Hello. My sister and I are travelling to Paris this March. We are both pretty earthy and tend to where jeans whenever possible. Will this pose a problem when dining. Obviously, the finer restaurants will have a dress code, but will the smaller establishments be offended if we show up in jeans. I read the thread on gym shoes at dinner, and that seemed pretty unacceptable. <BR> <BR>Your advice is much appreciated! <BR> <BR>Thanks.

<BR>There's no problem with wearing jeans in smaller restaurants. Just did that half an hour ago...

I love jeans and almost live in them, but what I've done on my past few trips to France is wear black jeans instead of blue jeans. Still the comfort of jeans, but the black is a bit dressier (IMO), so I have the best of both worlds.

<BR>My jeans were blacks too, indeed. Not that I think it makes a real difference, though...Seriously : under a certain "luxury" level, the owner and the other patrons couldn't care less how you're dressed. I'd say for a dinner above 30 $ avoid jeans, shorts and t-shirts, and above 60 $ or so dress in a conservative way.

Diane, it won't matter....it will be very chilly and whatever you're wearing will, hopefully, be covered by a coat. I wore jeans and a black sweater and a black blazer and black shoes. (Not tennies)

The jeans will be okay in the bistros but stay away from gym shoes entirely. Go with any dark leather shoe instead. Sketcher, Doc Marten etc. I usually avoid denim due to weight and go with dark pants.

IMHO I'm saddened that we have exported sloppy dressing to Europe and imported Socialism. I enjoy being well dressed and seing others as well. It shows respect. When living in Germany the only woman/men on the street in jeans were Americans. Our respective cultures have much to offer each other and its unfortunate that we all choose the wrong things to import. <BR>

How good is the evidence that "we" imported socialism? Is any system of collecting taxes and providing financial assistance to the less capable synonymous with socialism? Did European countries (excluding the Soviet Union) have Social Security before FDR introduced it? I guess there was more government-financed medical care in many parts of Europe before LBJ introduced Medicaid and Medicare, but I am not convinced that it was viewed as an idea that was "imported" into the United States. "Socialist" elements of American society, if they exist at all, are very much home-grown, in my opinion. <BR> <BR>If anything, I think the US has been pretty successful at exporting capitalism to Europe and many other parts of the world in the past two or three decades. This is especially true in the area of public works and public enterprise (as opposed to financial assistance to individuals). <BR> <BR>I think it could also be argued that the communist countries of Asia made a pretty concerted effort at "exporting" UNsloppy dressing (a uniform, well-groomed fashion-free population). In racist vernacular of the sixties, this was called &lt;&lt;****s in pajamas&gt;&gt;. It was certainly the opposite of "sloppy dressing". And it failed miserably. <BR> <BR>Paris, Milan, Carnaby Street, Levi Strauss, the Grateful Dead, Willie Nelson, Liz Claiborne, Tommy Hilfiger, Joe Boxer and the Gap were the winners of that war, and they trounced the opposition. <BR>

<BR> <BR> The first social security system has been created in Germany, under the reign of Willem I and by the chancellor Bismarck, who could hardly be considered as a hard-core socialist...

Just to attract a little more attention to the last few posts...

Art, re: "When living in Germany the only woman/men on the street in jeans were Americans." <BR> <BR>I'm curious, when did you live in Germany? While what you say may very well have been true years ago, I have a hard time believing it would be true in today's Germany. Thanks!

My wife and I both wore jeans in Paris and didn't feel out of place. We did change for dinner. I wore dockers and a sport coat (no tie).

Message Art: You have definitely not been to Germany in the past few years. Two things changed in Germany in the last 20 years. The restrooms and the dress. I felt strange going with jeans two years ago, but last year it was three pair of jeans for a 12 day trip. I would take jeans to Paris but no tennis shoes. Black is the way to go.

Wear tennies if you want to. It's not a big deal. Like everyone has said, you need to dress up for nice restaurants, just like you would at home. For sightseeing and casual meals, wear what you want! People get so hung up on this and it's really not an issue! There are all kinds of people in Paris wearing all kinds of clothes!

Thanks for your reassurances and advise regarding wearing jeans in Paris. I will be packing with confidence, and I look forward to discovering Paris in clothes that are "me". <BR> <BR>

As a part-time resident of France and regular visitor to Paris over 40 years, I'll tell you that it depends entirely on the restaurant/type of restaurant. BUT you can hedge your bets by NOT wearing jeans and replacing them with black pants, and you'll be OK anywhere.