What to Wear to High Tea (Season by Season, and What the Room Actually Requires)

From the Merve Bayindir atelier in London, a guide built on the dress codes the tea rooms themselves publish, four seasons of what to wear, and a hand-made piece chosen for each one.

Almost everything written about dressing for tea is written from a photograph. This is written from the published policies of the rooms themselves, because they turn out to disagree with each other far more than anyone admits. One famous London tea room will refuse you at the door for wearing jeans. Another states in writing that it enforces no dress code at all. That single fact reorganises the whole question: the code is set by the room, not by the meal. What follows is the season-by-season answer, the venue rules in their own words, and the one question the internet has left unanswered for fourteen years, which is whether you can wear a hat.

The short answer

If you booked high tea, you asked for a working man's supper

The distinction is real, it is about furniture, and getting it right is the fastest way to sound like you know the room. Afternoon tea is the ceremonial one: light, served around four o'clock, in the drawing room, on low occasional tables beside armchairs. That is why its proper name is low tea. High tea is the evening meal of the working household, served between five and seven at the dining table, a high table, sat at on upright chairs after the working day. It was substantial and savoury, cold cuts and pies and bread and butter, and it was also called meat tea. It is not the grander version of afternoon tea. It is the opposite of grand.

The Ritz confirms this on its own site, which is about as authoritative as a London citation gets: the term high tea originates from the evening meal of the working classes. The name comes from the height of the table, not the height of society.

If you booked high tea at The Ritz, you asked for a working man's supper. What you actually booked was low tea.

We have used high tea in the title because that is what people search for, and we will keep using afternoon tea in the rest of this piece because that is what you are going to.

The Duchess did not invent it, and the person who says so is the leading historian of tea

The story everyone tells is that Anna Maria Russell, seventh Duchess of Bedford, suffered a sinking feeling in the late afternoon and invented afternoon tea around 1840 to fix it. The verified parts are these: she lived from 1783 to 1857, she was a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1841, and dinner hours were genuinely moving later across the nineteenth century as gas lighting changed household routines. The sinking feeling quotation has never been traced to a letter or a diary, which is why careful sources write is said to have.

Jane Pettigrew, who wrote A Social History of Tea and is the leading authority on the subject, is blunt about the rest. She is always credited with inventing afternoon tea, Pettigrew told Time, but she did no such thing. She was one of the people having little cups of afternoon tea and private tea parties with friends, and it happened that one of those friends mentioned it in a letter. Mealtimes, as Pettigrew puts it, do not get invented; they happen gradually. English spa towns were serving afternoon teas in the 1750s and 1760s, and Queen Victoria's own journal for August 1845 credits the custom to Germany rather than to her former Lady of the Bedchamber.

So can you wear a hat to afternoon tea?

This is the question the internet has failed to answer. There is a TripAdvisor thread from 2012 titled tea at the Ritz, fascinator yes or no, and the replies are a shrug: most people will not be wearing one, you would feel out of place, you are a tourist anyway so have fun. Fourteen years later there is still no authoritative answer anywhere. Here is ours, and it comes with the evidence.

First, the rules. No published London tea room dress code mentions headwear at all, in either direction. It is not required and it is not prohibited. Second, the history. Historic UK records that during the 1880s upper-class and society women would change into long gowns, gloves and hats for their afternoon tea, so the hat at tea is not an invention of Instagram. But it is worth knowing the other half of that: at an informal at-home tea, the etiquette manuals of 1889 through 1900 expected ladies to remove their bonnets, even for a short visit. The hat belonged to the public tea, the hotel tea room and the garden party, not to the private drawing room.

Which gives a clean modern answer. A hat at a London hotel afternoon tea is correct, and it is worn by a minority. It reads best when there is a reason for it, a birthday, a hen, a christening, a mother-and-daughter occasion, or a tea taken between two other events. What matters more than permission is scale. You will be sitting at a low table with a tiered stand at eye level and a companion opposite, which rules out a wide brim on physical grounds long before it rules it out on social ones. A headband, a pillbox, a small percher or a shallow beret is the right answer to the room. Our high tea hats and fascinators are chosen for exactly that constraint.

The London tea room dress codes, in their own words

No competitor quotes these, so here they are, checked at the time of writing.

The Ritz London, the Palm Court

The strictest, and the only genuinely enforced code. Gentlemen are required to wear a jacket and tie, and jeans and sportswear are not permitted for either ladies or gentlemen. There is a detail almost nobody publishes: the jeans ban applies to afternoon tea specifically. Smart jeans are permitted at breakfast, in the Rivoli Bar, in the Secret Garden and in the Cigar Lounge. And the dress code does not apply to children under 16 at all. Trainers are not named in the written policy, but they sit inside the sportswear prohibition and are refused in practice.

