Could somebody copy LoveItaly's message and add it to every question about dress?

He/She has made a lot of extremely sensible comments.
There is nothing to add IMHO

I'd be grateful if someone could explain how an entire city can have a "dress code". I was once refused entry to the Republic of Singapore because of my haircut, and I have no desire to repeat that mortifying experience (even more mortifying was the need to acquire an approved Chinese haircut from the airport barber).

Should I reconsider my plans to visit Paris on sartorial grounds, even though I wouldn't think of wearing shorts or white shoes? We may be travelling by car: do the fashion police man roadblocks as well as airports, bus and rail stations?

I don't know, I was in Paris for 2 days and walked about in my summer garg, a clean t shirt, blue jeans, white socks and sneakers and didn't get thrown out of anyplace.

I even dress that way when attending the theatre in London and they were very happy to seat me in my seat.

Of course I didn't go to any places that would be considered haute cuisine but if they don't want me, I don't want them.

Dress any damn way you please, it won't make any difference unless you really are going to upscale places and have loads of money to spend.

Just try to be clean (as I do).

nytraveler...
first, i did not call you dear boy or even silly boy...reread my post. it was part of a satirical statement and not directed at you.

i don't find it very interesting to argue over fashion as everyone has their own style. but if you must know, a very hot london was filled with people wearing shorts yesterday. shorts, flip-flops or teva type sandals and tshirts was the outfit of choice.

fashion in europe, as everywhere, changes with the wind. currently, the rural trashy look inspired by the american south is still extremely popular in london. so wearing cutoffs and looking like you are cleaning out the garage is considered cool in many circles. pair your cutoffs with a faded t-shirt from camp whatever-awg in arkansas and you will look just like many under 30's in london. obviously, you have never been to hoxton. i'm no fan of this look but just reporting what i see.

the "rules" of the american europhiles are little more than efforts to teach other americans, using worn out stereotypes, that europeans dress more sophisticated than americans.

anyway, it seems that you completely missed the point of my post. it's not to argue over what to wear but to get you to see how funny these posts are from a european perspective. it's the blind leading the blind. an american trying to teach other americans how to act and dress european IS funny.

relax and look at some of these posts from a different perspective...they really are quite funny.

Dressing nicer gets you treated nicer, even here in the US. I understand shorts are considered inappropriate in churches as are no sleeve tops. If it is going to be brutally hot, skirts and capris would be better.
If it were me, I look apple pie and all american so no matter what language I can speak, I am pegged an american a mile away. I was in Paris as a teenager many years ago and I probably did not blend in, but I didn't care too much at the time. :)
I usually dress better on vacation anyway. I guess it's the new clothes I buy for the trip! Have a great trip!

Just back from France. The weather was so hot that I saw almost no black on anyone or scarves for that matter. In Lyon I saw lots of broom stick skirts in any color but mostly brown with a pretty top on the outside and belt worn low. I saw broom stick skirts for sale in Paris but not so many on women. Lots of scarf hems. Lots of sandals, lots of jeans. Lots of linen. Lots of capris on French women.

The only people I saw wearing shorts were American women. They really looked out of place. I don't think shorts were any cooler than a skirt.

While in St. Remy I bought a cotton and raw silk light teal green skirt, calf length, slit in the back with little buttons which I wore with a white v neck sleeveless top with lace trim on the neckline and felt like I halfway blended in.

At the airport I observed a French family leaving on vacation - Mom and daughters were in Levi's and athletic shoes - perhaps they were going to the US and wanted to blend in or perhaps that is just what tourists everywhere are comfortable wearing.

I have never thought people in London or anywhere in Britain dressed particularly stylishly. Some people are nicely dressed but on the whole I have never been impressed with the styles or cut of the women's clothes. The men in London used to be dressed so smartly but I don't see that so much any more.

I wouldn't think the average well dressed or thoughtful tourist that LoveItaly describes would have to worry about what she wears in Britain. I am sure NY'ers could show them some styles from here.

Welcome back Ronda :-)
I hope you've had a great stay in France and you'll write a trip report. It is a pity you didn't have time to pop in Dijon!
You also left too early and missed the football match and all that happiness around... maybe another time! :-)

Hope you had a good trip Ronda. It was hot recently, but this week will be even hotter! I hope all Fodorites traveling to the heatwave regions have hotels with AC.
I've seen those same skirts on sale in Brussels, but like you, haven't seen that many women wearing them on the street. And lots of capri pants...unlike some other posters, I think most women look fine in them.

(the temp in the top floor of our three-storey cottage was 110 degrees today. Fortunately, we have a portable AC unit [the converted attic is also our den] and it's brought the temp down to a balmy 82F)

Yes, we did have a nice trip although it was hot. Sorry to have missed Dijon. It would have been so easy for us to go there but.... Next time. I am currently working on our photos and will let you know when they are ready.

