Do they wear baseball caps in Paris
 

My husband always has a baseball hat on his head. Obvious reason is because he's bald. He does take it off when we enter a restaurant, thank goodness for that. I told him that people in Paris probably do not wear baseball hats on their heads while visiting. He said, "of course they do", so I'm asking, do they wear baseball caps or not. Will he look like a real tourist with a cap on his head?

"Will he look like a real tourist with a cap on his head?"

Completely. Unless, perhaps, he's 15.

Many visiting Americans and Parisienne baseball players (of which there are mercifully very few) wear baseball hats in Paris.

He'll look like a tourist in Paris and a big kid everywhere else...Suze, tell him to buy a nice cap and he'll fit right in ;)

What about Parisians?

"Make the ultimate sacrifice. This is the thing I find hardest to do, but I steel myself and leave the Red Sox cap at home." (from this Sunday's Boston Globe by Richard P. Carpenter "Fanny pack? Gawking at a map? A thousand times no!")

Will he look like a tourist without a cap? No doubt. Is he a tourist? I'm guessing that he'll look like a real tourist either way.

sshephard is totally correct. He will look like w tourist if he wears a ball cap. He will look like a tourist if he doesn't.

Decide which battles are worth fighting. Don't mess w/ him wearing his security blanket - After he is in Paris he may decide on his own how dorky it looks . . . . .

Do Parisians wear baseball caps - of course not - why ever would they?

Do bald American men in Paris wear baseball caps - yes, all the time.

Do they look silly - no sillier than they do in the US.

I don't think any male over 25 should wear a baseball cap (unless, of course, they're playing baseball). And no one should ever wear one backwards.

First of all, some of the best looking men I know are bald. And it's tres fashionable these days. Look at that gorgeous football player who was on Dancing with the Stars! Second, hats are so much fun and so interesting these days -- why doesn't he get something a bit more grown-up but still fun and funky? Hats, yes. Baseball caps, no.

Along the same lines...I read some posting that said that noone wears sneakers and sweats in Paris...

Is there really a dress code to worry about?

My husband is bald. Being bald makes you more susceptable to skin cancer on the top of your head. He is uncomfortable in any kind of hat. For a long time he tried to get away with sunscreen spray on his head but after some skin cancer removal, he has no choice. I still have to remind him not to forget his hat.

He hates wearing a basball cap but he does. He will wear it in San Francisco and he will wear it in Paris. Let's see...do I want him to look fashionable or live longer and avoid more cancer? Hmmmm. Not a very hard decision.

He has lovely basball caps - off white with Nautica Symbol, light blue with a Polo Pony, tan with Tommy Bahama symbol, etc. to go with different colored shirts - Ralph Lauren shirts, Faconable shirts, Tommy Bahama shirts, etc.

I hate to break it to you but I have been to Paris 8 times and each time I have noticed an awful lot of NYC baseball caps. Yes, the older men wear 'hats' but my husband looks dorky in one and it doesn't suit him.

No, he doesn't wear it to dinner when the sun is down but if the sun is out, hat on head. Not wearing a fanny pack is not life threatening but not wearing a hat just might shorten his life. Let's see... Do we want to be fashionable or do we want to be ALIVE.

Will he look like an AMERICAN? Probably. DO I CARE? NO.

Why would you care what other people think...I have no compulsions whatsoever walking around in Paris in my tourist uniform...a clean T shirt, blue jeans, sneakers and a baseball cap...I haven't been thrown out of any museum or any restaurant which I would want to eat at yet....do people talk about me behind my back? I don't know...maybe they do..maybe they don't...you know something, I'm never going to see those people again so I don't give a damn.

As far as looking like a tourist, I would suppose he is walking around with a camera, right? Believe me, people will know he (and you) are tourists a kilometer away.

A baseball cap is fine in Paris. Parisians are more tolerant than Fodorites.

i wear a baseball cap because I am an athletic guy and also because I grew up in the country on a farm and all the guys hairless or not wore caps. that being said, I did purchase a leather cap in the SteinMart mens department that had a real european chic about it to wear this past November in europe...i found one that was waterproof as well as stylish and it came in very handy on certain cool drizzly/rainy days as well as providing protection from sun and glare...enjoy!

So your husbands is concerned about not looking like a Parisian, doesn't he? I suggest the ultimate solution: http://www.souvenirsofparis.com/caps/french-beret.htm
Preferably in black. An old cigarette butt would add a killer effect ;-)

Actually, as surprising as it might sound, some Parisians are actually fairly sophisticated people who realize that people do dress differently in other cultures, and that something like a baseball-style cap is not the work of satan. Of course there are limits to how far someone should go in wearing their own culture's fashions in another country, but I don't think a baseball cap will cause much of a stir in Paris--even on someone over the age of 15.

I have seen quite a few young men on the Metro and in the neighborhoods wearing baseball caps--almost always with a U.S. team insignia. And they almost invariably speak French, sounding like native speakers. And almost none of them looks over age 30. So if your husband "a moins que 30 ans" and speaks fluent, unaccented French he will blend right in. But, as many have written, why care? You and he will look and sound like tourists anyhow.

