What British Men Actually Wear to the Pub vs What They Wear to a Restaurant

Standing outside The Prince Albert on a Friday evening waiting for Marcus (late as always, still hasn’t changed since university) I noticed them before they even noticed us. It was three blokes heading confidently towards dinner in somewhere they’d need reservations for, tables with tablecloths, menus thicker than a pamphlet and probably wine recommendations off some sort of cheat sheet. How could you spot them?

The slightly trendy but not-too-obviously trendy clothing of course. Three-quarter zip jumpers instead of jumpers with hoods. Actual leather shoes as opposed to trainers.

And one exceptionally bold guy even wearing an unfaded blazer that definitely wasn’t the leftover top half of a suit he threw out ten years ago. They looked slightly self-conscious yet determined not to look like they’d made an effort. <img class=”size-full” src=”http: //joewears.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/im1979_What_British_Men_Actually_Wear_to_the_Pub_vs_What_They_Do_Right-now53279d9d-77bd-44d5-b38d-89a41aa96b28_1.jpg” alt=”im1979_What_British_Men_Actually_Wear_to_the_Pub_vs_What_They_Do_Right now” />While they were striding smartly towards the eateries of Notting Hill keen clientele were actually pouring into The Prince Albert itself – jeans worn so many times they probably don’t even know the make of the washing powder used on them anymore, battered-but-beloved trainers, those inexplicably popular mid-layer jackets from the likes of North Face and Patagonia.

Outdoor brand warehouse coats that now seem to form the uniform of British men aged 25 – 45.

Jeans and overshirts that nobody is looking twice at because there’s honestly nothing to look at. Pub Clothes versus Restaurant Clothes has become something of an obsession of mine. The defining details that separate one from the other that every British male is aware of but probably couldn’t explain if you asked them.

The margins are fine but they matter – lean too hard one way and you’re the man everyone glares at in the pub. Lean too hard the other way and you’re that person getting sneered at by waiters and hoping your shirt doesn’t have a FOOD SCRUMP on it when you get to your table. Let’s start with the former.

Pub Clothes. The bedrock of British male casual wear. The unofficial national dress code for men who are drinking pints. <img class=”size-full” src=”http: //joewears.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/im1979_What_British_Men_Actually_Wear_to_the_Pub_vs_What_They_Do_Right-92d3053d-981d-4206-bbdb-c32924ea6d5a_2.jpg” alt=”im1979_What_British_Men_Actually_Wear_to_the_Pub_vs_What_They_Do_Right” /> – ShutterstockWhat, specifically, are British men wearing when they go to the pub?

Jeans. Nine times out of ten, they’re wearing jeans. But not just jeans.

Dark washed, slim but not skinny jeans. You know they’ve been washed enough times for the jeans to feel comfortable but not so much that they’re fading at the seams. And it’s mostly gonna be blue.

Actual denim blue. What about shoes? Now we’re getting into the details that start to separate the dick from the dude.

See, a classic pub trainer has come a long way in recent years but there are some fundamentals that have remained the same. It needs to look smart enough that you don’t feel self-conscious wearing it outside, but you can’t be precious about them getting wet from spilled pints or muddy if someone trips over your feet in the beer garden. They’ll be comfy enough for hours of standing about but casual enough that you don’t look like you’ve made an effort, but snazzy enough that you know you’ve spent more than the £20 adidas selling fanboys swear are still available on their website.

Your NB 574s. Your adidas Gazelles. Your Nike Air Max 90s.

Classics that have never really fallen out of favour. Then we have tops. And this is where things start to get layered.

Literally. As with most things British the weather plays a big part. You need to be prepared for the walk home if it’s cold and damp out but equally comfortable if everyone’s piled into the pub and it’s suddenly become warmer than springtime in San Diego.

Start with a T-shirt as a base layer. Plain hopefully, but maybe with that one old band logo that’s now so faded you can’t remember who they are or that campsite they stayed at in Cornwall six years ago. Over that we’ve got a few options.

If it’s winter time we’re talking sweatshirts. Grey marl is always a safe bet but maybe chuck in a faded navy or burgundy for some variety. As it gets lighter you’ll start to see those infamous Oxford shirts I referenced earlier worn open over the t-shirt.

