Hold on

Safety first! This design highlights that the poles in the middle of the carriage are made for holding, so nobody will fall when the train lurches. Please mind the gap, and please mind your London Tube etiquette.

A tailored t-shirt dress in mustard yellow with Tubetiquette's 'Hold On' design outside a London Tube station. The design features a cat wrapping itself around a pole on the train.

There are quite a few unspoken rules on a London commute, and the first and foremost is to never speak to anybody. The journey is basically a giant cooperative game in which passengers organise themselves around one another, all without words, often without eye contact. To make it more challenging, the trains don't always stop and start smoothly, and all those standing have to share access to the features designed for steadying themselves.


Occasionally there may be a cat by the pole, not holding on delicately with a dainty paw, but instead, wrapping its entire body around like a crawling vine. Avoid brushing up against it if you can, and do not talk, do not make eye contact, but simply cast your gaze onto your newspaper, your phone, or a Tube poster. If you’re wearing your Tubetiquette shirt, perhaps it will catch its eye! Shhh, no words are necessary.