How to Choose a Garden Party Outfit and the Jewellery to Finish It

The invitation says garden party and stops there. No dress code, no indication of how formal the afternoon will be, and nothing about whether a hat is expected. That gap is where the uncertainty starts, because a garden party in Britain can mean an afternoon on the lawn at Buckingham Palace or a relaxed gathering in a friend's garden, and those two occasions ask for quite different things.

This guide covers what the dress code actually means, how to dress for an outdoor setting rather than an indoor one, and how to choose the jewellery that finishes the look. 

What Garden Party Dress Code Actually Means

Garden party dress code in the UK means formal or smart daywear worn outdoors in the afternoon. Hemlines sit around the knee or below, fabrics are light enough for hours in the sun, and hats move from optional to customary as the occasion becomes more formal. The term carries a different meaning in the United States, where "garden party formal" is a wedding dress code, so American guidance you find online will not always match a British invitation.

The practical difficulty is that hosts rarely specify. The table below sets out the three occasions that invitation is most likely to describe.

If you are genuinely unsure which of the three you are attending, the middle row is the safer assumption. Smart daywear with one strong piece of jewellery reads correctly at a formal afternoon and does not feel overdone at a relaxed one.

Dressing for the Setting Rather Than the Invitation

Most garden party mistakes have nothing to do with formality. They come from dressing for a room and then walking onto a lawn.

• Heels sink. Block heels and wedges distribute weight across a wider base, which means you can move around a garden without watching where you put your feet.
• Daylight is unforgiving. Colours read stronger outdoors than they do under indoor lighting, and metals catch the light differently. A piece that looked subtle in a mirror at home will look bolder in a garden.
• The weather will turn. A wrap or a light jacket that works with the outfit is worth planning for rather than grabbing on the way out.
• Hats change your proportions. Anything worn on the head shifts the visual weight upward, which affects what should sit at your ears and neck.
• You will be standing. Garden parties rarely have a seating plan, so comfort across several hours matters more than it would at a lunch.

None of this argues for playing it safe. It argues for choosing pieces that survive an afternoon outside, which is a different thing entirely.

The Case for One Bold Piece at a Garden Party

Conventional garden party advice tends to recommend keeping jewellery delicate for daytime. It is well meant, and at Laurence Coste we take a different view, for reasons that come from twenty years of fitting customers before exactly these occasions.

Garden party outfits are frequently patterned. Florals, prints and colour are the register of the season, and a fine chain laid over a busy print simply disappears. The dress does all the work and the jewellery contributes nothing. A piece with some presence holds its own against pattern, which means the outfit reads as assembled rather than accidental.

There is also the hat to account for. Anything worn on the head draws the eye upward, so earrings carry far more of the look at a garden party than they would at an evening event where a necklace would normally lead. Outdoor daylight compounds this. Small detail flattens in direct sun, while scale and colour hold.

The distinction worth making is between bold and busy. One considered piece reads as a decision. Several small pieces competing for attention across the ears, neck and wrists read as an afternoon of second-guessing. Laurence designs with that principle in mind, and every piece is handmade in limited quantities, so you can wear something at a garden party that nobody else in the garden is wearing.

Jewellery That Works With a Floral Dress

The floral dress is the most common garden party outfit in Britain, and it is also the hardest to accessorise well. The instinct is to match the print. The better approach is to pull a single colour out of it.

• Choose one colour from the print and let the jewellery repeat it. A green agate drop against a dress with green in the pattern reads as deliberate. Matching the whole palette reads as a costume.
• Semi-precious stones sit naturally alongside botanical prints. Agate, carnelian and mother of pearl carry the same irregular colour that appears in a garden, which means they complement a floral without competing with it.
• Give a busy print room to breathe. If the dress is heavily patterned, the necklace comes off and the earrings do the work.

The Amber Earrings are a good illustration. Green-coloured oval glass tops sit above natural agate drops in carnelian and soft green, at 5cm long, which gives them enough length to read clearly against a print without overwhelming it. The Jasmine Flower Earrings take their shape from the spiral of the tropical jasmine flower and work particularly well where the dress already carries the colour and the jewellery only needs to add form.

For something more directly floral, the Dakota Earrings are built around two roses and are a boutique favourite for summer occasions. The full floral and nature inspired earrings collection runs to more than fifty designs, and the smaller Flower Power collection gathers the most literal floral shapes in one place.

Jewellery for a Plain or Neutral Outfit

Where the outfit is plain, the jewellery carries the colour, and this is where a necklace earns its place.

