What to wear?

[poetryandwine]

We live in the middle of nowhere and have some events coming up in London. What are MumsNetters wearing to dinner in a good bistro style restaurant, followed by theatre in the West End? I will be shopping for this trip.

TIA

Gentle bump.

My wardrobe is pretty boring TBH, and I haven’t bought anything for going out in the evening in ages. I am open to trousers and skirts (of various lengths) equally.

I’ve been thinking about buying some high boots, if women are really wearing them in London? (Not yet in my area) My only nice boots are black ankle high Chelsea boots. My favourite shoes are suede mid-height black kitten heel pumps but I don’t know if these are still in style?

What sort of age are you? Some of the supermarkets have some great stuff in at the moment!

A great question, thank you. Early 50’s, with a slightly boring academic style I’d like to broaden.

It’s true - I have owned two fabulous, high quality T shirts in recent years. One was from Cos and one was from Sainsburys.

Could you give me some ideas, @CookieMonster28 ? Love your username, BTW

Oh, @poetryandwine … I love the way you ask if women are really wearing knee high boots in London. Are they truly so very strange in your locality?

Yes, knee high boots are everywhere. (Even in my ‘academic’ city some fifty miles outside London.) Buy some if you think you’ll wear them regularly until next Summer. They’re lovely with pretty much any dress or skirt.

However, MN Style & Beauty advice for any event short of a wedding is invariably ‘jeans and a nice top’ - for which you definitely wouldn’t need tall boots.

(I - older than you - don’t currently own any jeans because I find them dull. I was in London for theatre, etc a few days ago, in ruinously expensive knitwear and a ridiculous translucent skirt from Zara. Clumpy boots because my day involved a lot of walking - for a nice dinner I’d probably have swapped them for Mary Jane shoes. Or my tall boots.)

Thank you, @BeetledBrow

I am glad if I made you laugh. I am in a staid academic sector and I live in a ‘naice’ village that is the opposite

Sorry.

of fashion forward.

I love high boots so your message brought a smile to my face! Haven’t seen a single pair here, perhaps one or two when I make the journey to the nearest Waitrose. Even in our closest Premier League City high boots are still exceptional.

My best jeans or trousers look is high waist, wide leg, which feels very ‘daytime’ to me. But perhaps that’s wrong?

So maybe I would wear a floaty half and a knit half (skirt and top) with high boots, or good (wide legged) trousers and a floaty top with ballets? Is this vaguely on trend?

(Sorry - written before seeing your last post! Your ideas sound fine!)

I’m not sure I laughed … Maybe raised an eyebrow.

But seriously - what sort of budget were you thinking of? And do you really want specifically dressy evening things or just some new clothes you can wear whenever?

For relaxed going out style I’d suggest a beautiful piece of knitwear from somewhere like:

& Daughter

with maybe some wide velvet trousers. Or a skirt from:

Wyse

or

Wiggy Kit

(Or Zara if you’re a bit more devil may care.)

If you really want a dress:

Klements does the most beautiful printed silk frocks

and

Justine Tabak lovely wintery fabrics

both of which would be wonderful with your new boots.

(Obviously you could replicate these options spending as much or as little as you choose. Of course you might hate all these suggestions!)

I'm late 40s, London born and bred. I went to dinner and the theatre a few nights ago. I wore a vintage Yves Saint Laurent black leather jacket, black bodysuit, very pale grey denim trousers from Studio Nicholson and white converse. I also had diamond earrings on (I wear these every day) and was using my new Bella Freud x M&S tote bag. Not my most exciting outfit but comfortable to sit in. Bag well-sized for snacks and a water, and scarf and sweatshirt to wear if needed.

Hello from another academic in a village (just) outside London 🙂

I visit London several times a month, and my current standard wear for dinner and theatre is:

Wide leg cropped jeans
Silk shirt
Cashmere jumper if chilly
Chunky calf boots
Short wool coat

I've added links to the things I like below.

I'm wearing this next month for a couple of special events: www.meandem.com/fringe-tweed-fit-and-flare-mini-dress-ivory-black

People really are dressing down in london nowadays. Except for the ubiquitous floral midi on provincial ladies having a day out.

I've added links to my current favourites, with the caveat that I'm no style icon! :

www.jigsaw-online.com/products/cloud-cashmere-eldon-jumper-red

https://www.jonesbootmaker.com/products/edita-leather-calf-boots-edita-326-534?variant=53263428813187&gadsource=1&gbraid=0AAAAACCbrxlRi7HD97R1RHnrPj9JEha3&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqfzrwcXKiQMVW5hQBh1lpAPeEAQYASABEgKNJfDDBwE

https://www.thekooples.com/gb/en_GB/p/burgundy-silk-shirt-FCCL29053KBUR01.html

https://www.toa.st/products/annie-organic-denim-side-button-jeans-indigo?utmsource=google&utmmmedium=cpc&utmcampaign=19799594337&gaddsource=1&gbraid=0AAAAADntuoi93K6KxwKFZgHZMx81xU5Fh&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIquLOjsXKiQMV3ItQBh3k9xYAEAQYAyABEgIGpDD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

@bunnybunnybunnybunny Bloody hell! Your outfit sounds amazing, I'm now embarrassed to have followed that with my Toast jeans and Jigsaw sweater!

@DieDreiHexen It sounds far more exciting, not to mention luxe than it actually is. If it makes you feel better, earrings were inherited, as was the jacket. Trousers from Vinted, bodysuit from Zara sale and converse a Black Friday buy a few years ago. The only full-price item was the bag! 😂

I love both Jigsaw and Toast, so am pretty certain I would love what you were wearing! I recently bought a ring from the former.

I wore this silk Klements dress with flat Mary Janes to dinner and a ballet at Royal Ballet , Covent Garden a couple of weeks ago.

Klements

I can't remember what I wore the same weekend to see Oedipus at the Wyndham Theatre but it would have been whichever day dress I put on in the morning as I didn't go back to hotel to change. Might have been this Klements cotton dress. On my feet - All Birds black felted wool Breughel peasant shoes.

Klements cotton dress

Covent Garden is usually dressier than the theatres. So many of the West End theatres are so tiny it doesn't seem worth getting dressed up.

Thank you all; your links and descriptions are inspiring. I’ve had a great time browsing the links and references which were mostly new to me though I’ve had some good luck at Toast and Jigsaw in the past.

My budget for separates (although the Klements dresses are gorgeous) is £250-300. So I am thinking one fabulous half and one more practical half. Eg a gorgeous silk or knit top to last forever with a more ordinary skirt or wool blend trousers - or jeans - or beautiful wool or velvet trousers or a full swishy skirt in a great fabric with a good top.

I love the Toast jeans and that style of cropped trouser with side zip more generally, @DieDreiHexen . My great fear is looking like a provincial lady on a day out.

Can I wear high boots with wide, possibly cropped trousers?

@bunnybunnybunnybunny your outfit does indeed sound fabulous. Just thinking about it is helping to shake me out of this boring (non)fashion rut.

@BeetledBrow thank you especially for the less well known links, great finds. I think Wiggy Kit was my favourite of all.

@IHaveNeverLivedintheCastle we are also going to see Oedipus at the Wyndham, though I plan to make a break for the hotel, a shower and a change of clothes before dinner. That is a gorgeous dress, though the cut doesn’t work on me.