Marie,

That reminds me of when one of my Alliance classmates visited Disney World Paris (a/k/a EuroDisney) and saw a building marked "Hotel de Police" and thought, "wow, those cops must have some union benefits to get their own hotel!" :)

That reminds me of a friend of mine who saw "ladies/dames" on the door of a loo on Victoria station and chirped "Oh they've got a sign for Americans"

To Aileron and MissPrism :

LOL ! Thanks for making me laugh :-) ! Bonne fin de journée aux States ! Marie (Normandy, France)

lammom should be in Paris by now. I wonder what she is wearing, and if she finds it appropriate...

I think she's having a great time in her flip flops, hula shirt and shorts :-)

Completely outside Paris, but I was in Venice during a one day strike.
There was a notice by the vaporetto stop saying that there was no service because of "agitazione industriale".

I heard an young American woman translating to her friend that the boats weren't running because the water was too rough.

Don't miss MissPrism's lounge act in the Poconos this weekend. What a stitch.

Oh, Canon Chasuble wouldn't approve of that.
He won't even let me write another three volume novel.

Oh, I don't know. He looks more like the kind of guy who really wouldn't care what you got up to, esp during the World Cup series:

http://www.bris.ac.uk/depts/HiattBak...ay/cast/ld.htm

Don't give up the day job MIssPrism!

Hello, I am a new member (long time reader) I am an avid traveler and very fashion conscious. One of the things that surprise me most is that often when someone asks advice about dress code on holidays (and if he asks it is because it is important to him/her) so many people reply saying that this is futile/stupid/not important. Well, to that person it is!!!

So this is my advice and I hope it helps:
In Paris (in Europe in general) you will see LOTS of badly dressed locals. But well dressed people are treated better and feel better. As simple as that. Paris has gorgeous shops, don't miss them, they are part of the city as much as museums or churches.

Wear confortable shoes that do not look like sport shoes (Geox, Tods or sth from Cole Haan/Kenneth Cole in the US).
Wear adult clothes if you are an adult. (no shorts, baseball caps, funky t-shirts, fanny packs).

The rules are simple. Wear shorts on the beach, a knapsack/hiking boots in the mountains and city gear in the city.

If you adopt the american preppy style you cannot go wrong. Simple and smart.
But if you come from New York, you do not need any advice at all, you already dress so well!

Oh, some people really like "rules." Is is so unpleasant to believe that there are no rules for walking around dressed like a tourist? If I worked on Wall Street, I am sure I would wear a business suit. If I visit Wall Street as a tourist, I think that flip flops and shorts are fine, even if I eat at the ultra-chic Wall Street McDonald's.

Working in the Champs Elysées area, I must admit that I don't dress to receive ambassadors (even though my company receives ambassadors 2 floors below mine). I dress decently. Like most Parisians, the moment I arrive home, I rip off my clothes and wear whatever I want to go to the supermarket. If I go to a movie later in the evening, I will still be poorly dressed. If I go to the theatre, I probably will wear normal pants and a shirt, but that's as far as the effort goes. If I go to a restaurant, it depends on the restaurant -- but I don't go to "those" restaurants anyway, so I can dress however I please.

Anyone has the complete right to obsess about their appearence and act accordingly. Today when I left my office in the "golden triangle" (formed by the Champs Elysées, avenue George V and avenue Montaigne in case you don't know), I passed one of the most amazing sights I have seen this year -- an American woman with long blue fingernails, yellow glued hair that looked like it had been ejaculated by a soft ice cream machine, ultra red "wet" lips, a shiny blue dress with embroidered spangles, and stiletto heels. She clearly thought that she was absolutely spectacular. I completely accepted her presence on the street, since people can wear whatever they want in Paris, but I was very relieved to arrive on the "Champs" with normal tourists in vacation clothing. The Louis Vuitton megastore at 101 Champs Elysées (can you imagine that my office was in that building for more than 10 years?) was full of people in shorts and tank tops. Their money was accepted with a smile. Would Miss Bluenails have received better service? Probably not.

Kerouac,

But don't you know that you live in Paris? You dress better and have better manners than any poor American? :)

I also think it is funny that people need rules and are so intimidated by Europeans, in particular Parisians. Oh, well...

But I promise I won't wear my daisy duke shorts and tube top the next I go to Paris. -:)

Of course, the people who NEED to read a "what to wear" thread are the people who DON'T. Our last three vactions were (1) Disneyworld (2) Costa Rica, and (3) Rome, Florence and Venice. If I had allowed it, my husband would have packed the identical clothes for all three VERY DIFFERENT locations. To him, "summer vacation" means shorts, t-shirts and tennis shoes, no matter where we're going or what we're doing. I think it is fine for people to try to get an idea of how local people dress before they go there.

Missy Pie,

I understand what you're saying, however, I slightly disagree with you. I don't think it matters what the "local" people wear. What really matters is the weather and where and what you will be doing. If it's going to be 90 degrees and humid, you have to take into consideration. If you're going to visit churches, you have to take that into consideration, what kind of restaurants do you anticipate eating at, will you go to the theater/opera/ballet or will you be just stopping by villages and wander around? All those things are more important than how "locals" dress in my mind. Local women may be wearing high heels, but if you are a tourist walking all day on cobble stone streets, you will be in great pain dressing like the locals.

I think all a visitor has to really think is how they would dress at home visiting similar places. If you go to Disneyland or Euro Disney in the summer, the same type of clothes will probably be appropriate....if you go camping in Yosemite or the Alps, similar clothes.

