Dressing for Dinner

Having no idea of where / what any of those places are except for the last -- and having not darkened the door there.

Having been suspected of feeding my face at some of the highest rated joints in the town.

My guess is that half of the guys will be in a suit or sport coat with no tie. Half will be in shirt sleeves. One, besides the waiter, will have a tie.

Women have been known to wear britches to supper.

Really, no one in Europe cares what you wear. Dress comfortably, tastefully, and you will be fine.

One way I have found to assess the tone & average dress for a place is to find it on TA and look through the photos uploaded by visitors. There are usually enough to get a good idea of what to wear.

We usually take a sport coat for DH as his jacket - that way he has one if needed.

Can't speak for men, but my teenage daughters and I were in Paris last March and ate at some fine restaurants and we wore leggings, boots and nice tops and no one batted an eye. This included 58 Tour Eiffel (not sure if that is the "58 restaurant" you are referring to or not). Check the restaurants' websites (if they have them) to see if there is a dress code, but even Jules Verne at the Eiffel Tower is "smart casual" I believe.

You can definitely wear slacks.
My dad did not have a blazer for Eiffel Tower so worn his bomber style jacket and a nicer button up shirt.. no tie.
Brasseries are casual. I have been to La Coupole ( which is part of the Flo group) and you can wear whatever there, a suit would be too dressy really. but a sports jacket would be ok if you have one.. if not no big deal.

Ladies and gents often wear nice dress jeans but paired with a blazer and blouse for ladies and sports coat for men.

Very few places are super formal. .

Thanks everyone.......think I have an idea what to take. The previous visit was with a tour group over 10 yrs ago so wasn't sure if things had relaxed a bit or not. Traveling in late fall always has it's challenges!

In September, I wore a blazer (no tie) into two 1-star restaurants, but I took it off and hung it on my chair. Almost no one had a coat. Big change for me in Paris. Also, my wife wore dressy slacks with great tops every time we ate in France.

Stella,

I've dined in a few "high brow" restaurants in Paris, and have never worn a suit or jacket. My typical travel wardrobe of dress pants and a shirt has always worked well. Of course, wearing shorts and flip flops would probably be frowned upon in some of the better establishments.

Hi Stella, traveling the last week in November, I'd wear slacks, a nice top and a leather jacket. For a man, I think a cashmere crew or V-neck sweater could take the place of a jacket. If it's a super fancy place, check the website or call to see if they require a jacket. If not, leave it at home and save the space in your suitcase.

I find it's easy enough as a guy to just pop a sport coat into my luggage so I have it if I need it.

I did not dine at any really fancy restaurants, but I can tell you that for most places, there is no need for a tie or even a sportscoat, or for the equivalents for women.

what matters to merchants, is the color and quantity of your money (or carte de credit)

All good advice. I have been to Paris several times and never felt the need for a sport jacket. Clean, pressed, stylish shirt/sweater has always done the job. The worst thing you can do is overload yourself with extraneous clothing: remember that at some time or another you will be humping all your gear through the Metro stations and believe me, hauling a large suitcase up the stairs on the RER at Luxembourg ain't no fun!
Also, beware on some of these sites (not this particular one) when an American or Brit advises "casual dress"! Casual dress, to most Americans, would probably not be acceptable in most of the more elegant establishments.
Enjoy!

Enjoyed dinner at Brasseri Flo and Brasseri Julian (2 blocks away) a year ago September during fashion week. Everyone was dressed casually. Saw only a few guys in sport coats, at restaurants, the whole 10 days we were there.

It would be rare for Rick to dine at or recommend any restaurant with an actual dress code. If he throws in the word "dressy," that usually means no jeans or shorts. I have been comfortable in my travel clothes at many Paris restaurants, and I do try for nicer spots. A restaurant with two or more Michelin stars might have different standards, which I would expect to learn in the course of booking a reservation, either online or by phone.