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Hi,
I am new to London and looking for some formal (black tie) events/venues around. Nothing overly fancy, crazy expensive or snobbish. An obvious choice would be opera, ballet etc. but I am pretty sure someone can recommend other interesting entertainment options!I’ve been going to the ballet at the ROH for several years and it really is great, I’ve seen the standard get even more excellent.
I’m sure they’ll be some events in the run up to Christmas.
I’ve been going to the ballet at the ROH for several years and it really is great, I’ve seen the standard get even more excellent.
I’m sure they’ll be some events in the run up to Christmas.
The Royal Opera House is a broad church, but you can pretty much guarantee you can never overdress. That’s particularly true around Christmas for The Nutcracker. I usually wear a suit and no tie, but sometimes sit in the best seats in jeans. For the Nutcracker I’ll be doing black tie for the Balconies Restaurant and OH will have a splendidly lavish frock.
It’s probably too late for the very best seats for the Christmas Royal Ballet, but I agree it’s a lovely option. The view from the Balconies Restaurant is incredible. It’s a little pricey for what you get, but only a little bit as the food is very good.
Thanks! What about some elegant jazz/other music clubs? Basically, a place where you can have a drink and chat in a nice atmosphere.
You do not need to dress in black tie for any event at the ROH. In fact these days you would be in the minority if you do. But don’t let that stop you from doing so.
To be honest, the London way now is to dress one stage down from what the invite says. Black tie would be lounge suit. Lounge suit would be chinos and open neck shirt. No need to stick to what it says.
(I will be attending the Business Travel Journalism Awards in a normal suit next month despite the black tie invite.)
Glyndebourne is the only place I go where I’d say the majority do wear black tie, but even then a lot choose to jazz it up a bit – and I always wear a suit. You should target Glyndebourne for next summer because it is more in line with what you are looking for than Covent Garden or indeed anything in Central London, all of which are tourist driven and know that tourists rarely bring black tie or even lounge suits.
Thanks a lot. As a non-Brit I always thought that if there were any venues left which still do require evening dress code (and are not extremely exclusive and high-profile), they would be in the UK. Regrettably, it seems this is not the case anymore most of the time.
Thanks a lot. As a non-Brit I always thought that if there were any venues left which still do require evening dress code (and are not extremely exclusive and high-profile), they would be in the UK. Regrettably, it seems this is not the case anymore most of the time.
NYE dinner at the Ritz Hotel.
Thanks a lot. As a non-Brit I always thought that if there were any venues left which still do require evening dress code (and are not extremely exclusive and high-profile), they would be in the UK. Regrettably, it seems this is not the case anymore most of the time.
I think it’s just that requiring black tie is not seen as being very inclusive so that a number of more public events don’t have that as the official dress code. There has also been a rapid trend towards dressing down. I have to say that I have never experienced Rob’s dressing one level down in practice! In private clubs and societies as well as in private homes, particularly outside London, black tie is still very much alive and definitely not optional.
You will still see plenty of people wandering around St James’s and big hotels in black tie on any given evening.
There will be quite a number of Christmas concerts of various types around London in special venues that will recommend black tie as the dress code.
Thanks a lot. As a non-Brit I always thought that if there were any venues left which still do require evening dress code (and are not extremely exclusive and high-profile), they would be in the UK. Regrettably, it seems this is not the case anymore most of the time.
NYE dinner at the Ritz Hotel.
Ritz is stuffy and pretentious rather than an actual good time though, no?
I think what the OP is after is exclusivity, which often comes with black tie. (Otherwise just put on your tux and walk around in St James)
HfP may or may not be the right avenue to pursue this interest but galas and fundraisers etc can be a good start. Another entry point would be (high) fashion. Due to my wife’s work I know that there are a lot of black tie events in high fashion in London and some do not look as obnoxious. How to get an invite to those events is beyond me.To be honest, this is about everything but exclusivity.
I am not old enough to remember this but looking at the old photos, newspapers, movies etc. just a few decades ago it was normal for every man (I have no idea about women’s fashion) to be able to dress somewhat decent. Wearing a suit and hat in public places was a normal thing for everybody from working class to royalty. This is the exact opposite of exclusivity or pretentiousness, especially for more formal dress codes like white and black ties where basically all the men are supposed to look and dress similar: elegant but not flashy.
Recently, I went to Royal Albert Hall and I was horrified and somehow disappointed to see men both young and old in t-shirts, shorts and trainers. It was especially striking to see them accompanied by contrastingly elegant women.
I do not want this discussion to turn into conservative rant because in principle I do not care about strangers having good or bad taste or whether they feel a need to dress appropriately. The problem is that if I myself do care about dressing appropriately for an occasion, it is difficult to do so when you are obviously sticking out of the crowd, which is so easy these days. And as I said the principle of men’s elegance is not to stick out.
So basically it is about feeling comfortable in an environment rather than some silly exclusivity or snobbish vibe.
Of course I can just walk around St James but I’d rather have a drink or dinner in a nice place without being treated as a snob.To be honest, this is about everything but exclusivity.
I am not old enough to remember this myself but looking at photos, newspapers, movies etc. just a few decades ago it was normal for every man (I have no idea about women’s fashion) to be able to dress somewhat decent. Wearing a suit and hat in public places was a normal thing for everybody from working class to royalty. This is the exact opposite of exclusivity or pretentiousness, especially for more formal dress codes like white and black ties where basically all the men are supposed to look almost the same, all in black: elegant but not flashy.
Recently, I went to Royal Albert Hall and I was horrified and somehow disappointed to see men both young and old in t-shirts, shorts and trainers. It was especially striking to see them accompanied by contrastingly elegant women.
I do not want this discussion to turn into conservative rant because in principle I do not care about strangers having good or bad taste or whether they feel a need to dress appropriately. The problem is that if I myself do care about dressing appropriately for an occasion, it is difficult to do so when you are obviously sticking out of the crowd, which is so easy these days. And as I said the principle of men’s elegance is not to stick out.
So basically it is about feeling comfortable in an environment rather than some silly exclusivity or snobbish vibe.
Of course I can just walk around St James but I’d rather have a drink or dinner in a nice place without being accused of manifesting something with my overly formal clothes.Have been to this a couple of times and it’s a good excuse for dress-up
mef
Headforpoints Christmas party? Though tbh I think you need to mix in the sort of social circles where this retro behaviour is still de rigour. Most folk have moved on to a more egalitarian social scene, thankfully, in my view
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