Appropriate/stylish dress for women at a tasting?

[Mike_DiSalvo]

If you’re going to be drinking reds, don’t wear white! These days, every dang time I wear white to a tasting I end up with a red stain on my shirt. Swirling red wine and white shirts, not a good combination.

[Nate_Simon]

@Mike DiSalvo

If you’re going to be drinking reds, don’t wear white! These days, every dang time I wear white to a tasting I end up with a red stain on my shirt. Swirling red wine and white shirts, not a good combination.

Great advice. It’s axiomatic…the more wine you drink, the more you’ll end up wearing!

Also, my 2€, don’t go wine tasting with people who are morbidly obsessed with their attire.

[Ken_V]

@David Glasser

I think Riedel needs to get in on this. A clothing line for Cab tasting, another for Pinot, one for Merlot, Bdx Blends, Zin, Chard, etc. And several options in each line for tasting the regular bottlings vs the reserve. Wineries will have to put in changing rooms so guests can switch outfits between flights.

THIS is pure genius!

[Phil_David]

@Frank Drew

IMO, for most indoor situations you simply need to lose the baseball cap (or any hat).

Spot on. I dress very casually, but wearing a hat indoors isn’t a good look(party/clubbing outfits excepted) and a complete no-no for dining.

[Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m]

I agree about no hats when dining (unless your at a fast food restauraunt). I think hats when at a bar or pub are fine, however; additionally, I (obviously) don’t have any problem with wearing a hat indoors, but I realize not everyone agrees. This is what we call an opinion. What difference does it make to the person on the other side of the indoor room whether I’m wearing a cap or not? Maybe I don’t like how they’re dressed. Whatever. I’m certainly not going to seek to impose my opinion on others in this regard. Thus far, in England, there’s been more than one occasion where I’ve literally not taken more than two steps inside a pub before I have somebody telling me to remove my cap (and in a haughty tone, nonetheless); kind of a dick move, imo — I’m basically thinking, “Mind your own business.”

[Rick_Gregory]

@Brian G r a f s t r o m

I agree about no hats when dining (unless your at a fast food restauraunt). I think hats when at a bar or pub are fine, however; additionally, I (obviously) don’t have any problem with wearing a hat indoors, but I realize not everyone agrees. This is what we call an opinion. What difference does it make to the person on the other side of the indoor room whether I’m wearing a cap or not? Maybe I don’t like how they’re dressed. Whatever. I’m certainly not going to seek to impose my opinion on others in this regard. Thus far, in England, there’s been more than one occasion where I’ve literally not taken more than two steps inside a pub before I have somebody telling me to remove my cap (and in a haughty tone, nonetheless); kind of a dick move, imo — I’m basically thinking, “Mind your own f*cking business.”

Your insistence on flaunting community norms and wearing whatever you want wherever you want is just as presumptuous as people insisting on unneeded dress codes. Casual stuff works fine in a lot of places… it doesn’t in some and if you wander into a place severely underdressed (nice restaurant in shorts, t-shirt and baseball cap, etc) or dressed in a certain way you’re sending signals. Don’t do that and then complain that people are making assumptions. England isn’t SoCal. Expecting them to conform to you is arrogant, frankly. You’re in THIER country and are going to be judged by their community standards, not by where you used to live. Is that really hard to grasp?

Look, everyone makes assumptions about people based on how they look and how they’re dressed. If you see some skinny guy in a certain haricut with wide, black rimmed glasses and a short-sleeve shirt etc, you probably peg him as a hipster or hipster wannabe. If you see a middle aged woman in a nice dress and pearls, you make assumptions about her. Goth kids? Same thing. Appearances are how we signal who we are to people at large. Again, is that really hard to understand? You’re sending signals with your clothing choices. In some places those will be ‘I’m one of you’ (at a US bar, etc). In some cases the message is “I’m not one of you and I don’t care” (in a fashionable, trendy LA place). If you want to send different signals, dress differently.


I’m as casual as they come… but if you’re going to a place where dressing in jeans or shorts and a t-shirt and cap is out of place then dress more nicely. That’s not conforming… it’s being an adult.

[Robert.Fleming]

@Brian G r a f s t r o m

Thus far, in England, there’s been more than one occasion where I’ve literally not taken more than two steps inside a pub before I have somebody telling me to remove my cap

For most adults, once would be enough.

[Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m]

@Robert.Fleming

@Brian G r a f s t r o m

Thus far, in England, there’s been more than one occasion where I’ve literally not taken more than two steps inside a pub before I have somebody telling me to remove my cap

For most adults, once would be enough.

Clearly there’s been a misunderstanding; I do remove my cap in pubs out here, out of respect for the cultural norms to do so. However, there’s been multiple occasions where either I literally wasn’t more than two steps into the pub before a complete stranger was taking it upon themselves to “remind” me to remove my cap. That’s over the top, imo. Besides, it’s not their business, anyways. I would never approach somebody and comment on their dress in a negative fashion, regardless of how inappropriate I thought their dress was. Why not? Because it’s none of my business, that’s why.

[Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m]

@Rick Gregory

@Brian G r a f s t r o m

I agree about no hats when dining (unless your at a fast food restauraunt). I think hats when at a bar or pub are fine, however; additionally, I (obviously) don’t have any problem with wearing a hat indoors, but I realize not everyone agrees. This is what we call an opinion. What difference does it make to the person on the other side of the indoor room whether I’m wearing a cap or not? Maybe I don’t like how they’re dressed. Whatever. I’m certainly not going to seek to impose my opinion on others in this regard. Thus far, in England, there’s been more than one occasion where I’ve literally not taken more than two steps inside a pub before I have somebody telling me to remove my cap (and in a haughty tone, nonetheless); kind of a dick move, imo — I’m basically thinking, “Mind your own f*cking business.”

Your insistence on flaunting community norms and wearing whatever you want wherever you want is just as presumptuous as people insisting on unneeded dress codes. Casual stuff works fine in a lot of places… it doesn’t in some and if you wander into a place severely underdressed (nice restaurant in shorts, t-shirt and baseball cap, etc) or dressed in a certain way you’re sending signals.

I never said I go to nice restaurants in shorts, t-shirt and baseball cap. Not only did I not say it, it’s not something I do.

England isn’t SoCal. Expecting them to conform to you is arrogant, frankly. You’re in THIER country and are going to be judged by their community standards, not by where you used to live. Is that really hard to grasp?

The sarcasm isn’t necessary, Rick. Read my previous post — I’ve conformed, out of respect, but God Forbid I take a few steps inside before removing my cap — sheesh. It’s the manner in which I’m “reminded” as well as how quickly I’m “reminded” that bothers me most; to a lesser extent, I don’t think it’s anyone else’s business in the first place. I never said I expect them to conform to me — I agree, such an attitude would be arrogant.

Look, everyone makes assumptions about people based on how they look and how they’re dressed.

Of course they do. Heck, even I do. That said, they are assumptions. And we know what happens when people make assumptions …

If you see some skinny guy in a certain haricut with wide, black rimmed glasses and a short-sleeve shirt etc, you probably peg him as a hipster or hipster wannabe. If you see a middle aged woman in a nice dress and pearls, you make assumptions about her. Goth kids? Same thing. Appearances are how we signal who we are to people at large. Again, is that really hard to understand?

“Hard to understand?” Again, the sarcasm isn’t necessary. Of course I understand. Making assumptions and acting on them are two separate things in my book.

You’re sending signals with your clothing choices. In some places those will be ‘I’m one of you’ (at a US bar, etc). In some cases the message is “I’m not one of you and I don’t care” (in a fashionable, trendy LA place). If you want to send different signals, dress differently.

I already know this, but thanks for the advice, anyways.

I’m as casual as they come… but if you’re going to a place where dressing in jeans or shorts and a t-shirt and cap is out of place then dress more nicely. That’s not conforming… it’s being an adult.

The snide comment is not necessary, Rick. I haven’t been rude to you in this conversation, and would hope that wouldn’t go there. As for the substantive portion of what you say here: I already know all that, and I “dress more nicely” most times in those occasions. It certainly seems there are a few people here – including you – who are assuming that I always wear a cap, jeans, and t-shirt everywhere I go, despite my having said otherwise in this same thread; I’ve merely discussed some instances.

Anyways, I originally brought up my points to say that I do understand someone’s concern re: what is appropriate dress when going wine tasting, and shared some of my experiences with what can happen when you’re not dressed appropriately to help illustrate the validity of said concern. If that doesn’t show an understanding of “if you’re going to a place where dressing in jeans or shorts and a t-shirt and cap is out of place then dress more nicely.” then I don’t know what does.

[Nancy_Dolce]

Now Ian’s wife knows anything goes in the wine world!