We were in Frankfurt as well so got to get in on the football craze.

110 Degrees! In London now or Brussels, Barbara? It is foggy and cool here in San Jose so I can't complain. My head is in a fog as well and drinking lots of coffee and tea to try and stay awake during the day!

I'm curious about these type of statements... "I don't think shorts were any cooler than a skirt." I don't think that any of us can say what is cooler or warmer for anyone else. I know people who are perfectly fine in hot weather wearing long sleeves, but I prefer to be sleeveless is appropriate. For myself, a skirt is much warmer than capris, but for others it would be the opposite.

In the office where I work, no one can agree on the temperature of the office, it's too hot, it's too cold, it's just right....

So I don't think "any" article of clothing is cooler than another, it's all a matter of personal comfort.

Long skirt no undies beats shorts in my book!

Regarding standing out as an American (based solely on appearance, before you open your mouth): my impression is that this has changed considerably over the years. When I first went to France in the 1960's, it was usually obvious at first glance whether someone on the street was a local or a tourist. Everything was different - the clothes, the shoes, the hairstyles, and the eyeglass frames. The only place it was hard to tell the difference was on the Ile du Levant.

But now, everyone buys from the same multinational companies, people look pretty much alike, and it's often hard to tell the difference. I've never taken bluejeans to Europe before my most recent trip. But on this trip, we did. We wore them in cool weather, and noticed that lots of people were wearing them, locals as well as tourist from many nations.

- Larry

There is not one time when I have been to Paris that someone has not asked me for directions in the local language. When it's French, I can answer them. The rest of the languges are pretty much hit and miss (I can ask "Where are the toilets?" in many languages though).

And I never thought I looked like a local.

Well, I'm going to Paris the first of November this year and I'm just going to be done with it....I'm wearing a black burka!!! But.....now I'm wondering, should the hem be just above the ankle bone or is it better to hit the top of the foot...but if it's hit the top of the foot, is that with or without my boots on? Please help, I'm meeting with my dress maker tomorrow.

lyb: When I observed the American family in shorts, we were on the train. Mom was in great shape as was daughter. They were wearing very short shorts, and tank tops with built in bras and athletic shoes. They were sitting on those yucky red plastic seats to which your legs stick and resting their bare arms and backs on the same yucky seats. I would have prefered not to have my skin touch those seats especially in hot weather. Most local metro trains in paris do not have AC. I think they would have been more comfortable NOT touching the seats and therefore capris or skirts would have been a better choice. Additionally, would you want your skin to touch the seats that appear not to have been washed in a decade? YUCK

I was thinking of this thread this afternoon when I left my office in Paris and waited for the metro at the George V station on the Champs Elysées. I saw every single item that people have said not to wear, including cutoff jeans; half of the people were wearing flipflops or shower sandals, there were plenty of shorts and T shirts and tank tops, without a thought for fashion and only for comfort. Mixed with these people were people leaving offices like me, miserable in normal clothes, women in long flowing skirts that looked really hot (and I mean that in terms of temperature, not allure), ridiculous heeled shoes, men in suits and ties (I don't wear a tie in this season), or even just jeans and a normal shirt.

It was 33° in Paris this afternoon, and I say throw fashion to the wind if you are not working in an office this week.

Kerouac:

You've been posting on this board to know facts are quite irrelevant in this "debate".

The assertion by a native Parisian that there's no dress code in Paris simply cuts no ice with the "well, there is. And if there isn't there should be" brigade.

The charitable would say these people simply practise a different kind of logic from the rest of us: possibly a kind the philo section of your bac just didn't cover.

The less charitable would say there's no point arguing.

We arrived in Paris on a 30 degree Sunday afternoon recently. Most people were dressing for comfort in the hot weather.

Bonjour tout le monde !/Hi, everybody !

Let me say that I loved reading these lines ! You've made my day and now is the time to go to bed on this side of the pond... But it's so hot in Normandy, what am I gonna wear, lolol ???!!! Marie (Rouen, France)

Author: david_west ([email protected])
Date: 06/26/2006, 08:37 am
You need:

Black trousers, stripy breton fisherman's shirt, beret , three day stubble and a string of onions.

Then you'll fit right in (Ignore any advice to the contrary).

Oh and by the way - you have to communicate by the medium of mime - it's what the locals do.

Author: ira
Date: 06/26/2006, 08:38 am
Hi L,

You will find the dress code posted on the front door of the Hotel de Ville, in three languages.

Author: david_west ([email protected])
Date: 06/26/2006, 08:41 am
The Hotel De Ville is also about the best hotel in each town - hence the name.