Summary
Wimbledon has no published spectator dress code, and the famous all-white rule applies to the players, not the crowd. What you wear comes down to where you are sitting: picnic-casual on the Hill, smart-casual on the show courts, smart in the restaurants, jacket and tie in the Royal Box. Here it is for men and women.
Get the area right and the rest is just summer dressing.
The Championships are the oldest tennis tournament in the world, played since 1877 over the last fortnight of June and the first days of July. The thing first-timers get wrong is the white: that is a rule for the players on court, not for anyone in the stands. Spectators have no published code at all, and what does the work instead is an unwritten convention that tightens as you move from the Hill towards the Royal Box.
Where you are sitting, what to wear
- The HillNo rule whatsoever. Picnic blankets, sun hats, jeans, a summer dress, whatever suits a long warm day outside.
- Centre Court & No. 1 CourtThese two go a notch smarter than the Hill. Smart-casual in summer-tennis colours, with hats and sunglasses for the open roof.
- Debenture seats and restaurantsSmart. A jacket for men, a dress or smart separates for women, proper shoes. No trainers, no shorts.
- The Royal BoxBy invitation, and the strictest by far. Jacket and tie, a dress or trouser suit, a hat for the arrival.
Men
- The Hill and groundsWhatever you would wear to a summer picnic. Shorts and a polo are completely fine out here.
- Centre Court & No. 1 CourtChinos or summer trousers with a polo or open-collar shirt, plus a hat and sunglasses for the sun.
- Debenture and restaurantsA jacket with an open-collar shirt and cotton trousers, smart shoes. No tie needed; a navy blazer is the Wimbledon-summer default.
- The Royal BoxJacket and tie, usually a navy blazer with a club or regimental tie. The hat comes off once play starts.
Women
- The Hill and groundsA summer dress, jeans, anything picnic-ready. Nobody is dressing up out here.
- Centre Court & No. 1 CourtA sundress or smart separates in summer colours, with a hat and sunglasses for the open roof.
- Debenture and restaurantsA dress or smart separates with smart shoes, a clear step up from the show courts but well short of formal.
- The Royal BoxA dress or trouser suit, often with a hat or headpiece, which comes off once you are seated for the tennis.
The summer-tennis look
Across the grounds the palette barely shifts from one year to the next: white, navy, pale blue, lemon, soft green and Pimm's red. What you will not see anywhere, even on Centre Court, is morning dress, formal hats, full-length gowns or dinner jackets. This is summer tennis rather than a formal day out, and dressing as though it were the latter is its own kind of mistake.
The Royal Box
The Royal Box on Centre Court is the one genuine exception, filled by invitation from the Chairman of the Club and the only area where the code has ever really been enforced. The brief is jacket and tie for men, a dress or trouser suit for women, and a hat that comes off the moment you sit down for play, since a brim there would block the rows behind. The invitation spells the rule out in writing. It has its own seat plan, its own politics and its own etiquette, which we cover on their own.
Before you go
- Hat, sunscreen and umbrellaA Wimbledon day can swing from 22 degrees and sunny to a sharp shower, so come ready for both. A small, collapsible umbrella handles the rain and packs down to nothing, while sun cream and a hat cover the heat.
- Comfortable shoesThe grounds run to 17 hectares, and a typical day covers several miles between the gates, the Hill and the courts. Smart but comfortable wins.
- A layerMornings can be cool and evenings under the closed roof cooler again. A light jumper folds into a bag and earns its place.
Which area you are in shapes the whole day at Wimbledon, from the dress to the view to the strawberries within reach, and arranging the right one with the day built around it is what we do.
The single rule that covers the entire fortnight: dress one notch smarter than you would for a summer party of the same temperature, and you are right for every seat in the place bar the Royal Box itself.
Emma Harrod
Managing Director of Leicester Sales
Managing Director of Leicester Sales at Imperial Corporate Events. She gets to know what suits you, then makes the day happen without the fuss.
