What about Roberto Cavalli? I wouldn’t trade my favorite pair for a lifetime supply of Chloe, and while I agree that jeans should speak for themselves, I sometimes worry mine are saying too much.

He's a bit bling for my tastes, but if you have the figure and look that can carry it, then fair enough.

M Kingdom, I'd watch you. You're smart, witty and funny, a combination sorely lacking these days in most of the idiots on TV. So glad you're on Fodors!

As we're all into personal observations and airing our idiosyncratic views:

1. Maddie Astrid writes and argues well: succinct, not defensive, confident. She is most welcome here.

2. I keep wondering if there really is a person or thing called Miu-Miu -- someone or something to whom or to which MK2 alone, in my experience, refers.

(I am aware of, indeed was fond of, the French actress Miou-Miou.)

3. I think jeans are great.

4. I think the French are such individualists that any personal style -- if it is indeed an expression of self, not slovenliness or camp-following -- is legit.

Is this the first time ever MK2 has conceded a fashion point??? :O

Scarlett - LOL!!! If I could only get invited to places where tiaras could be worn....

Miu-Miu is the younger line in the Prada Company.

I don't want to join what sounds like a silly post,but I'd like to comment on the jeans for evening wear issue. As one email response stated - it's not the jeans,but what the body looks like in the jeans. I've watched fellow Americans deplaning in Paris wearing shorts, sweats, t-shirts and jeans, and have been disgusted. Many of them were 20-40(or more)pounds overweight, and those too casual clothes were often way too tight. Look around Paris and you won't see Parisians over 20 years old or so dressed like that, and very few who are obese. The French still have a bit of personal pride. Adults only wear shorts in their yard, on the beach, or on the tennis court. If they don't have the body for it, they generally aren't seen in it out in public.
If you have a good body, and dress in designer jeans, a fun and/or sexy top and good shoes, jeans are fine. If you're wearing a t-shirt(especially one with a slogan or logo)hanging out over a big belly,jeans,and flip flops or sandals with socks - then the glare is deserved.

LOL, Diane, but you did join a silly post!
The real question is, not if your belly hangs over your jeans but do you wear a Tiara when deplaning?
Believe me, there are plenty of Parisians who can use some personal styling..and plenty of older Parisians wear jeans. And shorts.

Scarlett, the problem with deplaning wearing the tiara is that the evening gown throughout the long flight must be quite uncomfortable. Unless you are Ms Universe and then you could wear the standard pantsuit and lots of diamonds. Maybe she could get away with designer jeans AND the tiara...She could still not wear the long fur coat without facing PETA!

HDM & kwsl, I SO agree with you. Maybe after a certain number of posts you're considered by some to have first class status while if you have under 50 you're in coach.

In my personal experience, it really slows up the security line when I try to get through the metal detector with my tiara on. And if you think I'm putting my prized Ms Walmart USA tiara in one of those smelly plastic boxes, well, you've got another think coming, Miss.

Oh, dear.
I THOUGHT my tiara, diamante parure, Cavalli jeans, Prada clutch and "My Boyfriend Went to Ibiza and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt" top got some funny looks at the Orsay, but I assumed I was being too sensitive. ;-)

"The French still have a bit of personal pride. ...if they don't have the body for it, they generally aren't seen in it out in public."

-- Hence the muscular, voluptuous and generally highly toned bodies on French beaches.

(OK, OK perhaps all those Speedo victims and topless grannies are German)

......I believe the correct term for
that roll o'flab hanging over the low
rider is 'muffin top'.

If your tiara is big enough, bejewelled enough and tall enough, it will distract those disapproving Parisians from your belly flab. Isn't that why tiaras were invented?

Let's face it, if you can't tell the difference between the loose-ass, hanging belly, t-shirt and flip-flops jeans look and the long-leg, tight butt, narrow hip, high heel, expensive shirt and jacket jeans look, fashion is probably the least of your social problems.

MaddieAstrid, Thankyou for your post, I too have read numerous posts regarding the wearing of jeans in Paris so I found your post refreshing.

I also appreciated it from the perspective of someone in a similar age group. The doormen here(at home) decide whether you can enter a club or not based on your overall look and I've never been intimidated by that before, however I am rather intimidated by this in another country.

I find it very sad that the self proclaimed 'forum police' judge a good post by the number of times you've posted previously and obviously the relevance it has to them, however I was under the misguided impression that this was about providing others with information and advice regarding travels and experiences?

Maybe if a post has no relevance, instead of slamming someone for sharing their experiences, you could ignore it or better still, go for a walk around the block and maybe you too will get that body that can wear jeans anywear.

My French friends always have blazers in their car when we travel. She wears "nice" jeans and he wears nice casual pants. When we go into any restaurant they put on the blazer. She adds a scarf.

They will then dress for dinner according to the type of restaurant. A starred restaurant would call for dressier on the part of both.

These are French of many generations. I am guided by what I see and what they do. I am a guest in their country and it is my responsibility to adapt to their customs and practices while I am accepting their hospitality, whether in their homes or in their hotels. If you can't accept that responsibility, then perhaps you shouldn't travel. That's the way I feel about all discussions of this nature. Really, there shouldn't even be these discussions. It should be common sense and courtesy that everyone should have learned by the time they do any traveling.

