We'll be spending 3 days in the Cotswolds with our three teenagers in early June, and I would like to plan an Afternoon Tea one day. Many of the suggestions I'm seeing are at nicer-looking hotels and tourist manor houses, and I'm wondering what the general dress conventions are? We're coming from California where the standard is casual dress for almost everything (jeans to work are the norm). Would our usual jeans/t-shirts/fleeces/sneakers be out of place, or blend in with all the other people driving around on holiday?
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11798 posts
We were just in the Cotswolds and while we didn’t do Afternoon Tea, we never saw anyone very dressed up. Maybe no graphic tees and a sweater instead of fleece would make you feel more “dressed.”
Posted by
Bristol, UK
1453 posts
I would say it very much depends where exactly you’re going to be going. There are some very swanky Cotswold hotels where you would want to wear something a bit smarter than jeans and a fleece. I’m thinking of places like Dormy House, Barnsley House and Calcot Manor. No need for full on glamour but people won’t dress like they’ve just returned from a hike. It’s a treat and usually some sort of celebration when people go to one of these places for afternoon tea and so will dress accordingly.
If you’re somewhere like a stately home with a nice cafe then no need to dress up at all.