The only places that might be different would be churches, in the States, we're more liberal as to what people can wear.

kerouac -
have you been an expat so long you forgot what a drag queen looks like? ;-)

You're right, lyb. It was funny in Costa Rica...the tourists were all wearing the obligatory khaki colored pants where the legs zip off to become shorts...it's like a uniform, and it is practical when hiking. However, when the rain forest hike was over and we'd go into town for lunch, all the local women were wearing stylish jeans and camisoles - you could put them in a Dallas mall and they'd blend right in.

Hey all, first, I want to say this site rocks!

Okay, as for this question of fashion and blending in, I wanted to give my 2 cents. Let me start off by saying that I am 21 and studied in France for the fall semester and am currently in Paris for ~2 weeks doing research in the national archives, so while I am no europhile, I do have some months observation under my belt.

While I do not worhsip the europeans, I personally think, as a whole, that they dress nicer than Americans. That being said, I find the difference to be not that great in the 18-25 age group. IMO, the biggest gap is in how women dress. Now, when we were in Aix/Paris in the fall, we tried to blend in and for the most part we were successful for the most part. I am not sure why jeans are getting so criticized, since it seems like 80% of french males (18-25 group) where jeans. Admittedly, they are not Levis, and are usually of nicer fabric/quality and uniformly "distressed," but still jeans nonetheless.

And as for the shoes, when you say "tennis shoes," are you referring to Nike's and reeboks? Because I wear puma soccer type tennies (white), and I find that they are quite common, though maybe not as much as the point leather-ish dress shoes.

As for shirts, a "vintage" lookign t-shirt seems to be the rage, especially paired with a blazer.

Like some others have said, I think you should be able to wear what is comfortable for you (within certain bounds), but I for one *like* how the "native" parisiens dress, so that is why I try to do the same...not because I am some self-hating American, lol.

Anyway, hope this sheds some light.

P.S. Shorts on guys are very uncommon, but I personally think they should wear them instead of those nasty capri or 3/4 pants. I find them ridiculous on guys, but thats just my personal opinion.

Soldat,

Thank you about the comment about guys walking around in 3/4 pants or capri pants!
And they are usually old guys with hip and/or knee dysplasia
with the obtuse angles , which makes it even more hilarious.

But Shorts...?
I have walked around everywhere with shorts in Paris.
And have never suspected that people would looked upon me as being "very uncommon"

in Paris, you could walk around with a dog turd between your teeth, and I suspect people don't flinch.
And you are trying to tell us that wearing shorts is "very uncommon"

BBBWWWHHHAAAAAAAAAA.

I am wearing shorts everywhere.
And kiss my very uncommon big fat rear end
G

LOL

I think we've seen the end of this thread!

guaranteed,

heh, I wasn't implying that I think wearing shorts is bad (they are my favorite thing to wear...I grew up in California...shorts and rainbows baby).

But compared to the States, I do personally think that there are way less shorts in france. Perhaps I haven't been around enough though...who knows.

It is true that shorts are rarer in Paris than in the U.S. But if you go to a residential neighborhood, you will find that Parisians often change into shorts once they get home from work, and they will go to the supermarket and other local commerces in shorts, even if they wouldn't be caught dead in such attire in the "center."

Ahh, okay. That makes sense.

For goodness sake.
I wouldn't be seen dead in shorts because old boys in shorts look stupid.
So do people whose buttocks make them look like two little boys fighting under a blanket.
The rule as for all these silly clothes questions is that if you are young, slim and attractive, you can wear a bin liner with a bucket on your head.
If you are old and/or fat, you have to cover enough of yourself to prevent yourself being an eyesore.

Josser, you are right. In a nutshell, shorts and caps and silly t-shirts are worn by children and teenagers. Young fashion is completely globalized now. But once you become an adult, you dress according to your age. How many french women/men in their 50ies wear shorts in Paris?

No one cares what you are wearing? Nobody will tell you what they think, that's more like it. But I personally would hate to be the ugly spot in an othewise beautiful landscape.

I was just in Paris this weekend and noticed a good deal of small Puma-type trainers. I wore jeans, flip flops and/or my Skechers black trainers, and simple formfitting t-shirts. Many people thought I was French (I am a brunette ;) ) and everyone was incredibly cordial. I think I gave this impression because I was very polite, always greeting people with "Bonjour," and thanking them/saying goodbye. If you are polite, they will be polite to you. Don't worry so much about your clothing.

On the subject of blending in: The first time I was in Paris, 5 years ago, I was standing and gazing at a building across a boulevard (sorry, don't recall its name) that was marked as once being the home of Abelard. Some teenagers stopped and asked me to tell them about Heloise and Abelard. I think they were French but am not sure. They certainly were European and not American. It occured to me later that they may not have taken me for French, but they certainly had me pegged for a retired teacher, which I am. I don't recall what I was wearing, but it was probably black as I had followed the standard advice and packed lots of it. I'm going to Paris again next month and will substitue khaki and other neutrals for most of the black.

Every place I go, I am invariably asked for directions in the local language. It can't be because I am making an attempt to "blend in" or "look like a local" because I am not. I suppose it results because I am just standing wherever I am standing.

I have never "gotten" those who try to dictate fashion to others. You wear what you feel comfortable wearing given your personality and the season, and let the Message Board Fashion Police be damned!

Ouch, FauxSteMarie! That looks like a "personal attack" which you condemned above. Chill please, before Fodor's bans this thread.