The Savoy, the Thames Foyer

No formal dress code, with a request that guests dress elegantly for the occasion. Offensive attire, disruptive clothing and sports jerseys are prohibited. No jacket and tie requirement, and no jeans ban.

The Dorchester, the Promenade

Guests are asked to refrain from wearing shorts and sportswear during afternoon tea service and in the evening. Jeans, trainers, jacket and tie are not addressed.

Fortnum & Mason, the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon

The clearest statement of all, and the one that proves the point of this section: Fortnum's says it wishes guests to feel as welcome and comfortable as possible, and therefore does not enforce a dress code at any of its restaurants. If you have been anxious about this at all, that sentence is the antidote.

Claridge's, Brown's and Sketch

None of the three publishes a dress code for afternoon tea on its own pages. Claridge's is widely reported as smart casual with no ripped jeans or sportswear, but we could not verify that wording on an owned page and will not put it in quotation marks. Sketch, in its pink Gallery, is where a statement piece is most at home, and that is an editorial judgement rather than a rule.

What to wear to high tea in winter

The London tea room in January is a listed building with tall windows and, more often than not, a queue outside it. Dress for the ten minutes on the pavement as well as the ninety minutes in the room. Wool crepe, fine knit, velvet and a good coat. Deep colours photograph better than pale under low winter interior light: bottle green, aubergine, oxblood, charcoal, ink. The practical problem is the cloakroom, so carry as little as possible and choose a coat you are happy to be seen removing.

For the head, this is felt season and the piece should be small and structured. A pillbox or a shallow beret sits above a high collar without fighting it, which a brim will not. It also stays on, which matters because you will keep it on for the whole service. See our autumn and winter occasion range. Prices below include UK VAT.

ELODIE PILLBOX HAT

£550

An ivory wool felt beret in pillbox form on a lightly sculpted shape with a small felt stem, scattered with miniature golden metal bows that catch the light like small pieces of jewellery. Ivory in felt is a cold-weather colour rather than a summer one, and against a dark winter coat it does the work of a much larger hat. The right piece for a Christmas tea.

STELLA FEDORA HAT

£500

A black wool felt fedora with a softly pinched crown and a metallic crystal band wrapped at the base, fine strands of reflective thread running through it. This is the exception to the small-piece rule: a fedora brim is shallow and turns down, so it clears a table where an upturned brim would not. Made for dimly lit rooms and considered cocktail hours as much as for tea.

What to wear to high tea in spring

The best season for it, and the one the room was designed for. Light wool, silk, fine cotton. This is where the pastels earn their place, because spring light through a palm court flatters lilac, blush, pale green and butter in a way that winter light does not. A midi dress with sleeves is the single most useful garment. Keep the coat serious, since March in London does not care what the calendar says.

Spring is also when a headpiece looks most natural at tea, because the season is full of the occasions that give it a reason: christenings, engagement teas, mothers' birthdays, the beginning of the wedding calendar. A crinoline bow or a small boater is the right register.

PETAL HARMONY HEADBAND

£400

A semi-high headband on a dark lilac silk sateen base, carrying an oversized double-layered crinoline bow that fans above the crown, with a silk organza butterfly set into it. The crinoline is open enough that it never blocks a sightline across a table, which is exactly what a bow this size needs to do at tea. Wear it back from the forehead with the hair down.

BELLAMY FASCINATOR

£1,000

A blush boater in parasisal and silk sateen with a flat crown and a clean brim, two hand-crafted blush roses along the crown, a satin ribbon band and flowing tails, mounted on a slim headband. The one piece here that reads as a hat rather than a hair ornament while staying shallow enough for a seated service. The brim is narrow, which is the whole point.

What to wear to high tea in summer

The complication nobody warns you about is that most of these rooms are in listed buildings with limited air conditioning, and a July afternoon tea can be genuinely warm. Linen creases, so choose a silk, a fine cotton or a structured viscose instead. Sleeveless is fine at every venue listed above. Avoid anything strapless, not because a rule forbids it but because it reads beach rather than drawing room.

Summer is the one season where a slightly larger piece works, because a tea taken in a hotel garden or a terrace is a garden party by another name. If your tea is outdoors, take the scale up. If it is indoors at a low table, keep it small. Our garden party hats cover the first case and the summer occasion range the second.