[CFu]

@Rick Gregory

@Brian G r a f s t r o m

I agree about no hats when dining (unless your at a fast food restauraunt). I think hats when at a bar or pub are fine, however; additionally, I (obviously) don’t have any problem with wearing a hat indoors, but I realize not everyone agrees. This is what we call an opinion. What difference does it make to the person on the other side of the indoor room whether I’m wearing a cap or not? Maybe I don’t like how they’re dressed. Whatever. I’m certainly not going to seek to impose my opinion on others in this regard. Thus far, in England, there’s been more than one occasion where I’ve literally not taken more than two steps inside a pub before I have somebody telling me to remove my cap (and in a haughty tone, nonetheless); kind of a dick move, imo — I’m basically thinking, “Mind your own f*cking business.”

Your insistence on flaunting community norms and wearing whatever you want wherever you want is just as presumptuous as people insisting on unneeded dress codes. Casual stuff works fine in a lot of places… it doesn’t in some and if you wander into a place severely underdressed (nice restaurant in shorts, t-shirt and baseball cap, etc) or dressed in a certain way you’re sending signals. Don’t do that and then complain that people are making assumptions. England isn’t SoCal. Expecting them to conform to you is arrogant, frankly. You’re in THIER country and are going to be judged by their community standards, not by where you used to live. Is that really hard to grasp?

Look, everyone makes assumptions about people based on how they look and how they’re dressed. If you see some skinny guy in a certain haricut with wide, black rimmed glasses and a short-sleeve shirt etc, you probably peg him as a hipster or hipster wannabe. If you see a middle aged woman in a nice dress and pearls, you make assumptions about her. Goth kids? Same thing. Appearances are how we signal who we are to people at large. Again, is that really hard to understand? You’re sending signals with your clothing choices. In some places those will be ‘I’m one of you’ (at a US bar, etc). In some cases the message is “I’m not one of you and I don’t care” (in a fashionable, trendy LA place). If you want to send different signals, dress differently.


I’m as casual as they come… but if you’re going to a place where dressing in jeans or shorts and a t-shirt and cap is out of place then dress more nicely. That’s not conforming… it’s being an adult.

what group of people are the thier?

[Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m]

Charlie, “THIER” = Brits, in this case.

[Dan_Hammer]

Ian,

Whatever she wears will be steps above what your hosts will be wearing.

[Ken_V]

I don’t normally do this, but I just looked on another board, and a friend of mine started a thread with the title “Worlds worst dressed city - Seattle.” His first post was:

I’ve been here all week and came to this conclusion walking around everywhere downtown. It is near impossible to tell the difference between the general populace and the homeless/indigent (of which this city seems to attract like flies to…). Really, North Face passes as haut couture. What is the deal? Don’t get me wrong, Seattle is a very cool fun town with lots of activities and restaurants, but my God, the people seem to work hard at looking like $hit. Maybe grunge was not just a phase.

[Cris_Whetstone]

@Brian G r a f s t r o m

@Robert.Fleming

@Brian G r a f s t r o m

Thus far, in England, there’s been more than one occasion where I’ve literally not taken more than two steps inside a pub before I have somebody telling me to remove my cap

For most adults, once would be enough.

Clearly there’s been a misunderstanding; I do remove my cap in pubs out here, out of respect for the cultural norms to do so. However, there’s been multiple occasions where either I literally wasn’t more than two steps into the pub before a complete stranger was taking it upon themselves to “remind” me to remove my cap. That’s over the top, imo. Besides, it’s not their business, anyways. I would never approach somebody and comment on their dress in a negative fashion, regardless of how inappropriate I thought their dress was. Why not? Because it’s none of my business, that’s why.

Just to ask the obvious question if you know you are going to the pub then why didn’t you leave your cap at home/in the car/take it off before you get to the door?

[Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m]

@Cris Whetstone

@Brian G r a f s t r o m

Thus far, in England, there’s been more than one occasion where I’ve literally not taken more than two steps inside a pub before I have somebody telling me to remove my cap

Just to ask the obvious question if you know you are going to the pub then why didn’t you leave your cap at home/in the car/take it off before you get to the door?

1. Usually, it’s because I forgot (to leave it at home or in the car);
2. Sometimes, it’s because I was planning on sitting outside at the pub;
3. And the first time it happened, it’s because I didn’t know that cultural particularity
   
   
   Just to ask a question,
   Would you ever – in a public place – approach somebody who, in your opinion, was dressed inappropriately and say something to them about it? If it was a situation such as the cap situation, would you maybe wait a minute to see if they removed their cap on their own, or would you say something to them within 5 seconds of them being inside?