Outwards and you’ve got TheNorthFace.co.uk, patagonia.com and your local value-ish equivalent of berghaus.com. That super-lightweight waterproof-ish jacket that can be tied around your waist if it heats up or the rain lets up. <img class=”size-full” src=”http: //joewears.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/im1979_What_British_Men_Actually_Wear_to_the_Pub_vs_What_They_a838f764-c86d-4753-af95-8283dd59abaf_3.jpg” alt=”im1979_What_British_Men_Actually_Wear_to_the_Pub_vs_What_They_” />Unlike restaurants where most blokes will have at least some notion of accessories or key pieces that go with an outfit (you wear a watch. Chances are it’s either remarkably expensive or it’s the same one he’s had since university), when British males go to the pub they tend to keep it simple.

Or non-existent. Maybe a watch as mentioned. The wedding ring if he’s lucky enough to be married.

Honestly, that’s about it. When he leaves the house shoes are never left behind but you’ll be struggle to see any colours shine through with all the wear they’ve been subjected to. Now let’s examine the flipside.

You take the exact same men and mark my words, they somehow know when to dress up when they go out for restaurant. But I mean proper restaurant. Not Nandos.

Not the Indian where they greet you as you walk through the door and know your order without you having to speak. Somewhere with a booking. Somewhere you want to maybe impress your date at or not make total arseholes of yourselves in front of your girlfriend’s work mates.

Then suddenly these guys who were hidden under layers of trendy staples fifteen minutes ago transform into… <img class=”size-full” src=”http://joewears.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/im1979_What_British_Men_Actually_Wear_to_the_Pub_vs_Whta883b61c-bce9-40bc-ac84-f9098455979c_0.jpg” alt=”im1979_What_British_Men_Actually_Wear_to_the_Pub_vs_Whta” />Wait for it…. Better versions of themselves. It’s subtle but you can actually see the thinking process happening right before your eyes.

Almost imperceptibly their clothes go from schlubby-but-still-kind-of-sort-of-neat to neat-but-not-in-any-way-stuffy. The jeans may remain (they’ll swap their everyday faded pair for the darker, newer pair they reserve for ‘proper’ evenings out but chances are they’ll switch to chinos instead. Navy.

Charcoal. Or that weird moss green British men are weirdly obsessed with. Still slim but now with jeans-for-dates-worthy seats and knees that haven’t been washed so much their legs stick out at weird angles.

Shoes are where you start to see the major upgrades. Trainers are out. See above re: smart-but-not-too-smart shoe.

Chelsea boots are huge for this reason. They slide into that sweet spot of casual enough that you don’t feel underdressed walking into a place with quite literally a dress code, but smart enough that you don’t feel like you’ve worn them straight from the office. Deserts boots are another go to for similar reasons, again suiting the trendier venues more.

And inevitably there’s always going to be that one guy in the group with the same sad, square-toed black ‘smart’ shoes he’s had since his first proper job interview in 2008 and still gets trotted out for special occasions despite your begging and pleading each time he wears them that they need to go. <img class=”size-full” src=”http: //joewears.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/im1979_What_British_Men_Actually_Wear_to_the_Pub_vs_Whta_d634e878-7010-4560-b929-e591a1585a78_1.jpg” alt=”im1979_What_British_Men_Actually_Wear_to_the_Pub_vs_Whta” /> – ShutterstockTops is where we really see the step up. Either that plain tee has been upgraded to something much nicer (and gasp… maybe even ironed) or it’s been ditched altogether in favour of a button-up shirt. Not a bloody button-down shirt shirt, obvs.

We’re British, we know better than that. Oxford cloth is where it’s at here, your desert boaters and your nostalgiabras trousers with the non-descript grey plaid shirt hiding underneath. It’ll probably still be tucked in too.

British men still struggle with leaving their shirts untucked. We’ll leave that be. The sweatshirt gets swapped for an actual jumper.