AESTAS FASCINATOR

£1,250

A soft pink button fascinator built around an upward spiral, a sinuous ostrich quill in a deeper pink swirling around itself and finishing in an organza butterfly. It takes up vertical space rather than horizontal, which is the correct trade at a table. Best with a plain dress in one colour and nothing else competing at the neckline.

GRAY BERET

£900

An emerald green beret in lightweight woven parasisal, with a yellow pompom flower at the crown and a fine green netted veil encircling it. Specifically a summer tea taken outdoors. The parasisal breathes in a way felt cannot, and the veil supplies the ceremony that a plain beret would not. Note the name: the piece is green.

What to wear to high tea in autumn

The most flattering season for the register, because autumn dressing and tea room dressing want the same things: texture, depth and a sense of ceremony without formality. Tweed, wool, suede, corduroy, a shirt dress with boots. The palette moves to camel, russet, plum, forest and cocoa. This is also the season where a felt hat stops being a statement and becomes simply what you are wearing, which makes autumn the easiest time of year to wear one to tea without anyone remarking on it.

CLARISSE PILLBOX HAT

£550

A black wool felt pillbox beret on a structured, lightly slouched shape with a small felt stem at the crown, finished with a textured black faux leather bow on a metallic gold base and a sculpted gold spiral at its centre. Small, high and entirely stable, so it survives a coat coming off and a chair being pushed in. The gold is the detail that lifts it out of workwear.

At a glance

Styling notes for a low table

Sit down in the piece before you buy it, or at least sit down in it at home. A tea room table is low and the stand is tall, and a brim that was fine standing at a wedding will collide with a cake stand at tea. Keep the scale under the width of your shoulders. Leave the veil at home unless you are prepared to lift it, because a birdcage and a scone are not compatible. Choose earrings over a necklace, since a necklace disappears the moment you lean forward. And take a piece that is genuinely secure, because you will not take it off and you will not have a mirror. Our guides to wearing a fascinator, which side to wear it and measuring your hat size cover the mechanics.

Ordering, and what to expect

Every piece is made to order in the London atelier, part of a deliberate, low-waste way of working. When the date is close, our ready to ship pieces go out quickly instead. Every order arrives in a custom box, with worldwide DHL Express shipping included.

Frequently asked questions

What is the dress code for afternoon tea in London?

It depends entirely on the room, not on the meal. The Ritz requires a jacket and tie for men and bans jeans and sportswear for everyone at afternoon tea. The Savoy and The Dorchester ban only sportswear and, at The Savoy, sports jerseys. Fortnum & Mason states that it enforces no dress code at all.

What should I wear to high tea in winter?

Wool crepe, fine knit or velvet in a deep colour, with a good coat for the queue outside. For the head, felt rather than straw, and small: a pillbox or a shallow beret sits above a high collar where a brim will not.

What should I wear to high tea in spring or summer?

In spring, a midi dress with sleeves in light wool, silk or fine cotton, and this is where pastels work best. In summer, silk or fine cotton rather than linen, which creases, and remember that most of these rooms have limited air conditioning.

Can I wear jeans to afternoon tea?

Not at The Ritz, where jeans are not permitted for either sex at afternoon tea, although smart jeans are allowed in its bar, at breakfast and in the Secret Garden. Elsewhere in London jeans are not named in any published policy, but smart dark denim with good shoes is the safest version if you wear them at all.

Can I wear a hat to afternoon tea?

Yes. No London tea room policy mentions hats in either direction, and Victorian society women did change into gowns, gloves and hats for tea. Keep it small: you will be at a low table with a tiered stand, so a headband, pillbox or shallow beret works where a wide brim does not.

What is the difference between high tea and afternoon tea?

Afternoon tea is the light ceremonial meal served around four o'clock at a low table, properly called low tea. High tea was the working household's evening meal, served between five and seven at the high dining table, and was substantial and savoury. The name refers to the table, not to the class of the occasion.

Are trainers allowed?

They are not named in most published codes, but they fall inside the sportswear bans at The Ritz and The Dorchester and are refused in practice at the strict end. A flat loafer or a low boot solves the comfort problem without the risk.

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. Browse the full range of hats and fascinators, or read our companion piece on what to wear to a tea party if yours is being held at home rather than at a hotel.

Sources

The Ritz London, afternoon tea frequently asked questions and dress code

The Ritz London, guide to afternoon tea etiquette, on the origin of high tea

The Savoy, afternoon tea

The Dorchester, the Promenade

Time, on Jane Pettigrew and the history of teatime

Historic UK, afternoon tea, on 1880s dress