Is this okay for tea at the Ritz and ROH?

[DieDreiHexen]

We visit London quite often, but mostly supper in Marylebone, picnic in the park, the theatre, lunch by the river, an exhibition or Ronnie Scott's (or work!) Basically, nice stuff but nothing fancy, just wear jeans or a day dress. This outing is unusual for me...

We are celebrating DD's 16th birthday in January with a trip to Mikimoto for pearl earrings, tea at the Ritz and Onegin at the Royal Opera House. We are overnighting at the Ritz (already looking forward to breakfast!)

DD has an amazing Sister Jane dress.

Would this dress do for me? How do people dress for ROH? Is it better in black or cream? (I'm a Deep Autumn apparently) And what shoes might work? I was hoping I might get away with loafers as I hate heels.

Any ideas appreciated!

I love you. And I hope you and your DD had a great time (and an extra sausage roll or two).

Well,whatever you like, the staff have such beautiful manners they won’t bat an eyelid.

I wore a red midi dress, y Mam wore a blue m and a dress, my cousin a black dress with polka dots and my aunt a smart pair of trouser and a white cotton shirt. We all had an amazing time and were too preoccupied by the experience to notice what others were wearing. Enjoy x

@Propcorn Why are people not allowed to enjoy ballet and opera in your world? Or stay in a proper 5 star hotel? Or talk about it? If posters have been to The Ritz or the ROH it’s fair enough to say so and offer advice. Are we all limited to your narrow view of life?

I live in London and am in my fifties so have been to quite a few operas and ballets. And even the Ritz! There is just something cringeworthy about the tone of some of these detailed posts about their ‘exclusive’ memberships etc!

@Propcorn Agreed. It’s better to stick to the topic. It can feel daunting if you have never been but both are great experiences.

The dress you linked is beautiful, OP, and perfect for the ROH!

ROH memberships start at less than £10 a month and are open to anyone. Who on earth's been claiming it's exclusive? People spend ten times that to watch football on their own tv! Would you accuse someone who mentioned they had a top tier Sky sports package as "stealth bragging"? For people who want to go regularly it can save a great deal of money, especially if they're happy to stand as it's pretty much the only way to get standing places. I'm a member as I'm disabled and need an end of aisle seat near an exit, I also usually use my rehearsal tickets to see operas I wouldn't or couldn't afford to pay full price for - rehearsal tickets are about £25 and it can be over £250 for the same seat at performance. Usually the only difference is that the orchestra wear causal clothing.

Please don't peddle the myth that attending the opera or ballet is 'exclusive', elitist or something to brag about. It very much is not and the promotion of this silly, outdated notion not only puts off potential attendees but also affects the amount of assistance the opera house receives as the Arts Council decreases funding if believes an institution is not 'accessible' enough.

Completely agree with you, the tone is off. They're aiming for superiority but just come across really poorly. It's the usual suspects anyway.

I actually want to hear more about the pearls! Love jewellery. OP, is she getting pearl studs or something with a design?

I just peeked at their website and now I want these, dammit!

https://www.mikimoto.co.uk/uk_en/akoya-cultured-pearl-cluster-earrings-in-18k-yellow-gold

If this was in any way aimed at me @Propcorn in all honesty everything was supposed to be slightly tongue in cheek. I suppose tone is easily misinterpreted on here.

Yes, absolutely. It’s gorgeous

You INTERLOPER!!!!! 😂😂😂

OP was just excited about their plans, that's all. Nothing wrong with that.

I don't think it's fine. It annoys me when I see people wearing baseball caps and trainers in smart places. I remember being on the QM2 and seeing various oafs walking along the beautiful red-carpeted, spacious public areas wearing shorts and flip-flops, in January in the North Atlantic. People who dress very out-of-place like that make themselves look oblivious to the point of being dim, and it lowers the tone of somewhere that's meant to be a graceful, beautiful experience. I shuddered when reading on this thread about someone who attended the Opera House in a high-viz jacket and cycling shorts and shoes. I don't think that people should have to dress up, but there's such a thing as going way too far in the opposite direction. If you don't want to dress up or can't afford to, there's nothing wrong with a pair of black jeans and a nice M&S top. But the flip-flops and high-viz-jacket-wearing lot to nice places like the ROH and the QM2 do irritate me.

I couldn't agree more, especially with the last sentence!

I think it just shows there are lots of types of style.

