Dress Codes and Vehicle Presentation for Formal Events

The dress code is a travel instruction

Telling us what the invitation says is more useful than it sounds. Black tie, morning dress, national dress, uniform or lounge suits each change how much room the passengers need, how warm the cabin should be, and how carefully the last twenty metres from car to door has to be handled. A long dress and a gravel car park are a poor combination regardless of the vehicle.

It also changes the vehicle itself. Four people in dinner jackets take up more space than four people in office clothes, and a party in full formal dress with hats is a different proposition again. Counting people is not the same as counting the room they occupy once everybody is dressed for the occasion.

Hats, trains and things that do not fold

Millinery is the classic problem. A structured hat does not survive an hour pressed against a headrest, and it cannot simply be held on a lap in a moving car. Hats travel flat, on a spare seat or in the boot, and are put on at the destination rather than at the house.

The same logic applies to anything else that will not fold: a long train, a stiffened jacket, a kilt that creases, a fascinator with wire in it. Where several such items are travelling, the honest answer is often a larger vehicle rather than more careful packing.

• Hats carried flat and worn on arrival, not in transit
• Hanging space for jackets, gowns and garment bags
• Shoes changed at the destination where the ground is rough
• A larger vehicle where formal dress fills the cabin

Cabin conditions before anyone gets in

Formal clothing is unforgiving about temperature. Wool tailoring in July is uncomfortable within minutes of getting into a warm car, and heavy make-up and a hot cabin do not survive a journey together. The cabin is cooled before collection in summer and warmed before collection in winter, which sounds obvious and is frequently not done.

The other detail worth mentioning is scent. Strong air fresheners cling to fabric, and nobody wants to arrive at a wedding or an opera smelling of a car. Cabins are cleaned rather than perfumed. The same reasoning applies to a chauffeur's own scent, which ought to be undetectable at arm's length.

What the vehicle should look like

For a formal occasion the vehicle is part of the arrival, and it is frequently in the photographs whether anyone intended it or not. Bodywork is washed on the day rather than earlier in the week, glass is cleaned inside as well as out, and the interior is checked in daylight, where marks show up that a car park never reveals.

The chauffeur's own presentation follows the same logic. A dark suit as standard, and where the occasion calls for something more formal, that is agreed in advance rather than improvised on the morning. Morning dress or a specific tie colour is entirely possible with notice and quite impossible without it.

The last twenty metres

Most of the difficulty with formal dress happens outside the car. Wet pavements, gravel drives, steps without a handrail and a February wind are the things that ruin an entrance. A set-down chosen for the shortest walk on the best surface, an umbrella held properly and a door opened at the right moment are worth more than anything happening inside the vehicle.

Tell us the dress code when you book, over WhatsApp on +44 (0) 7775 554 848, along with anything unusual you are carrying. It costs a sentence and changes several decisions. Hat boxes, garment bags, a cello, a christening gown and a pair of wellington boots have all changed which vehicle was sent.

Plan your chauffeur journey

London Chauffeurs provides itinerary-led private travel for airport transfers, executive travel, private aviation, events and long-distance UK journeys. Availability and pricing are confirmed for the requested itinerary.

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