ciao fodorites! <BR> <BR>because of all the posts here about dresscodes i'm very curios about it and i start with my first bad experiense: <BR> <BR>last summer, on ponte vecchio (firenze) while going to my work: two real fat (sorry for the expression) american women, dressed like twins with very tight light pink t-shirts and jeans-hot-pants (but real hotpants!!) with sticking out very white legs with cellulite. followed by white tennis socks in tennis shoes. <BR> <BR>i really wonder the whole day how someone can feel comfortable in a dress like this without beeing naomi campbell or claudia schiffer.......otherwise it's demonstrating that someone isn't affraid to be how he/she is. <BR> <BR>tanti saluti <BR> <BR>christina <BR>

Ok, because I think this thread is both fun and will cause a lot of negative reactions, I'll share both the worst I've ever seen and the worst I've ever BEEN. <BR> <BR>The outfits that make me cringe the worst are the husband and wife wearing matching flourescent track suits. I'd think they looked a bit silly even at the gym, but really, in the Louvre it's just TOO much!!! <BR> <BR>And now for my admission! We were in Milan this year on Christmas Eve. We'd expected cold weather, but not the snowfall we received! It was breathtakingly beautiful, and we wanted to go for a walk. Unfortunately, as I said, we hadn't been expecting snow, so the only shoes I had that were even mildly appropriate for 3 inches of snow were my WHITE TENNIS SHOES (brought for exercising only). Of course, all the trousers I had were black, and I had a knee-length black coat. And no hat, but with the snow coming down so hard I would have been drenched in a minute, so I wore my ice blue scarf . . . wrapped around my head. And I am NOT the type of person who can do that with style. So, there I was, walking down Via della Spiga, in a dressy long black coat, and black trousers, with WHITE TENNIS SHOES and a pale blue scarf wrapped around my head. Fortunately, my husband was sympathetic enough not to take any pictures!

The worse was a lady I saw in Bath, England, all with an even worse accompanying attitude. This lady was wearing a flaming pink exercise/jogging suit and telling the guide where to stay in line, all in a very loud voice. I looked over to the rest of the tour group and you can definitely tell they were so fed up with this woman. Sadly, I have to admit she was American. Some people should limit their outings to Disneyland, Vegas, or Branson.

It was a few years ago when we visited New York City. In the morning when we walked on 5th Av between 43 and 59th streets we saw all those nicely dressed women with briefcases but all wearing white sneakers. Was that some kind of uniform that day? then we realized that it was for comfort on their way to work. It is funny how it is OK for Americans to wear sneaker at home for comfort but when they walked all day long visiting another country they shouldn't wear comfortable shoes such as sneaker. <BR>What I do not understand why it is important to so many Americans how they and especially how other Americans look when you come to Portugal or France or anywhere? If you are polite, if you learn at least a few basic words in our native language, if you say good morning and smile these things count more in our eyes. Not what you wear. You could be the best dressed person on the block but you are still a visitor and you are welcomed as long as you are decent human being. You never know why other people wear what they wear. Just read Andrea's cofession. There was a reason for her to wear a blue scarf and white tennis shoes but with her sense of humor and need to go and see whatever she wanted to experience that day it did not make difference what she wore that day. Good for you Andrea. And now imagine if you were there and saw Andrea dressed like that. Wouldn't you assume that this was the way she always dresses? Who caress how you look. Come and experience our culture and be yourself. There is more to Portugal (or any other place you visit) than to worry what other people wear. Be comfortable. When we came to New York I wear not very elegant ( actually they were ugly) shoes. But my agenda was to visit many places and to do lots of walking. And I had a ball but one thing I forgot was to think that I had those ugly shoes on my feet. <BR> <BR>Andrea keep up your great sense of humor! And I am certain that many people in Milan who saw you that day smile at you admiring your need to experience their city. They loved you!!!

Oh, goodness, Andrea, I'm so shocked at your admission of your great fashion faux pas. But at the same time, I am so full of admiration for you that you would be brave enough to make this admission public for all to know. My heart goes out to you. But, I am still shocked....and I thank the Lord that I was not in Milan on Christmas Eve to witness this horrible sight. Gads, it is bad enough just hearing about it!

Oh, oh, oh! White tennis shoes and black pants! Oh dear, I can't get that horrid combination out of my mind! Oh, horrors. To paraphrase Lady Macbeth, "Out, out, damn sight!"