Everything depends on your lifestyle how you look and are confident. I wore jeans with a teal blue camisole and velvet short jacket and ballet flats and had many compliments. Americans lock themselbve in on how they are supposed to look and dress. As Gloria Steinam said: What's 40 supposed to look like. Be yourself but be appropiate. Women in Paris don't ask what to wear nor do they sit writing in journals. They enjoy the passing parade as we do looking at her.

jules - no khaki pants on men? so what should they wear? DH looks good in his khakis and DS is not allowed to wear the worn out jeans hanging down to his knees that he normally wears, although, if I may say so, he is young, an athlete, and looks great in anything (a hottie, I believe the term is). Is the underwear that shows OK for male teens done in France? (that was said tongue in cheek, BTW)

I don't really care if we stand out or not, we tend to do so here when we all start talking and arguing at once. But, I don't want to offend, and I would like to be able to get into the restaurants that I want when we are there.

I can ignore sneers if I must, but my teenage daughters are more sensitive to the opinion of strangers. Their US everyday attire is heavy on the jeans, sneakers and tshirts. We will be eating very low on the Michelin star chain, if that, and will not attempt to crash any chic clubs. Will their youth excuse them from wearing pointy shoes for miles of cobbled streets? What if we promise to spruce up before deplaning?

What is strange about this subject is that the poster and certain other participants want to qualify for being well dressed in Paris but are trying to determine what is the minimal acceptable attire. What normal people do is dress however feels right, and if they are turned away for any place for being incorrectly dressed (a very rare occurence in 21st century France), they go elsewhere. Who would want to go somewhere that looks down on you?

This was not about finding the minimum standards, it was about relaying a recent trip experience and advising others.

Everywhere in the western world has exclusive clubs as per the ones mentioned(even the US) and the reason they look you up and down first is to decide whether you are the type of client that they would like in the club. The only ones who complain about this practice are the ones who don't get in, hence the word "exclusive".

I find it laughable that people honestly believe that the French don't ask for fashion advice, are all the fashion forums in France written by expats?

"What normal people do is dress however feels right" and what feels right to someone in Paris might be very different to what feels right to someone in LA and very different again to someone in Iran or Alaska, this is why these posts are interesting to some of us. It is also why some people will still wear their fanny packs, loud shirts and baseball caps-because that's what feels right for them. This I might add is a choice, one that some are happy with, that's their choice.
Some of us however choose to discuss these things and learn from the experiences of others (afterall, everyone here is doing that in some way).

Thanks, Angelblue71. Well put. My concern is we'll only have so much luggage space. If jeans will put off large segments of a population we're not familiar with, I'd rather my girls left them home. Last time I was in Paris, I forgot to notice how anyone was dressed. (though I did admire the gensdarmes' uniforms) We can't wait until we get there, scope out decently-dressed attire, then follow suit. Picking up a new comme il faut wardrobe at Chanel, Prada, or even Galeries Lafayette, isn't an option.

Could I raise the issue of clothing weight? Jeans are heavy and slow to dry when they get wet. Wouldn't a different kind of fabric be better for travel?

On my recent trip to Paris I wore nothing but jeans and I was still the best dressed in many places. Who ever said that the French don't wear jeans?

>>> On my recent trip to Paris I wore nothing but jeans...<<<

No shirt? How charming and scandalous of you!

(insert goofy but cheerful smiley face here)

"I don't really care if we stand out or not, we tend to do so here when we all start talking and arguing at once."

Momliz, are we related? :D

Hi Stokebaily, I noticed plenty of jeans in Paris last fall. My daughter didn't wear them because we packed particulary light that trip, because we moved around a bit more than usual. She took black sketchers that didn't look as much like gym shoes, and were very comfortable. You mentioned t-shirts, and I did notice, that I didn't see ANY tshirts with logos. So, if comfort is important, and your girls like tshirts, I would suggest 3/4, or long sleeve plain tees, or perhaps tanks for warmer weather. We all noticed that the French women, even when dressed in jeans seemed very "put-together" Nice shoes,bag,etc. I am not saying that this is always the case, as many have said here. This was just my families observations. I don't think your girls will have any problems with jeans. It doesn't sound like you'll be going anywhere that this would be a problem. You could always intice them to bring a pair of black pants in case you do go to a restaurant that makes jeans uncomfortable. My daughter and I bought several scarves while there, and that makes an outfit look better IMHO. They pack flat, take up little space and can add a little variety if one is packing lite. They seemed to be available everywhere,in many price ranges.

Perfect, peppermintpatti. Thanks. While on the subject of nice bags: my 14 yo bought her Dream Purse this year, a pink suede number that makes her feel well-turned-out. Would it be a pickpocket magnet? Do the Parisian women clutch their purses to their chests on the Metro?

I vote to let her take the suede purse! Fun clothes to me is part of the fun of vacation. Whenever I take a purse on any public trans., I always have it over my shoulder, and hold the strap, while pushing it to my body, but especially when getting on and off. I have heard of people getting the straps cut, and the purse stolen, but I have never had any experience like this. Maybe the pickpocketters look for someone holding their bag a little looser? I certainly always follow the advice of those here, who have said not to carry anything in a purse that you would be heartbroken to lose. I think if your daughter loves that purse she will defend it pretty well!!--but you be the one to carry the money and credit cards! If your daughter is anything like my girls she will be the one you should most fear where the money is concerned! I wish you a great trip, what a great experience your family will remember always!