Wherever you go, dress so that you wouldn't be embarrassed if you ran into your future boss or ex-boyfriend (or girlfriend, as the case may be).

I think the "comfortable in your own skin" adice is the best. One of my favorite people in the world travels the world with a rolling duffle and one outfit. She packs several versions of the items but they are all the same - blue jeans, turtleneck, white sweatshirt and white tennies. She never has to worry about what she's going to wear - and I'm sure she's never worried about how she's going to received. She's one of the most genuinely nice people I've ever met and her travels stories are delightful. She "came from money" so perhaps she doesn't bring the baggage that some have referred to on this post. She dresses for comfort, ease and in what she likes. She'll buy a trinket at a market and in the highest brow shop in any European city and is treated the same.

What's the saying? - we're all the same color - green! Tourists are liked. What's the problem?

PS - Ditto the "dress code" for a family member who was raised with French as his mother tongue and did not speak English conversationally until he moved to the states at 15. In the last 30 years, I've only seen him in the same outfit - slacks, long sleeved white shirt and black or brown dress shoes. No matter the event - the same outfit, unless a suit and tie are needed. He never thinks twice about it. He would be shocked that anyone would be concerned.

It is also fluent in 5 languages. He delights in standing in line at Disney or similar and listen to Europeans' commentary on Americans (usually their eating habits and weight). Just before they load for the ride, he starts conversing with them fluently in their own language. He loves to see the shock on their faces - and their realization that someone has been listening to them the entire time.

Two classy people. Two unique dressing styles. Two examples of being comfortable in your own skin - and not getting caught up in the pettiness of what others' think of you.

Ok, thanks for all your help. I think I've got my answer. Don't much care about standing out or blending in...just didn't want to get kept out of any place I really wanted to see because of my attire.

I've just been reading a novel by Donna Leon who is actually American and writes detective stories set in Venice.
She describes a group of American tourists as looking like "wrinkled toddlers" with their shorts and white shoes.
I live in a touristy town and it's quite possible for Americans to "blend in".
Only recently I saw a group of people dressed perfectly normally in trousers and skirts. They all had BMIs in the healthy range.
They were in a group, and so were obviously tourists, but I had no idea what nationality they were until I was close enough to hear them speak.
Our old friend smart casual will get you anywhere.

>>> Our old friend smart casual will get you anywhere. <<<

As will jeans, Tshirt and white tennies! :-)

Years ago, some fool tour director manadated "smart casual" for a tour around Bangkok. All of us were utterly miserable in long pants and long sleeved shirts - sweating up a storm and itching to leave ASAP. Even the artsy-fartsy yankees in the group said shorts and tee shirts would have meant all the difference in the world.

What was that person who told you Paris is "pickier" actually wearing????

When I see a line like "I hear Paris is pickier" I REALLY want to know where the information comes from. Since Paris caters to more tourists than any other city in the world, I think it would not remain so for very long, if people had to dress specially to go there. US visitors are nothing compared to the dowdy crowds from continental China or a lot of the down-and-out Eastern European tourists who have been craving a visit to Paris for decades and have finally made it here.
Often, "information" about how to dress in Paris comes from travel articles recommending "cheap" meals for 50 euros, or limousine tours of the city instead of the metro.

Where what make you feel comfortable. Dress according to the place you go to. If in doubt, call in advance to understand the dress code.

Here's an article about what to wear in Paris --- it talks about shoes, but also about jeans and such. You can find it here:
http://www.paris-eiffel-tower-news.c...r-in-paris.htm

"Yeah, man, and we are coming to sit right next to you at some fine fancy restaurant and ruin your meal!"

That is such a funny line, I laughed out loud.


I guess I shouldn't wear a hat with the price tag hanging on it like Minnie Pearl's? I wouldn't want to look like a hillbilly!

We just got back from Paris and I have to say I wished I'd dressed differently. I wore shorts part of the time and wished I hadn't. I saw very few other women wearing shorts. For women I would suggest capris or knee length skirts if you want to blend in more. Both were worn very widely, with sandals and cotton tops. Skirts were very casual, not dressy for the most part. Surprisingly, we saw lots of men wearing 3/4 length pants -- many of those men were French. Some men can pull this off - young, tall and slim.

I laughed out loud when I read David West's recommendation! I love it!

aah, the dress code, inferiority or superiority complex, a wish to blend in and good manners.

Good manners dictate to blend in to some extend, not to offend your hosts (here country locals) sense of propriety. Yet, do Bostonians care to blend in in Dallas? Not in your life, I would venture a guess. Do Dallasites care to blend in in Boston? The less ostentacious of them probably do.
Do Europeans care to blend in America?
In my experience not even if they want to sell you something.
And, full of shame I do admit to being a sinner: after 25 years in the USA I still eat the European way: fork in my left hand, knife in my right. Subconsciously I would rather die than eat publicly like Americans do ( somehow feeling that my grandma would turn in her grave in horror if I destroyed my entre, cutting the meat into small pieces and abandoning the knife, lol). Yet in Asian restaurants I pick up chopsticks as the most natural thing. And in India or Africa, when dining with locals, I use my fingers (though never if dining alone, or with other expats or turists, and never in Indian or African restaurants).
Gee.. what a rucksack of - often subconscious prejudice - we do carry around... <sigh>

Excuse my butting in, but no matter what you wear in Paris, knowledge of the language and good manners will make up for a lot.

Many of the people we saw at the Eiffel tower a few months ago were Middle Eastern/Germans speaking a mix of languages.

It depends on where you want to go.

European adults don;t wear shorts except at resorts - but if you want to go ahead. But they should be real shorts - not cut off jeans (that's for cleaning out the garage) - at least do presentable city shorts/bermudas in a lighter fabric (jeans are way too hot).

As for being kept out of places - you'll have trouble in nicer restaurants dressed like that. If you want all casuale cafes - they're used to americnas dressed like that.

And there are about 5,000 other types of walking shoes that are much more comfy - as well as adult looking - than those giant white clown sneakers.

Mais, chacun a son gout.

I was in Paris for 10 days in the beginning of this month and I can share the following observations:
Most people are wearing jeans.
Teenagers wore sneakers but most adults wore leather shoes.
There is very little “dressing up” if anything a slightly “grunge look” seems to be what is in.
Children wear shorts and baseball caps.

Better to concentrate on:
The French speak very softly, our normal volume is grating.
They are VERY polite, lots of please, thank you's and your welcomes. Learn "S'il vous plait" and you can use it for just about everything!
When you pass through a door hold it for the next person, even in the subway.
Say hello, seemingly to everyone.

Everyone seemed to know I was an American. Even beggars approached me in English. Four times someone asked if I was lost and offered to help me. I was so impressed with how I was treated, so different than what I imagined.

you don't have to be rude, Walkinaround. NYtraveler is obviously basing her comments on what she has seen and the people she's met during her trips. People's opinions stem from their information.

I agree that visitors, even long-term or frequent ones, rarely have enough information to make a valid pronouncement on such a subject. But that has more to do with the plethora of people, customs, and mores that exist in each culture than with the perceptions of a single traveler.

How you dress should be determined by the purpose of your trip.

I am often in Paris for business so I wear business clothes. I also speak French, but I do not pretend to be anything other than American unless I think my safety or security are in question.

A few months ago, I was at CDG and gave directions to French travelers who were looking for the airport post office.