We’re in the preliminary stages of planning our honeymoon to London (we’ll be going in early November).
I am not too worried about the weather, I’m just going to pack as though I were spending the time in Boston (interchangeable layers of varying thickness, waterproof windbreaker, good waterproof walking shoes).
What I’m wondering about is jeans. As in - how much do Londoners wear them? Me - I wear jeans at least 5 times a week. All weekend plus most days at work. Some days I dress them up with a nice sweater or polo, some days I dress them down with a sweatshirt or plaid. I’m unlikely to be bringing sweatshirts or plaids to London with me, but will jeans with nice sweaters be sufficient for most of my activities in London?
I’m especially concerned about dining out. Here in Boston, unless you’re headed to the expensive places like Locke Ober or L’Espalier, nice/new jeans are OK, depending on what you pair them with. Sheesh, the last time I was at Mortons there were people in jeans!
We may have one expensive dinner while there, but most of our dinners will be in mid-priced restaurants (I’m hoping we’ll find a decent selection between $25 and $40 per person). Breakfast probably at our hotel, and lunch/snack eaten on the go.
So, can I pack mostly jeans (plus my sole pair of khakis), or should I go shopping for some more khakis or some other color of “slacks?” I’m not much of a skirt-wearer in cold weather. I’m more than willing to go with pants instead of jeans for sightseeing as well, if you tell me that’s what I need.
Also, will I stick out like a colonial rube… er… I mean… sore thumb in a bright yellow LLBean windbreaker? Should I pack the black one instead?
I spent a month in London a few years ago, and wore jeans and sweaters pretty much everywhere. No one raised an eyebrow. People there wear pretty much the same things as you see people in any major U.S. city, but we didn’t go to any super fancy restaurants, mostly pubs and such. It’s not a snobby town, though, you’ll be fine!
I did get some attention for my orange coat, though. It probably just marked me as a tourist, though, no one chased me around with a bat or pointed and laughed;). And that was more at night at the clubs than walking around during the day.
London’s a great city, no worries. If you’re used to Boston, wear the same things.
In early November, there is at least one guarantee for the weather in London: at some point it will rain, and rain hard. It will probably be a cold rain, too, so, make sure you have a good-quality raincoat. If you take an umbrella (and I know some airlines are touchy about that now), make sure it’s a sturdy one, else the wind will blow it inside out.
Other than that, sounds like you’re well-prepared. Have fun Over There.
Curses! I was hoping it would help keep me from being hit by cars when crossing the street. When I was in Australia I developed this (probably odd-looking) habit of looking both ways about 30 times before I’d step off the curb. I’m hoping they thought I was just mental, rather than American.
Jeans are fine. As are combats (cargo pants); it’s pretty much anything goes.
Very few restaurants in my experience have a dress code - but that might be that I can’t afford the ones that do. Mid-price should let you wear anything you want - the snob image of England is kind of outmoded.
Warning though: only wear plaid if you want to look like a “stereotypical American tourist”: plaid pants, big camera, never remove your baseball cap, only eat in Burger King and KFC
One thing we noticed visiting London is that you could tell American tourists by their white tennis shoes. We thought the natives dressed very darkly (black and dark browns), and always black shoes.
yeah, I would agree with the idea “if in doubt, wear black” policy. But I don’t think it’s much different than, say, New York. Bright colors and tennis shoes would probably mark you as a tourist in lots of cities.
I would be more concerned about clothes that keep you warm and dry than the style. Have fun, it’s a blast, lots to do. The people were friendly in my experience.
Ironically, the last time I ate fast food was at a Dublin McDonalds in November of 2000. It was the only thing we could find open after our pub crawl, and one of our party was starving.
Two things struck me: 1 - how fast they could sell and distribute the food and 2 - how friendly the counter staff was given the late hour and how mobbed the store was.
I can’t imagine you’d find non-surly McDonalds staff at that hour in the US, and they’d probably work really slow to punish the customers. At least in urban areas. YMMV
RE: black shoes. Don’t have any other than my fashionable shoes, and I won;t be walking all day in those. I was planning on my two pair of light hikers - one is dark grey and the other dark olive. Probably both American-looking, for all I know.
I wouldn’t go any extra expense, but I’d choose the dark colors to blend in more. And we now have the anti-American situation, meaning you never know who’s around and who hates Americans. Check http://travel.state.gov/uk.html
Disclaimer: while I do live in the UK, I’m not in London, and I moved to this country just over two years ago, from Italy.
I really wouldn’t worry too much about style of dress. London is VERY cosmopolitan, and people are used to almost everything.
That said, I did find one thing a tad annoying… I tend to wear white tennis socks when I wear sneakers (or “trainers”, as they’re called here). When wearing black jeans, white socks are considered poor style and tacky. [shrug]
Anyway, the I find the British to be extremely friendly and helpful, even (and maybe especially) in London. I will never forget my first visit there, about 5-6 years ago. I got lost and asked someone for directions. The lady turned round and walked with me to 10 minutes to take me where I wanted to go - the opposite direction that she had been going. I was simply amazed!
Also, the center of London has directions painted on all corners, telling people which way to look before crossing the street - VERY helpful!
Congrats and enjoy the honeymoon! It’s a wonderful city, I’m sure you’ll love it!
Well, that sucks. My absolute most comfortable pair of shoes is my white Reebok high top aerobic shoes, that I had to buy on eBay because they don’t make them anymore. (Yes, I loved the 80’s). I love my white tennis shoes, and they love me.
Another thing I don’t get - why no shorts? I am going to Ireland (with a weekend in London) in March, and upon researching some websites, I found something that said wearing shorts will prove without a doubt you are a tourist. What’s wrong with shorts? I wear them all the time when the weather is warm enough here in the US (above 60°, sometimes lower though). It will probably be too cold in March, but what do you Irish/UK dopers do when it’s hot out?
I’ll let you know when it happens. Don’t hold your breath.
Seriously, shorts are fairly common during the daytime on warm summer days. They are less common on the evenings - it would be fairly unusual to wear shorts to a restaurant or pub. This is largely because it gets cold, I think, rather than any social convention.
have you seen British legs? Seriously it’s hardly ever warm enough to wear shorts. While you are in UK buy a nice heavy woolen sweater. I havn’t found good sweaters in the US (california) for less than crazy prices.
Where are you staying in London, how long will you be there?
I live in Wisconsin, it’s not exactly tropical! I love shorts though, and thought it strange. keithmac, I don’t know exactly when - either the weekend of March 22, or the weekend two weeks later. Don’t know where we’re staying yet either, we’re still working out the details. Any recommendations? 4 people, preferably close to pubs?
I was planning on my two pair of light hikers - one is dark grey and the other dark olive. Probably both American-looking, for all I know. 
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