I went for dinner at a fancy hotel with my elderly mum and the couple on the table next to us were all ripped jeans and baseball caps.

However they had probably spent at least 5 times what we had on their outfits let alone the handbag and designer trainers.

Not my style but was theirs.

I'm thoroughly fashion-blind, but I would really like to learn. Many posters have said that the green dress is amazing, but to me it looks like a top hurriedly put together from some old curtains by someone who can't sew. Really big and blousy and too short...I just can't see the appeal. But lots of other people like it, so I mustn't be getting it. What are others seeing that I'm not?

This my idea of a gorgeous dress that a 16-year-old might wear to the Ritz and the ROH:

https://www.boden.co.uk/en-gb/christina-tulle-midi-dress-navy-foil-scattered-stars/sty-d1094-nvy?cat=C1_S2_G4

That’s a Christmas party dress… for a 50+ woman. My 16 year old wouldn’t even.

The green dress isn’t my thing either nor would I have contemplated it at 16. But I’m not wearing it.

See, this is an illustration of how I don't understand fashion! I don't think the dress that I linked is only for 50-plus at all...it's fitted at the waist, has a deep elegant V-neck, diaphanous sleeves...I think it's a dress that would look beautiful on younger people. What is it that you think makes it an older woman's dress?

To me, this is more of a 50-plus dress:

https://www.boden.co.uk/en-gb/thea-velvet-midi-dress-cabernet/sty-d1088-red?cat=C1_S2_G389

The 16 year old already has a Sister Jane dress - you can buy them at ASOS. Boden is a no no for 16 year olds. They like a good rummage through ASOS. Or Zara. My DDs really would not have gone near Boden. The blue dress shows a mum with a child so it’s a mum dress. Lots of 16 year olds are going short and the OP is too. Thats fine.

I haven't read the full thread as it started to get a bit weird(!), but wanted to comment that I had afternoon tea at the Ritz a couple of weeks ago and both dresses are perfect. You will both look amazing and have a great time, it sounds like such a fun day! ❤️

I don't particularly like the green dress either, but it is fashionable. Saying a dress is 'amazing' doesn't necessarily mean PPs like it, or that it's particularly flattering for the wearer. But apparently 'flattering' is the enemy of fashion at the moment. The Boden dress is... Not good for a 16 year old I'm afraid. It's too little girl party dress at an age when they definitely want to get away from that. Or yes, an older lady's dress. I'm 34 and wouldn't wear that. I don't know any 16 year olds so don't want to guess what they'd wear, but I'd maybe have expected a slip dress, e.g. https://www.asos.com/miss-selfridge/miss-selfridge-cowl-neck-satin-midi-slip-dress/prd/207302056#colourWayId-207302057

Gosh, that dress looks way to sexy and slinky to me for a 16-year-old! I think that's suitable for 21 and up. I guess I'm just frumpy though, and I'm of my era. At 16, we were wearing taffeta and velvet Laura Ashley dresses!

You're 34 and wouldn't wear the Boden midnight dress with the see-through sleeves...why not? I would LOVE for someone to explain why it looks like an older lady's dress, because I'm just not seeing it! I could do with knowing!

PS Is the black less frumpy?

https://www.boden.co.uk/en-gb/christina-tulle-midi-dress-black-spots/sty-d1094-blk?cat=C1_S2_G4

I can't explain why some posters think the navy Boden dress is an "older lady's dress". I'm 65, if that's relevant, and I wouldn't wear it. It doesn't grab my attention. It's a very safe, blend into the background dress. The black is better.

Re the Sister Jane dress, I wouldn't wear the green dress because I've never liked short dresses, despite (or possibly because of) having good legs. For a 16 year old? Why not? I can't see a 16 year old being interested in the Boden dress.

I'm considering one of these Sister Jane dresses as I need (ok want) a new black tie dress.

Sister Jane 1
Sister Jane 2

Well, there's clearly a bit of a generation gap then. Slip dresses are fairly commonplace now.

I wouldn't wear it just because I think I could do better. The dress is fine, inoffensive. But I wouldn't choose to wear it, I'd choose to wear something that I personally think is nicer. Saying it's for an older lady probably wasn't quite correct. It's more that it's a safe choice, and in general/my experience, safe choices like that are more popular with older ladies. I'm not saying that everyone over X age should/would wear it, for clarity.

The black is better than the blue, but still a no for me.