AisleSeat

We were in Germany and Austria at Christmas and I think we were the only people wearing polar fleece. Are we hopelessly behind the times, did the fashion change when we weren't looking?

rosetravels

I decided fleece must be an American thing. In Rome at Christmas it seemed to be all about the puffy quilted coats. Everyone seemed to be wearing one.

alanRow

It was probably too warm for fleece so most people were dressed for the rain

Kate

I haven't owned a fleece for about 10 years.

I think they're an item which has long since seen its fashion sell by date - they're reserved mostly for walkers these days.

(rosetravel - the Italian obsession for black 'puffa' jackets deserves a whole thread of its own - they've been slaves to this bizarre fashion for years).

lawchick

I have a fleece - reserved for hiking etc.
I can't remeber fleeces ever being particularly fashionable in Europe. I think they were always reserved for sports.

I agree with Kate on the whole Italian puffy jacket thing. I don't know how girls even walk in the things - they are zipped up from chin often to ankle.

Though the southern Italians really seem to feel the cold a lot - perhaps they need this swaddling.

elina

I have several fleeces, not because of fashion but because of climate where I live. But those are used when skiing or on cool summer evenings at the cottage in the forest. Or hunting mushrooms in October. They have never been street wear.

sheila

Almost everyone here wears fleece. It has nothing to do with fashion- wholly based on needs.

zippo

Fleece is often worn underneath the coat/jacket so isn't always noticeable.

quokka

I own about 10 fleeces in different colours. In winter I hardly wear anything else. The season we are having right now, however, doesn't deserve the name "winter". It's simply too mild to wear fleece. It isn't the fashion that's changed, it's the weather.