Claudia, I enjoyed your post very much. I look forward to visiting your country one day. I'll be the one wearing a happy smile and my trusty white sneakers. Above the ankle, I dress to please others (or at least not give offense) - but below the ankle, I dress to please my feet.

Babble, Don't forget about the sky-blue scarf. Isn't that giving you shivers, too?

1976 - 17 years old. <BR>Was on guard duty at a Summer Camp in the rain and cold. Wearing blue polyester sweat suit with white stripes(which my mother bought me and I hated, but was the only warm thing I had), my ex-boyfriend's green cable knit sweater that his mother had made him. Yellow kibbutz style hat (to keep the rain off my head), an army issue blanket wrapped around all this glory. Somebody took a photo for posterity. <BR> <BR>Through the fog of misery and self-pity (because I hated guard duty under good conditions)I hear my best friend who was 23 and had been dating his girlfriend for 6 years proposing to me. Thought he was kidding and burst out laughing. Only problem he wasn't! He was deadly serious and told me he'd wait for me. It was so awful. End of a beautiful friendship. <BR>Watch what you wear!

Oh, oh, Andrea, please stop torturing me. Blue scarf, too! Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Dear, dear me, I'm having an anxiety attack. Please don't tell me you were wearing an orange fanny pack and that your undies bore the days of the week! Oh, oh, I hope I last day.

In front of us in line to enter St. Peter's in Rome last summer was a middle-aged man with a large beer belly and several tatoos wearing nothing but Madras shorts and sandals and carrying a backpack. They stopped him at the entrance - of course - and told him he had to put on his shirt. "I don't HAVE a shirt," he said very loudly in English. Needless to say, he was denied entrance to St. Peter's. Our whole family has wondered ever since if it really was possible that this guy was touring Rome without a shirt.

Sorry, This doesn't qualify as "bad" in the sense you are all talking about, just outlandish and unusual. <BR>In NYC about 20 yrs ago, sitting at cafe on Columbus Ave., a beautiful woman walks by wearing a small bikini, and high heels. <BR>My boyfriend almost fell out of his seat!

hi claudia, i applaud you for your right to be comfortable. I had added this to another thread a while ago. How am I expected to travel and feel comfortable if i must dress like other people and not myself. When i travel i wear the same things i wear at home. Am i not the same woman in france,england,morocco etc that i am at home. I would not feel comfortable dressed all in black wrestling with a scarf and watching my feet swell so i do not offend anyone with my sneakers. At night i wear black along with complementary colors. When my husband and i travel we look like tourist he is an indian guy with a pony tail and i a round blond housewife. we do not look like anything but who and what we are. when we travel we are on an adventure and the last thing we are concerned about is our wardrobe

ciao a tutti! <BR> <BR>maybe i was misunderstood? i didn't want to talk about the tennis shoes (this was the end of the dresses) but if someone is real fat and is wearing hot pants where you can see more or less everything from there a.. then i do have problems and for my - lets say italian/swiss style - it is real shocking and badly dressed. and it hurts your eyes. and this doesn't have nothing to do with who they are, because i think, that both of them don't walk around like that in the states. as we hear it here in italy, the americans are normaly terrified from calories and fat food and how stay in form etc. my argument wasn't the tennis shoes really! this shoes were more the point of this clothings, but the bad thing was the hot pants and the t-shirt...of course if they would talk to me i never would say something, because it's not polite. <BR> <BR>have a nice evening and i'm still curous about your experiences.... <BR> <BR>christina ;-)

Christina, <BR>You would be ** surprised ** at how some people walk around here in the states !! <BR>There are many who dress as you found those two ladies. <BR>It may not be pleasing to the eye, but some people just aren't as concerned I guess. <BR>Americans may be terrified of calories and fat, but one would never know by looking at the shelves in an average foodmarket here. <BR>Too much highly processed foods, and also somepeople feel that if the food says "low fat" , it means they can eat LOTS of it! <BR>Americans are much more casual about dress these days. <BR>And sometimes it seems that comfort rules over being sensible. <BR>

Bravo, Claudia! One of the best expressed, most gracious posts here!

I happen to think that black and pale/ice blue would look great together, I even remember seeing those colors together in fashion mags. <BR>It's funny that we are all so worried about how we will look to people that we cross paths with for just a moment in our lives.