What to Wear in London (By Season, and By Room)

From the Merve Bayindir atelier in London, the weather answer in one section and the part nobody writes: which rooms in this city have a written dress code, and where a hat belongs.

Every guide to dressing for London answers the same question, which is what to pack for a rainy week of walking. That question is easy and it has been answered a hundred times: a trench, layers, shoes that survive cobbles and an umbrella you can fold. We have put it below in one section, honestly and briefly, and then moved on to the question nobody answers. London still has rooms with written dress codes, and they are stricter than most visitors expect and considerably looser than most visitors fear. Knowing which is which is the difference between an outfit that works and an afternoon spent feeling wrong.

The short answer

The weather, in one honest section

Spring is the least predictable and the one people pack for worst. Sun and a passing shower in the same hour is normal, so the answer is a trench, a light knit and trousers you can walk in. Summer is mild rather than hot, which visitors from warmer countries consistently overestimate, and the sting in the tail is that many of the buildings you will want to sit in are listed and have no air conditioning at all: a cotton or silk dress will serve you better in a hotel dining room in July than linen, which creases within the hour.

Autumn is the season London dresses best in, because the city's default palette of charcoal, camel, ink and oxblood belongs to it. Wool, structured outerwear, boots. Winter is cold, damp and grey rather than severely cold, which means the enemy is wet rather than temperature: a long wool coat, something on your head, and shoes with grip. That is the entire packing answer, and everything below is the part that is actually worth knowing.

The rooms that publish a dress code, and what they actually say

Royal Ascot, the only genuinely enforced code in the city

In the Royal Enclosure, hats should be worn, and a headpiece is acceptable as an alternative only if it has a solid base of four inches, or ten centimetres, or more in diameter. Fascinators are not permitted. In the Queen Anne and Village Enclosures a hat, headpiece or fascinator should be worn at all times. There is no colour restriction anywhere. The rule dates from January 2012, and Ascot's head of communications explained it plainly at the time: some fascinators had become so small that they were nothing more than a hairband and a feather. We have written a full guide to the Royal Enclosure dress code, and our Royal Ascot hats are built to clear the base requirement.

The Ritz, at afternoon tea

Gentlemen are required to wear a jacket and tie, and jeans and sportswear are not permitted for either ladies or gentlemen. The detail worth knowing is that this applies to afternoon tea specifically: smart jeans are allowed at breakfast, in the Rivoli Bar, in the Secret Garden and in the Cigar Lounge. The code does not apply to children under 16. By contrast, Fortnum & Mason states in writing that it does not enforce a dress code at any of its restaurants, which tells you that the rule belongs to the room rather than to the meal. Our full guide to dressing for high tea sets out every London venue we could verify.

Henley Festival and Glyndebourne

These two are the surprise for most visitors, because they are the strictest social occasions in the English calendar and neither is a race meeting. Henley Festival states that it is a black-tie event, prohibits denim, leather garments and trainers of any kind, and warns that guests failing the code may be refused entry; its Sunday morning family event is the one exception with no code at all. Glyndebourne says black tie and Glyndebourne are synonymous for the summer festival from May to August, and moves to smart casual for the autumn season. Neither publishes a headwear rule, which in practice means a hat is welcome at Henley in daylight and out of place at Glyndebourne after dark.

The Royal Opera House, the West End and everywhere else

There is no dress code at the Royal Opera House and there is none in the West End. People go in jeans and people go in black tie, on the same night, in the same row. The only genuine rule at the theatre is physical rather than social: do not wear a hat, because the person behind you has paid for a sightline. Take it off, or wear something that sits flat enough to keep on, and take it off anyway if anyone has to lean.

Where a hat belongs in this city, and where it does not

The London season, and why August empties the city

If you are coming for the social calendar rather than for the museums, it runs on dates that have barely moved in a century. Chelsea in May, the Derby at Epsom and Royal Ascot in June, Henley and Wimbledon at the turn of June and July, Goodwood at the end of July, Cowes in early August. Then it stops. The traditional close of the London Season is the Glorious Twelfth of August, the opening of the grouse season, when society historically left for the country. That is why a London August feels oddly quiet and why the occasion calendar picks up again in September with St Leger and the autumn racing.

The London Season ends on the twelfth of August, and it ends because of grouse. Very little in this city's calendar is arbitrary; it is just old.

Five Merve Bayindir pieces for five London rooms

Each is hand-made in our London atelier, half a mile from most of the addresses above. Prices include UK VAT.

