Outfit for afternoon tea in London

[Birdy65]

I’m going to have afternoon tea at Claridges in a couple of weeks to celebrate a friend’s birthday. We’re travelling into London from Southampton so I need to be comfortable for the train and travelling on tubes.
I would appreciate some advice and ideas for an outfit, including footwear.
I live in jeans with flat boots or trainers, so would find it difficult to wear heels all day, so would definitely need comfortable shoes or boots.
We are due to go to a Christening in Edinburgh at the end of March, so I’ll be happy to buy a new outfit including shoes/boots to wear to both.

Hear hear @MetaDaughter 👏
OP Afternoon tea in a historical hotel with friends or family is a gorgeous treat & I hope you have a wonderful day.

I think you're right to have a browse for something that will work for both of your occasions. I like the idea of wearing comfortable shoes & bringing a pair to change into too!

I've reached the age of 64. I had one pair of black tailored trousers about 30 years ago. I've never noticed the need for them- and workwise and non work wise I'm at the dressy/ smart end of the spectrum.

Given you are planning on doing some other things in London after I think I'd invest in some comfortable flats or find something to work with the Chelsea boots you mentioned. I think they can look great with dresses or a midi skirt. And that way you don't have the extra weight of carrying a second pair of shoes.

If you don't wear dresses a lot it seems a shame to buy one that you'll only get a few wears out of. What about some lovely tailored trousers and a beautiful blouse? Have a look on Instagram at what normal people wear when they go for afternoon tea there, there's a huge range so I'd maybe go for something stylish and on the casual end of smart casual over the kind of dress you'd wear to a wedding.

@FinallyHere thanks for that link, that's the kind of thing I'd wear haha! I'm not into dresses and I agree they can be hard to style as an apple shaped, especially if you are very appley (which I am at the moment). I still love the tight trousers, blouse and jacket combo, although I do also wear boot cut nowadays.

@Highdaysandholidays1

do also wear boot cut nowadays.

Whispers, so do I. 😀

Did that sound a bit snarky? Sorry if so, I meant I do sometimes wear bootcut fake leather ones, I had a gorgeous pair, but sadly they didn't wear that well. No shade intended:)

Ooops, sorry. I didn't mean to sound anything other than glad to have found someone for whom flowery dresses just don't work.

Me too. I've always dreamed of being a flowery dress type of person, but even when I was young and very tiny, they just emphasised the wrong bits. I found tight trousers and jackets and haven't looked back!

Liking that post @Highdaysandholidays1

I have been for afternoon tea in a number of “fancy” places and have always worn a nice midi dress, white trainers (Veja or similar) and depending on the weather a jacket / blazer / coat.

I certainly wouldn’t cart another pair of shoes / boots across London to change into!

But wear what you feel comfortable in and feel like yourself wearing.

White trainers not really any good for late Feb/early March though - I doubt the OP will want bare legs!

Go for a chic trouser suit (this time of year nice to wear a fabric like velvet) with some loafers or ballet flats. Make sure the trousers aren't too long - will look great. Don't over dress, much chicer to go relaxed but elegant - enjoy!

@iloveburmese3 to be fair as a London Centric woman who has to do social stuff at quite posh places, as a nod and smile chore, I would have limited uses for a velvet trouser suit. If I were 30 years younger, possibly for evening/cocktail/glyndebourne type stuff.

Really? I love wearing mine - sometimes with trainers to keep it causal - I'm central london too in fashion industry so always in lovely spots - I'm 45 so feel it's a great outfit, have in navy and green

Ah well you see, an most definitely not in the fashion industry or in my 40s

Midi dress and trainers is plenty warm enough (cropped leggings underneath if really cold). I wore a tea dress and trainers out for dinner last week 🤷‍♀️. Trainers in this instance are no different from loafers etc which you wouldn’t wear tights with.

Have a fab time OP. I went to the ritz last year in the summer and wore a floral midi dress and flat sandals but my feet were wrecked as there were no tubes so we walked the whole weekend! I am still suffering now :(

At this time of year I'd wear a animal print midi dress with tights and flat boots or a skirt and black jumper. Or I have a nice mini dress that nice with a jumper over it.

The shoes are the key but at least you can get the tube and save your feet! WEAR YOUR SHOES IN and ensure you don't have to schlep an awful long way in them!

Agree wearing trainers would be a better option than carrying a pair of shoes round all day. I think as long as the rest of your outfit is smart and the trainers are clean and a smart style you will be fine.

There isn’t a dress code - I imagine Claridges gets a lot of tourist customers so they will be used to not everyone being dresses up to the nines!

Regarding tourists and shoes. We were turned away from the Ritz due to footwear. We hadn’t booked, we were (or would have been) walk-ins. We were having a day out in London with the teenage kids, we were relatively smartly dressed but did have trainers, mine were Armani FWIW :) So I’d check that out.

Also, lots of places in London have really turned down the heating. It might not affect Claridges, but be prepared for other places.

At the risk of sounding like a London ponce, whenever I go to Claridges I go in the Davies street entrance and the ladies are right there so I can change my shoes and get myself straight before going in for tea.

Or:

Esska do lovely shoes which are really quite comfortable for walking middling distances in if you go for the lower heeled sandals like the Charlie range.

Or:

As other have said - get a cab and arrive in style , although it's only a very short walk from Bond St tube.

@LadyOfTheCanyon I like the look of the Esska shoes. Do you know if they have a shop or who the stockists are please?

I've seen them stocked in Anthropologie stores.
They have a studio in Acton, if you're in London.

I've bought blind from them before and had no problems - my only caveat is that I have quite wide feet. If you are narrow across the toes they might be a little too wide for you.

Sounds lovely OP! I went to the Ritz for tea last summer and wore a long sleeved floral midi dress with suede kitten heeled slingbacks. If I was going at this time of the year I'd be in black trousers with a nice shirt/top and blazer or a darker midi dress. Ankle boots for both outfits or, like others have suggested, wear trainers to travel and slip a pair of heels or flats in a bag for a quick change.

Good idea and slingbacks will be so easy to carry.

Oh @MetaDaughter you are describing my dream trouser suit. Where should I start looking?