I sometimes wear a baseball style cap to protect my face from the sun. I am a woman!
I say where what you always wear. I would wear one in NYC, so why not in Paris?
If you feel he will be a target for crime, don't let him carry any money :)

I am very american looking no matter what I will wear so I don't think wearing sneakers or caps will make difference.
Enjoy. We will be there soon as well. I will be the one wearing the baseball hat on a sunny day! :)

Who cares?

I have stopped telling my husband what to wear, except for that torn and dirty old leather jacket that he wanted to take to Barcelona because when he looked at it he still saw what it looked like when it was new. Just like his old Volvo. And oh yeah, in the summer when we're going to be outdoors, I do remind him to take a hat because of sunburn.

And thank goodness he has never been moved to tell me what to wear.

My suggestion is that suze1's husband wear his baseball hat if he wants to. When he gets to Paris, if he feels out of place in it, he can see what other types of headwear interest him and that can be his Paris souvenir. Unless he doesn't care.

Nikki, I have a leather jacket like that, and Herself hates to see me wear it. But I like it, and often wear it when I am out without her. It has character (perhaps it compensates for my deficiencies).

I think OP is broadly correct in suggesting that people in Paris do not wear baseball caps. There are some young men, as d_claude_bear describes, who affect American style. I view them with a cautious eye, as I would view any group that wears what might be gang colours.

Should OP's husband wear a baseball cap? I don't see any reason why he shouldn't. The fact that I don't like baseball caps as urban wear is totally irrelevant.

I am bald, fair-skinned, and have had basal carcinomas removed from my head. So of course I wore (and will wear) caps in Paris (and elsewhere) for protection. But not baseball caps - no way! I have French style caps (NOT berets) that not only look local, but also look much better than baseball caps which IMO look horribly crass and - dare I say it - American!

Oh, a ballcap is sooo unfashionable. Instead, he should choose from this selection of designer hats:

http://manolomen.com/category/hats/

I have a great idea..let it all hang out...wear the baseball cap backwards...tell the world I'm American and don't give a damn.

Now what's wrong with that?

>>Author: kerouac
Date: 05/28/2008, 01:05 am

A baseball cap is fine in Paris. Parisians are more tolerant than Fodorites.

Haha Kerouac- well said!

Wear the cap. It's no fun getting sunburned on the top of your head. If the fashion police on this board are offended by your selection, all the better. None of the Parisians will care.

Didn't Clark W. Griswold buy his whole family berets for their trip to Paris so they wouldn't look like tourists?

My father 85 bought himself a dashing Breton ship master's cap for visiting France which he wear's with aplomb, while I tend towards an Irish Felt hat (like a Texan only more conservative and in felt) from the finest hatter in Yorkshire.

Any way in France he blends in and I just look Irish so I suggest lose the baseball cap and buy a nice french hat

Does anyone in Paris wear berets, these days?!!!

I'm a proud baldy and wouldn't be seen dead in a baseball cap. But that's because I'm 43 not 12. It's the same reason I don't wear caps with propellers on.

I have never had a problem with sunburn etc in Paris - just put the same gunk on the top of your head as the rest of your exposed bits.

Failing that there are hats that are acceptable if you want to wear one. But surely you wouldn't wear one inside?

I only wear one to play cricket and believe me, if I wore that in the street people would assume I was a care in the community case.

I do like the hot dog hat -- and how American is that!

If I were your husband, I'd be less concerned about looking like a tourist (because you'll be one of millions anyway) than just how I look in general. I like men in hats (I also like bald men -- but they have to have all their own teeth) and there are so many nice hats and caps these days that would serve the same purposes as the b'ball cap and look a little more grown-up and sophisticated.

We just got back from Paris and were surprised to see a good number of baseball hats (NYY mostly-I think it is a fashion statement) on alot of young Parisian men.

(I also like bald men -- but they have to have all their own teeth)>>>

Hey. How you doin'?

Joey? Is that you?

Time to stop beating the dead horse.

Yes, many many baseball caps are seen in Paris, mostly on two groups of people:

1. Young men from the rougher suburbs, also wearing sweatpants and 200€ white sneakers.
2. Older tourist men, usually American but not always.

Does it look good? Is that really relevant to the issue? As concerns the older tourist men, take off their baseball cap and they will still be wearing the same sky blue or tan permanent press slacks, the plaid shirt and the Scotchguard treated windbreaker. Will they blend in with the Parisians? Not by a long shot. Does it matter? Absolutely not!

goddesstogo wrote: "I also like bald men -- but they have to have all their own teeth"

My teeth are my own: I bought them.

That's ok, Pad. I have Crazy Glue. :-D

I have several berets from Motsch Fils (now Hermes) which I wear outside the US. If I had the guts, I would wear a John Deere cap; green is "in" these days!

This whole post is silly.Caps are OK.