PATREA HEADBAND

£850

A sculptural blush pink headband, the structured base curving around the head and framed by a sheer halo that adds lightness, with delicate flowers in ivory, coral and crimson rising on fine wired stems. For a race meeting or a garden party. The halo gives it visual scale without physical weight, which matters on a day that runs from eleven in the morning until the last race.

FLAMENCO HEADBAND

£1,400

A pink silk taffeta band built around a floral bouquet, peony and fuchsia flowers worked in lilac, pink and ecru with a few trimmed goose feathers for movement. For a summer garden party or a wedding held outside the Royal Enclosure. It is easy to wear for a long day and it photographs well in the flat overcast light this city specialises in.

MATILDA HEADBAND

£1,050

A clean white sateen bridal headband topped with an upright double-layered bow in the same fabric, with a fine round net veil falling softly over the face. For a civil ceremony at a register office or a small London wedding. The veil supplies the ceremony that a town-hall room does not, and it lifts for photographs and for lunch.

HEAVEN PILLBOX HAT

£550

A soft white wool felt pillbox beret on a lightly sculpted shape with a small felt stem at the crown, scattered with swirling ivory rosettes each finished with a cultured pearl at its centre. For a winter christening or a January afternoon tea. Felt in white is a cold-weather choice rather than a summer one, and against a dark coat it does the work of a much larger hat.

ÉCLAT HEADBAND

£1,100

A black velvet headband and mask hybrid on a tall sculptural form, anchored by a jet-black beaded starburst, with an oval of birdcage veiling falling forward to shield the eyes in fine hand-knotted netting. For a gala, a masked ball or an evening in a private room. This is the one piece here that belongs after dark, and it is the answer to a London evening that a daytime hat cannot give.

At a glance

Practical notes for a London trip

Travel with the hat in a box rather than a bag, and carry it on rather than checking it. If you are coming for more than one occasion, sequence the pieces so the largest is worn on the day with the shortest journey. Allow for rain on the way to an event you have dressed for, which is the specific London problem: sinamay and straw both mark, and a taxi from a covered entrance is not an extravagance in June. Keep a piece that can be worn indoors, since a great deal of London occasion life happens in rooms rather than on lawns. And check the enclosure or the venue before you buy anything, because the ten centimetre rule at Ascot has caught out more visitors than every other rule in this article combined. Our hat sizing guide and our ready to ship range are both worth a look if the trip is close.

Ordering, and what to expect

Every piece is made to order in the London atelier, part of a deliberate, low-waste way of working. Every order arrives in a custom box, with worldwide DHL Express shipping included, so a piece can meet you here or travel home with you. See the full range of hats and fascinators.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a dress code in London?

Not for the city, and not for most restaurants or theatres. There is one for Royal Ascot, one at The Ritz for afternoon tea, and one each at Henley Festival and Glyndebourne's summer season. Almost everywhere else is convention rather than rule.

Do Londoners dress up?

Less than visitors expect day to day, and more than visitors expect for a dated occasion. The register is understated and tailored rather than showy, and the fastest way to look out of place is to be conspicuously new rather than conspicuously smart.

Can I wear a hat in London?

Yes, and at some events you must. It is required at Royal Ascot, expected at a traditional wedding, and unremarkable at a race meeting, a christening or a garden party. Avoid one at the theatre, where it blocks the view behind you.

What should I wear to the theatre in London?

Whatever you like. Neither the Royal Opera House nor the West End operates a dress code, and on any given night the same row will hold jeans and black tie. The only real rule is not to wear a hat that obstructs the seat behind.

What do I wear to afternoon tea in London?

Smart day dress. At The Ritz specifically, men need a jacket and tie and nobody may wear jeans or sportswear at afternoon tea. Fortnum & Mason states that it enforces no dress code at all, and most other rooms sit between the two.

When is the London season?

May to the middle of August, running from Chelsea in May through Ascot, Henley and Wimbledon to Goodwood at the end of July. It traditionally closes on the Glorious Twelfth of August, the opening of the grouse season.

Find your piece

Every piece above is designed and hand-made in our London atelier by Merve Bayindir, a member of the British Fashion Council with selections in the Royal Ascot Style Guide. Read our companion guide to what to wear to the races, or our decoding of the black tie dress code if a London evening is what you are dressing for.

Sources

Ascot Racecourse, official Royal Ascot dress code

The Ritz London, afternoon tea dress code

Henley Festival, dress code

Glyndebourne, what to wear

Royal Ballet and Opera, your first visit