What to Wear to High Tea (or Afternoon Tea) in the Fall

I came across an interesting style predicament last week: what does one wear when attending afternoon tea...in the fall? If you think of afternoon tea outfits, they're usually quite feminine, often floral, with soft pastels or other pretty colours. Usually that comes in the form of a sweet spring or summer dress. But what do you wear when your afternoon tea is happening smack dab in the middle of fall, or even winter? So I thought I'd share my tips with you, on how to make the transition!

Racinne, a Korean skincare brand, recently invited Vancouver Vogue and other Vancouver beauty media to a special event at the Fairmont Vancouver - for their new Carnival-inspired afternoon tea! I have been a fan of the Fairmont's tea services for many years, but realized that I have only been in the summer - which demands a very different attire than the cold windy days of October. So I set out to find an appropriate outfit:

The Dress

In the summer, I would go for a tea-length dress with a full skirt and bright or pastel colours. For fall, I still wanted the dress to have a very feminine feel, so I chose a dress with box pleats that gave it a very nice full skirt. For the colour, I went with something in fall hues: burgundy. I thrifted this dress a long time ago - you may recognize it from this post here. I've put some other great options together at the end of the post!

The Jacket

Unlike tea in the summertime or spring, a jacket is now a necessity. It's not winter yet, so right now in Vancouver you can still get away with just wearing a blazer over top. I decided to layer a plaid-printed blazer that gives off a very preppy vibe that's also quintessentially "fall"! This blazer is actually one of my most prized thrifted finds. I thrifted it from Value Village years ago - a Vivienne Westwood Red Label that I bought for a whopping $2.99 (and is worth about $875!!). A nice pea coat would be a good choice too if it's too cold for just a blazer. Something that's looked polished and classy.

The Shoes

Now, if it's very wet and rainy, your cute pair of high heels may not be the best option if you're going to be walking to the venue. I tried on some of my heeled boots, but decided the calf-height ones just weren't the right fit for an afternoon tea event. Instead, I opted for ankle boots that would keep my feet dry, but wouldn't impede on the otherwise girly outfit.

The Tights

Tights or no tights, that was the question! It's that odd time of year when I'm not quite sure if I should be adding tights into my wardrobe. It was quite a blustery day out (we were actually in the middle of a pretty nasty storm), so I opted for tights that were somewhat opaque. Completely opaque tights would be a good choice for winter. I think keeping with the dark colour scheme, rather than having my oh-so-white legs steal the spotlight was probably for the best.

I hope this helps you style your own afternoon tea outfit this fall! If you have your own tips, feel free to share below, I'd love to hear them.

Dress - thrifted via Value Village | Blazer - Vivienne Westwood Red Label (thrifted via Value Village) | Belt - vintage | Boots - Tommy Hilfiger (thrifted via Salvation Army) | Purse - Just Fab

Happy Styling! xo

~ Britta