[Cris_Whetstone]

@Brian G r a f s t r o m

@Cris Whetstone

@Brian G r a f s t r o m

Thus far, in England, there’s been more than one occasion where I’ve literally not taken more than two steps inside a pub before I have somebody telling me to remove my cap

Just to ask the obvious question if you know you are going to the pub then why didn’t you leave your cap at home/in the car/take it off before you get to the door?

1. Usually, it’s because I forgot (to leave it at home or in the car);
2. Sometimes, it’s because I was planning on sitting outside at the pub;
3. And the first time it happened, it’s because I didn’t know that cultural particularity
   
   
   Just to ask a question,
   Would you ever – in a public place – approach somebody who, in your opinion, was dressed inappropriately and say something to them about it? If it was a situation such as the cap situation, would you maybe wait a minute to see if they removed their cap on their own, or would you say something to them within 5 seconds of them being inside?

No…BUT we do not have that cultural standard here. Evidently that is the case in England so you are subject to that standard. There are probably standards here that would bug someone who moved from Great Britain. For instance, I’ve heard plenty of stories about people being offended about being asked to smoke elsewhere here in SoCal before non-smoking areas became more prevalent nationally and internationally.

In fact in SoCal there seems to be almost zero dress code standards which I used to think was awesome when I was a teen but now that I’m older I wish people showed some sort of respect for others as well as themselves. The time you took to make your reservation in that nice restaurant is about the same amount of time it would take to put on shoes that cover your feet. It’s two hours out of one’s life.

[Rick_Gregory]

@Ken V

I don’t normally do this, but I just looked on another board, and a friend of mine started a thread with the title “Worlds worst dressed city - Seattle.” His first post was:

I’ve been here all week and came to this conclusion walking around everywhere downtown. It is near impossible to tell the difference between the general populace and the homeless/indigent (of which this city seems to attract like flies to…). Really, North Face passes as haut couture. What is the deal? Don’t get me wrong, Seattle is a very cool fun town with lots of activities and restaurants, but my God, the people seem to work hard at looking like $hit. Maybe grunge was not just a phase.

He’s absolutely right. I’ve seen people wear jeans and fleece to the symphony (though that IS the exception). Some of that is because it’s west coast and more casual in general, some is that it’s often wet, etc and some is… honestly, I don’t know. I’m not a fashion stud, but when I go out to a nice place I like to dress reasonably. When I had the $$ to spend, I bought a bunch of very nice stuff (Zegna, Armani) and you know what? It’s at least as comfortable as jeans, often more so. I don’t really get the hue and cry about wearing nice shoes, slacks and a shirt and jacket to really nice places. Insisting on the reverse seems like, well, reverse snobbery. Actually, maybe that explains my fellow Seattleites…

[Rick_Gregory]

@Charlie Fu

what group of people are the thier?

hehe… I’ve gotten lazy and if spellcheck doesn’t underline something… I miss it.

[Linda_Baehr]

@Cris Whetstone

Just to ask a question,
Would you ever – in a public place – approach somebody who, in your opinion, was dressed inappropriately and say something to them about it? If it was a situation such as the cap situation, would you maybe wait a minute to see if they removed their cap on their own, or would you say something to them within 5 seconds of them being inside?
No…BUT we do not have that cultural standard here. Evidently that is the case in England so you are subject to that standard. There are probably standards here that would bug someone who moved from Great Britain. For instance, I’ve heard plenty of stories about people being offended about being asked to smoke elsewhere here in SoCal before non-smoking areas became more prevalent nationally and internationally.

In fact in SoCal there seems to be almost zero dress code standards which I used to think was awesome when I was a teen but now that I’m older I wish people showed some sort of respect for others as well as themselves. The time you took to make your reservation in that nice restaurant is about the same amount of time it would take to put on shoes that cover your feet. It’s two hours out of one’s life.

It seems to be a southern thing, too. When I lived in AR I worked at a (NOT fancy) country club, but we had several club members who would get up in arms in someone was wearing a hat at dinner (it was OK for the golfers who came up after playing and were just drinking in the afternoon). We had one member in particular who would actually walk over to the hat wearer and physically remove it from his head. Now, when the hat in question was a cowboy hat…crap. If you know anything about cowboy hats, you know NEVER to touch a guys cowboy hat. I’m surprised we didn’t have fisticuffs over that practice.