Maybe that M&S merino thing I wrote about last week. Crew neck will be most popular but you’ll start to see the odd zip-neck jumper being worn by the more mature among us. What I’ll generally see then is one of two outer layers – either a casual blazer (don’t you dare @ me it’s not part of a suit he hasn’t worn since Nicky refused to marry him) or an upgraded jacket (Harrington, waxed cotton, maybe even a bomber if he’s still under forty.) <img class=”size-full” src=”http: //joewears.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/im1979_What_British_Men_Actually_Wear_to_the_Pub_vs_Whta_604c9ab0-60cb-4236-81ef-d87bd472ff6b_2.jpg” alt=”im1979_What_British_Men_Actually_Wear_to_the_Pub_vs_Whta” />Watching certain mates who I know beyond all reasonable doubt own the exact same wardrobes as each other hair all outfit mentally season their clothing depending on where they’re going.

Friend Dan works in IT and owns three jumpers to my egregious twenty-seven. He’ll happily wear the faded-navy crew neck jumper to a pub without a second thought but instantly reaches for the nice texture-weave jumper when we’re making for dinner. Same guy.

Same basic jumper. But just enough UPGRADE to the material to skirt that precarious pub-vs-restautant divide. Gastropubs.

Weirdly fancy cafes. Dry supermarkets. And my personal favourite – those restaurants that just opened that you kind of don’t know whether they’re trying to be smart or not.

These are the ones that will always divide opinion and thus produce the most interesting examples of trying not to look like an idiot dress wise. There’s a reason I started and finished this article with The Prince Albert – spent the evening there last Saturday watching exactly that scenario play out before my eyes. Group of six meets at new place in Ancoats.

Ticks all the boxes of being casual enough they won’t feel underdressed but also fancy enough we’d actually feel weird wearing the same stuff we’d normally chuck on for the pub. Industrial-chic decor. Sharing plates.

Craft beer and a wine list with actual vintages on it as well as real napkins. Five of us turned up in near-identical versions of ‘dark jeans or chinos, nice-ish jumper or button up shirt, Chelsea boots or the smarter end of the training spectrum.’ Coincidence? I think not.

Six separate British men all solving the same sartorial problem and landing on broadly the same conclusion. Like anything geography plays a big role. London-types will dress smarter for both cases.

Office culture persists in the capital despite workplaces recently becoming significantly more casual than they once were. Up north lads will wear jeans and a jumper in negative twenty degrees that would terrify your southern relatives. Manchester still has that lingering indie influence from the nineties – you’d be more likely to spot a vintage Adidas Tracksuit top down The Bridge than you would say, around Bournemouth. <img class=”size-full” src=”http://joewears.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/maxresdefault-e1526203166444.jpg” alt=”maxresdefault” />Age is another factor.

Streetwear is huge for British men in their 20’s when it comes to pub attire. Supreme jumpers, huge bulky trainer, fancy iPhones held up by oversized cross-body bags that all of us Olds don’t understand but won’t admit it. 50+ crowds generally forego the inbetweeners altogether.

Golf jumpers and joggers one side. Actual shirts and trousers the other. Skinny was rife in the early noughties so there are also a lot of men in their 30/40’s who refuse to wear anything with legs.

The thing I find most interesting, though? When plans change.

When “just the pub for a few” turns into “actually guys what about food?” and someone’s got to assess whether their outfit is one they’re prepared to actually eat dinner in.

The group-wide palpable sense of relief when you get to the table and realise that actually it is casual enough that your ‘pub clothes’ are fine. Or the one guy who’s had to splash out on an emergency meal deal because his idea of going for a pint wasn’t quite pub-appropriate enough. Which reminds me.

Me and four mates turned up at the afore-mentioned-restaurant-in-Ancoats only for it to transpire one of us had bagged a last-minute reservation at an actual ‘restaurant restaurant’ half an hour after we’d arrived. Me, sadly being the one who’d opted for ‘salt and pepper chips are fine thanks’ instead of scrutinising the wine list. £60 Uber Eats shopping later and I was eating food wearing a still creased Oxford shirt with the security tag neatly tucked under my designer watch. Such is life.

The reason I love these codes of British menswear dress so much is that they’re persisted despite how casual everything has become. Offices have become informals. Restaurants have taken that formality edge off.

And yet we British men can still tell a smart from a shirt within five paces of someone. It’s a holdover from a bygone era that most of us no longer subscribe to but we’ve still internalised it so thoroughly that when the situation calls for it we automatically know how to adapt.