Career ladies in London - question for you...

dss62467

dss62467

Cathlete
I'm going to London for my job next week. I've been to our office there before (at Canary Wharf), but it was mid March and the weather was still a bit on the wintery side. The office is professional (HSBC) and I was thinking of bringing a couple skirts. Here, in the warmer months, nobody wears stockings with their skirts. Can I go bare-legged there without raising eyebrows, or would it be better to bring them?
 
Hello,

I work in Canary Wharf. It is very warm and lovely now. You don't need to bring stockings if you are bringing floral summer type dresses. I think in HSBC the dress code is not so strict and summer dresses are not considered too casual (don't know for certain though as I have never worked there). It is too warm to wear anything else, but if you office dress code is strict and you must wear a suit then you can bring them or just buy them when you get here.

Canary Wharf is fantastic in the summer, people sit outside near the fountain or at one of the many restaurants that have outdoor seating.

How long have you worked for HSBC? I wish I knew you well, I would've order some DVDs for you to bring over for me. ;-)

Yen
 
I totally disagree. I think you can expect formality to a much greater degree than the previous poster states. I am not certain that I would wear a Summer dress at all, nothing you would wear to a friendly lunch, go more fomal than that: a fitted linen dress, not flowery or floaty, and with jacket. And yes, take stockings and wear them. The UK is generally speaking a lot more formal that the US. When I first arrived here from London, the total lack of formality at seemingly any occasion at all dismayed me.

Skirts, yes, but again, go fitted and not flowery or floaty. And yes, wear stockings. If you err on the side of formal and then they are not, you have not screwed up. If you err on the side of informality and they are formal, you could screw up unbelievably. Many British people entertain negative stereotypes about US citizens, loud clothes, loud voices and opinions: don't give them any fuel. That's my advice, as a Londoner. And you said it yourself, "the office is professional." If so, it will remain so, despite changes in seasons, and despite being located on Canary Wharf.

Cheers, and good luck!

Clare
 
Hello Donna

I'm from the UK and I would like to support everything Yen has to say. The weather here is beautiful at the moment, although as is typical with British weather that could change any minute lol :)

If it does rain however it should still be quite warm. As for formality, the 'city' as it is termed does tend to be quite formal. However I would think it quite acceptable to wear light suits without stockings or tights this time of year. Although I do not work in this area I would go to the office bare legged quite happily.

I hope you have a great time and really enjoy yourself. If the weather is anything like it is at the moment you should have a lovely time. I just hope you don't have to work too hard.

Have a great time.
Laura
:)
 
Clare,

I go into work in flip flops sometimes if the weather is very warm and I see plenty of people around Canary Wharf wearing the same thing. In fact, I usually dress according to how others dress. As for clothing, people dress according to fashion more than formality; sometimes I have felt over dressed when I go into my office in suits (the ones I bought when I was in the US).

With regards to what the British think of the Americans ..... Let me tell you the British are just a loud, loud, loud and thick as any other nationality: think Jade Goody. I rather think that it's the British who are getting a bad reptutation abroad.

Donna,

As you've been to London before with HSBC you will know what is required of the office.

Enjoy your stay over here.

Yen
 
Cheers ladies! The skirts I was considering are not sundresses or anything. They're below the knee, Banana Republic. They are flowy, but being a petite, those are the best cut for me. I suppose what I can do is wear slacks the first day and scope out what the other ladies are wearing. I can always get some stockings in one of the shops in the mall there.

Yen - I totally would have brought you some DVDs. It's nice to meet other Catheites! This was sort of a last minute trip that only got approved a couple days ago. That's the best kind, I think.
 
Kim:

With all due respect, flip flops is an international bank? No. Don't think so.

Certainly, nasty stereotypes abound everywhere. I didn't say I supported them. We were talkng about a US citizen abroad, not a UK citizen. I know that loud Brits around the coast of Spain, for example, are a nasty reality, not just a stereotype. But, you were taking for reality what I suggested was stereotype, and it's pointless talking about stereotypes as existing everywhere when Donna isn't British, so those steretypes just don't apply in this case.

Sorry, I have no idea who Jade Goody is.

Donna herself stated that the bank was a professional place. As far as I am concerned, that says it all.

Clare
 
Donna:

I was just trying to give you a different and honest viewpoint of professional London. You can do with it what you will. It's of no matter. Certainly, I had no intentions of offending you. Have a good trip.

Clare
 
>Donna:
>
>I was just trying to give you a different and honest viewpoint
>of professional London. You can do with it what you will.
>It's of no matter. Certainly, I had no intentions of
>offending you. Have a good trip.
>
>Clare

Clare,

I am not sure what Donna said that makes you think you offended her? I think it is a great idea to wear slacks the first day and see what the rest of the women in the office are wearing.

