London party outfit

[mamaduckbone]

I've been invited to a party in July - it's a joint 50th birthday bash for 4 of dh's old
Uni friends. They were all very Hoxton and trendy when we lived down in London, but I never was really part of that set and we've lived elsewhere for 20 odd years now so am completely out of touch.

Although we're now all middle aged with kids I know the London lot will still be super stylish. Please help, oh wise mumsnet stylistas - I don't want to look like a small town primary school teacher (even though that's what I am!)
Size 10-12, 5'5", most comfortable in a stripy t-shirt, jeans and converse.

Manchester is not dressed up, just depends where you go, it's quite a big city and Greater Manchester is huge and different from one two to the next. I felt underdressed when I went out in Wilmslow once though and everyone was styled like WAGs. That's not my style though so I didn't care.

one town to the next. Also there would be hen parties from out of town who are sometimes more dressed up than the locals.

Ime the exact types who thing there is a 'London style' do not know the difference between Manc and Liverpool or even Newcastle in terms of culture. Manchester is such a diverse city and if you want to see the most glam women in the UK it ain't here - head to Liverpool for a proper dressed up night out every time.

@Usernamen just as well the party isn't in Hoxton then 😀

@SocksAndTheCity see you there 😂

“That’s not my style though so I didn’t care”

Perfect put.

Only on S&B would noticing what people wear in a certain area and acknowledging that it is different from one’s own style be seen as “sneery”.

I hope it’s a great party. 🙌

It's interesting what you said about Hoxton @Usernamen - haven't been out in that neck of the woods for about 20 years, and all the people we know who used to hang out / live there have moved further out to do adulting things like have kids and buy houses...it would probably be a huge disappointment to go back there, and the bars we used to go to are probably all Starbucks.

(Not saying where the party is unless I do accidentally out myself as the insecure one who doesn't know what to wear...although think I'll be easily identifiable anywhere in my buttery culottes)

No. In case you're genuinely interested, the moment where you slipped from observation into sneeriness - at least as far as I was concerned was here:
Shoreditch and Hoxton are a nightmare now - hard not to sound sneery here, but you can’t move for the Essex crowd on Fridays/Saturdays.

You appear to be saying that Shoreditch and Hoxton are a nightmare not because they're busy - which I can quite understand - but because they're busy with the 'Essex crowd', aka it's the wrong type of busy.

You live in a fabulous city that loads of people want to visit. This is the downside.

As I explained, it is the sheer number and the fact they go out in big groups (like up to 20 people…), that means it’s a different kind of busyness from other areas. It’s not because their choice of clothes offends me. What nonsense.

And if you don’t think there’s a difference between 50 couples in a bar and 10x groups of 10, then we’ll have to agree to disagree.

Why bother specifying it was "the Essex Crowd" then?

You could just have said but you can’t move for the crowd on Fridays/Saturdays.

It's a bit like people in Edinburgh who legitimately complain that Edinburgh gets very crowded with tourists in August and the ones who complain about "Edinburgh being so full of English during the Festivals"

So...'Be yourself, unless you shop in River Island..then you need to be someone else?'

Because it’s a certain type of busyness! Massive, usually single-sex, groups, who will often interact/make friends with another massive group of the opposite sex, and before you know it your night out feels like you’ve gatecrashed a wedding. Why don’t you and Floisme go to Shoreditch this weekend and see for yourselves? Because you can’t seem to grasp something I thought was pretty easy to understand. I can even tell you which bars are the worst offenders, to help you out.

Ha ha OP, sorry it must be hard to sift through but maybe consider the context of PP posts (and not just the advice) if you can?!

Yes, it's all rather run away with itself hasn't it? All I really wanted was a few links to nice outfits 😂. Good job I'm on half term and bored of writing reports otherwise I'd have got lost long ago.

@TheNeverEndingOver - succinct, to the point. Yep, that's the gist of all 180 odd posts summarised in one sentence. Substitute 'White Stuff' for 'River Island' and you have the reason I posted in the first place.

Off to trawl Vinted this afternoon.

You don't seem to grasp something which is pretty easy to understand.

Do you really have no idea how you are coming across? Clearly not.

You’re taking it all very well OP! You would be forgiven for saying ‘I wish I hadn’t asked’. Just one more idea - long cotton or linen black dress plus denim jacket. Can’t go wrong imo.

Of all the links, though this was the best look idea, apart from the eye watering price tag 😭though it soon sold out and now being restocked by power of MN and your thread OP 😉

I find the millon threads about how to dress in London fascinating. There's clearly apprehension (?) around London dress code and whether it comes down to the london sneeriness or the fact that it is one of world's fashion capitals, I don't know

I know what @Usernamen means, btw. If I come across a group of out of towners on a night out at any given bar, my heart sinks a bit. By this i mean large groups of women/men who are out to get pissed; not a few couples wanting a quiet pint before theatre. Nothing to do with the dress, but more about feeling like they take over the establishment, are loud and hog the bar etc. I try to avoid places that attract the hen do crowds etc as I'm just too old for the noise level. And why is it ok for people in Edinburgh to sneer at the English who take over the city in August but not ok for me to be annoyed by the central line crowd who take over my local bars on a Saturday night to the extent that I cant get in though i live ten minutes walk away?

Sorry OP, just find this an interesting topic. hope you have fun whatever you wear!

Don’t knock River island it’s got some great DvF style dresses this season.

Ha! I wasnt - I was summarising what we written above

And why is it ok for people in Edinburgh to sneer at the English who take over the city in August but not ok for me to be annoyed by the central line crowd who take over my local bars on a Saturday night to the extent that I cant get in though i live ten minutes walk away?

Er because it isn't OK and I never said it was Ok.

My point was it's fair enough to grumble that Edinburgh gets very busy. It is NOT ok to whinge or sneer about "English tourists" or "The Essex Crowd".

I know, it was an apt summary.

You can wear River Island to a party in East London, at least I would! these outfits for instance, with the right accessories:
https://www.riverisland.com/p/black-poplin-ruched-puff-sleeve-blouse-754609
https://www.riverisland.com/p/black-linen-halter-neck-midi-dress-759826

That dress is actually really nice @LivelyBlake, but I fear I may ooze out of it in a none too attractive fashion. A flat midriff is sadly a thing of the past.