday lunch because I wearing jeans.

That’s outrageous! Not having heard of Chilli’s, I googled it and it’s an Indian restaurant, the motto of which appears to be ‘The Guest is God’! A strict lunchtime dress code banning jeans seems extremely archaic. I would have sent a letter of complaint to the manager after the lunch, if I’d been challenged like that.

To all those saying that it’s snobby to be emphasising the ordinariness of Ivy Brasseries, if it were me looking for sartorial advice, I would be mightily relieved. Smart casual I can do, but I hate ‘dressing up’ with a passion. Somewhere where you could if you wanted to, but it didn’t matter if you didn’t, would reassure me no end!

I went last week! There were 5 of us and we wore the following -

me - m and s black midi dress with heeled boots and a green Zara blazer
friend 1 - sparkly lipsy top with leather leggings and boots
friend 2 - sporty Dorothy Perkins top with skinnies and boots
friend 3 - plain white silky top with jeans tucked in calf length brown ankle boots
friend 4 - leopard print matalan dress with tights and boots

Enjoy OP! ❤️

Spotty not sporty!

Wear what you feel comfortable In basically, I wore a jumper dress, thick tights and knee high boots last time I went. It's not posh, prices are similar to our local pub.

I'm going for a Christmas do, might wear something a bit sparkly

This!
I went for breakfast this week - much better than cafe rouge and only cosy a bit more but worth it (bad experience of cafe rouge toast cutting the roof of my mouth to ribbons!)

Thanks everyone. I’ve ordered some skinny jeans and a lace top. Just got to decide on shoes - Chelsea or biker style,

It does depend on location I think though, i went to one when I was visiting a friend in Leeds and people did dress up a lot, here it's country casual even at the Michelin starred places

@Poppyblush I wore biker style but then I had come on the motorbike!

Gosh, way to piss on the OP’s chips. The Ivy Brasserie is special and if you’re going to the Manchester one, you absolutely can dress up.
The glamour is unreal. Lots of girls dressed up to the nines literally parading around (nobody needs to go the loo that often 😂).
I love it and the staff are some of the friendliest I’ve ever come across.

We eat out a lot but mostly at zizzi/pizza express etc. Ivy Brasserie is definitely a class above those and we go once a year for our anniversary. Last time we went we saw a proposal - I’m betting that wouldn’t have happened in a Pizza Express!

I do love a Pizza Express though...

No! It's a grotty US chain restaurant that sells tex-mex! I don't want to denigrate a decent Indian restaurant!

The one I'm thinking of I've just googled and it's closed down due to H&S breaches

The Ivy Brasserie is really not special, not posh, not different to more or less any average mid-price restaurant. I think some are possibly confusing it with the original Ivy restaurant in Covent Garden. The idea that you'd order an entire new outfit to go there is amazing to me.

Well aren't you marvellous. What a snotty thing to say.

Do bore off, @A580Hojas . And if I was so easily 'amazed' I'd be inclined to keep that fact to myself.

Definitely wouldnt wear jeans to our local one! Everyone dresses up! That’s why I like it - it’s a nice chance to not wear jeans and make an effort. I always wear a dress and have never once felt ott It’s very glam in our branch anyway. We like it for teens as it feels special and dressy but the food is still accessible burgers etc and not cheap but not crazy unlike Michelins star type places. Teens opt to go there for every birthday so we now in an Ivy rut!

It’s just a chain now. I set to the in Marylebone wearing jeans and a nice top and in no way did I feel out of place. Most people were dressed casually

The one in Marylebone

And yes we did live in London for years and went to the original one (saw Rebekah Wade in there in her heyday) but frankly I have come out the other side of the “too cool for school” under dressing snooty London attitude displayed on this thread 😁 Go for it I say - dress up it’s more fun!

Love how The Ovy is being compared to pizza express. Of course it’s just a chain and not flash/expensive/exclusive enough for some on here… 🙄It’s a nice place to eat!

We had a lovely evening meal there in Bath a earlier this year. Big mix of people and clothing. Great atmosphere and service. It’s not somewhere we go often as we tend to do cheap and cheerful. Wear anything you like! If you wanna dress up a bit do it if not don’t.

No one said it was Posh but as previous poster have stated some actually do have a dressier feel than others it seems. Manchester is very much like that. But of course people do wear casual too. I went to the Bath one mid week this year while away and it defo had people dressed up and more casual. But it had a lovely feel to it. It did have a nice ambiance and the service was amazing. On the other hand more expensive posh restaurants can feel a bit stuffy and too formal.

We all can’t afford expensive proper posh restaurants, the IVY isn’t really expensive or exclusive but it does feel like a treat for some of us chain or not so there’s just no need for the snobbery.

Jeans and a nice top is what I usually wear

Enjoy it's lovely

The one in Cheltenham is gorgeous, love the roof over the bar!

One of those Greggs hoddies from Primark

😂