I totally agree with you on the British being more formal and having a much stricter dress code than anyone else. I used to work for a company in London and Manchester, I couldn't go there without stockings and I ALWAYS wore business suits, either skirt or slacks with a jacket. Flip flops or flowing dresses/skirts would have been an absolute NONO!!!

Especially being non-British I would take an extra step to rather overdress than "under-dress".

Have a nice trip, Donna! I envy you, I'd love to go back there for a visit, I LOVE London!

Carola
 
Oh no, Clare - you didn't offend me at all. I've been working with British folks for long enough to know their stereotypes about Americans. For some of the Americans that are on our team, the stereotype fits. But for the most part, they are pleasantly surprised how non-obnoxious and reserved we are.

I have some very good friends that are British, but I wouldn't ask them about stockings in London. Most of them are male, so they'd probably suggest a miniskirt and 4" heels anyway. The female is in Sheffield, which is a very casual office. I was just trying to be logical by suggesting that I wear pants first, then decide about the hose after seeing what the others are wearing.

When my last boss, who is an international manager and British, came to work on our team, we became very good friends. He said that the Americans talk too much in meetings. It didn't take me long to illustrate to him that it was our British team members that did most of the unnecessary talking. After a few conference calls between our teams in England and the US, we came to the conclusion that it wasn't either - it was just a couple people on each side that like to hear themselves talk.
 
The woman who sits next to me just returned from her trip to our London office. She says it's a mixed bag. There are some that wear stockings, some that don't, and quite a few who wear fishnets!

Fishnets? Hmmmm....I think I won't.
 
Well, there you go. You know whatever you wear or don't wear you can't go wrong. I do think that the banks here are not that strict with dress code as long as you are doing client facing business. I see plenty of people who seem to wear what they want, but the women still look very chic and classy.

Today has rather cloudy and a little cooler than it was last week. Appropriate weather for stockings or slacks. I think you should take into consideration the weather in this country is very changeable.

Yen
 
You'd be cold. But it's warming up, the sun is shining today.

Bear in mind that CW is right next to the river and it is colder than other parts of London because there is a breeze all year round. In the winter the wind is very very strong - I can barely stand my ground some days.

I thought you'd left for London already. Or did you mean next week?

Yen
 
I'm SUPPOSED to leave tomorrow, but I'm having passport issues. It's a long story....but if everything works out, it will be FedEx'd to me today and arrive tomorrow morning.

Keep your fingers crossed. I'm really looking forward to a meat pie and a Guiness!:D
 
If your passport is current and the proper work visa obtained you will gain entry to the UK. You will gain entry without a visa for any visit. Us going to the USA is another issue. EEC countris do not have the type of immigration producres the USA have. No fingerprints etc. Usa nationals have little hassles at point of entry.
 
My passport was expired. I didn't expect to be going anywhere, so I wasn't in a rush to renew it. Then there was this last minute trip. I still don't know if I'll have the thing in time. It's got to be FedEx'd from Texas and I can't find out until 6:00 if it has been sent back to me.
 
Donna,

There is are lots of pubs in CW that does good(ish) British food. For the true and most authentic you are better off going outside London to the pubs or cafes or even B&Bs. These places will somtimes favour local ingredients and local suppliers. I don't own a car so I rarely get to venture outside central London.

Places to eat that have been reccommended are:

Henry Addington - pub grub
Lime - Indian restaurant near Henron Quays station
The Metz - turkish restaurant. Bit of a walk towards Isle of Dogs. Actually there are quite a few places near Isle of Dogs that are good.
The Curve bar at the Marriott hotel - great seafood and really good deal for lunch. Service is a long time though.
Gordon Ramsay's new pub - not sure what kind of food or where it is though.
El Faro - mediteranean next to Crosshabour DLR.

Avoid Smollensky's, Amerigo Vesputi (bloody rip off).

Unfortunately, I am leaving for my holiday in Canada on Friday otherwise would offer to take you to some places that I think are just fab. My last day in the office is Thursday, don't know if that sutis you.

Yen
 
That would be SO cool to get together, but my flight gets in at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow (Thursday) and the London dudes have me booked solid for meetings that afternoon. Like...nobody can wait to meet with me on Friday!

My passport was JUST delivered to my office about 20 minutes ago. It has been an utter nightmare getting it. A very long story that would take up many many paragraphs to tell. So I actually just have confirmed that I'm actually going!

I am very excited about going. I loved London the last time I was there. Didn't see much of it. I ended up going to the England/Ireland rugby championship with my boss (he's a HUGE rugby fan). That was my sightseeing day. I enjoyed the match - it's a faster game than American football. But I just really enjoy our British team. They're very charming and funny people. And they all get me beverages. All day long!!!!
 
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