A simple linen dress or a neutral separates combination leaves a clear expanse at the neckline that a statement piece can occupy properly. The Vesta Necklace sets five large Murano glass leaves against yellow and gold balls, on an adjustable chain that ranges from roughly 42cm to 48cm, so you can position it correctly for the neckline you are wearing. The Marée Necklace takes a quieter route, with large beads wrapped in layers of gold-toned leaves and set with natural white shells.

Both sit within the wider statement necklaces collection, and both follow the same principle. The plainer the outfit, the more the jewellery is allowed to say.

Earrings, Necklaces or Both

The decision is usually made for you by the neckline and the hat. This table covers the combinations that come up most often.

Weight is worth checking before an afternoon on your feet. The Fleur Pearl Earrings weigh 1.5 grams each and carry a leaf design with a white pearl drop, which means they hold their shape across several hours without pulling.

Every design shown here is available in both clip-on and pierced, and the choice is yours at the point of ordering. Some pieces genuinely sit better as clip-ons, and Laurence recommends the Dakota earrings in that style for exactly that reason. The full clip-on earrings collection means an unpierced ear is never a reason to choose a smaller piece.

What to Wear to a Royal Garden Party

The Royal Family publishes its own guidance, which removes most of the guesswork. For a Garden Party, gentlemen wear morning dress or lounge suits, while women wear day dress, usually with hats or fascinators. National dress and uniform are also often worn.

More than 30,000 guests attend each year. The Sovereign traditionally hosts three Garden Parties at Buckingham Palace over the summer and one at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.

Three practical points from customers who have attended:

• The afternoon is spent standing on lawns, so a heel with a broad base is the sensible choice.
• Security arrangements make a small bag far easier to manage than a large one.
• A wrap that works with the outfit is worth carrying, because the gardens are open and exposed.

On jewellery, the same logic applies as anywhere else, only more so. A hat is customary, so the earrings lead.

Garden Party Style Through the Summer

May and June are the height of the season, when garden parties overlap with the Chelsea Flower Show, the start of the racing calendar and the first of the summer weddings. Colour tends to be at its boldest in these weeks, and lighter fabrics are a safe assumption.

Evening garden parties are a different proposition. Light drops away, temperatures fall, and a heavier layer becomes necessary rather than optional. Slightly more scale in the jewellery works well here, because the light is doing less of the work for you.

Race day sits in a register of its own, with its own rules on hats and hemlines. Our Royal Ascot jewellery guide covers that in full. If the invitation is to a garden wedding rather than a garden party, the wedding guest jewellery edit is the more useful starting point.

Finding Your Pieces in London

Laurence Coste is a London-based jewellery brand founded by Parisian-born designer Laurence Coste in 2006. Every piece is designed by Laurence and handmade in limited quantities, which means you are unlikely to see your earrings on anyone else at the party.

Her three boutiques in Chelsea, Sloane Square, and Mayfair each carry designs exclusive to that location, so it is worth visiting more than one if you have an occasion in mind and time to look properly. Staff will fit clip-ons, check the drop against a neckline and talk through what works with the outfit you are planning.

Visit her boutiques, or discover the summer collection online.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Can You Wear to a Garden Party?

Formal or smart daywear suited to being outdoors for several hours. Day dresses at knee length or below, midi dresses, and separates worn with a tailored jacket all work. Block heels or wedges are more practical than stilettos on grass, and a light wrap is worth carrying for the British weather.

What Is the Dress Code for a Garden Party?

Formal daywear, with the level of formality set by the occasion. At a Royal Garden Party, the published guidance is day dress with a hat or fascinator for women and morning dress or a lounge suit for men. At a private summer garden party, smart daywear with an optional hat is the norm, and at a relaxed garden gathering the code is closer to smart casual.

What Should a Woman Wear to a Casual Garden Party?

Lighter and less structured than the formal version, with colour doing more of the work. A printed midi dress or a linen combination with flat sandals or a low block heel is appropriate. Casual does not mean the jewellery has to shrink, and a single bold piece will lift a simple outfit considerably.

Do You Have to Wear a Hat to a Garden Party?

At a Royal Garden Party, hats or fascinators are customary and most guests wear one. At a private garden party, a hat is optional and comes down to preference and the strength of the sun. The decision affects your jewellery, because a hat draws attention upward and makes earrings the natural focal point.

What Jewellery Suits a Garden Party?

One considered piece rather than several small ones. Semi-precious stones and colour hold up in outdoor daylight where fine detail tends to flatten, and scale is what allows jewellery to read against a floral print or beneath a hat. Earrings are the safer choice if you are wearing a hat, and a statement necklace works best on a plain, open neckline. Discover the statement earrings collection for pieces built for exactly this kind of afternoon.