Thank you so much for your response. I hate that so many people on message boards are snotty just for the sake of it but there are also many nice people which is why I look for advice. I am new to this board and am going with my husband to Paris for the first time in July. I agree that we will not totally fit in but it is nice to not stick out so much. When I went to Hong Kong my husband pointed out that you can tell if someone is American, English or European. As you said I am just trying to wear the right colors or style (pants, jeans or dress, etc.) Thanks again.

LittleJen: I was there in April. Several French people approached me and starting speaking in French - one at the Vanves flea market! I exclusively wore jeans, a solid color knit top, black or white, a black cashmere crewneck, and black shoes that look like sneakers but they're not. (The type of "faux athletic shoe" that's seems to be in at the moment.) I also wore a pair of black leather fisherman type Keen sandals. This is how I dress at home, too, so it wasn't a stretch! In july, I'd probably wear some cropped pants, a groovy blouse or T-shirt, but with a nice cut, and some nice but COMFORTABLE sandals. You will be walking a lot, and your feet need to be taken care of!!!!!! If you have specific questions, fire away! I found that people were dressed every which way in Paris, so I wouldn't worry too much. (But I am a more casual person - didn't go to fancy restaurants and such.) Anyway........

Have a fabulous time! I want to come!
Sharon

Just to clarify: I didn't wear all of those clothes at once! ;-)

I told myself I wouldn't jump in on a fashion thread as it brings out the worse in some. fashionn is what is seen in shops and style is what you wear to show your preferences. No one style is wrong if it's put together with thought. It's what makes us individuals. Most people are having too much fun to care what anyone else is wearing. There are few spectacular looking females walking around that you will stop and notice. Two friends came back with mocassins from Paris. They laughed when I brought out my three pairs and guess what, they were all, the French and mine from Minnetonka.
All of us wear jeans and ballet flats, love scarves and don't mind what others chose. Friendship is not based on fashion.A neat woman with condidence is the most fashionable of all.
Whether you shop Paris, New York, Boston, the shops all carry the same fashions but this doesn't mean you must choose.
As Lillian Helman said: "I cannot and will not cut my conscience to fit this year's fashion."
littlejen, where what pleases you and have a great time.

Very well put, Cigale!

Glad to help!

Also, float the idea of your husband wearing capri pants in Paris, and see if he falls on the floor laughing as hard as mine did.

Have a great time!

Jules

I recently came back from Paris. One morning as I was drinking coffee in a cafe a French woman complimented me on my top and wanted to know where I got it. She said she could tell it was very nice cotton. I was shocked - it was an L.L. Bean white V necked pima cotton top. I'm not much of a fashionista and quite surprised by the compliment!

topping for littlejen

Re capris for men: my DH, a rather conservative college prof type, bought a pair of DKNY capris for a cruise this spring and looked quite cute in them! I don't think he'll be taking them to Madrid this month, though .

To Jen: for our first trip to Paris 4 years ago, I followed all the advice on this site about how to blend in, and we took lots of black, I didn't let my DH take kakhis, only dark pants, etc. For the first 5 days there we were attending a conference and I wore what I wear to work here: nice, professional linen dresses and work-appropriate sandals (I live in the Caribbean and don't wear closed shoes). Well, guess what. Even in my dressy office clothes, I didn't fit in. My shoes were totally wrong, women on the Metro on their way to work were wearing suits (with either pants or skirts), my makeup and hair were different...

For the rest of our two weeks there, we roasted in our "appropriate" clothes and I got blisters on my feet (although I took along comfortable, broken-in leather walking sandals). And we still looked like tourists anyway! LOL

For Madrid, we're taking what we wear here on weekends: loose cotton or linen pants & blouses for me, kakhis and short-sleeved cotton or linen shirts for DH. None of this is sloppy, BTW, just comfortable and casual, which is very different. A pair of black pants and a couple of dress shirts for him and a couple of dresses for me in case we go somewhere that requires it.

I'm not in the "wear whatever you want, who cares" camp, because I do want to present a pulled together, respectful and attractive (to DH at least ;-) ) image, but I won't obsess about trying to look like a "local" when it's impossible.

Enjoy Paris. You will have a wonderful time!

I'm with cigale--I love fashion and I love talking about it, but I often refrain from even looking at the fashion-oriented threads because some posters get so uppity, dictatorial, and downright nasty.

I also don't like when people comment that you should be proud to be an American (like that has anything to do with how you want to dress!) that you should just be who you are and not worry about style. What if who you are is a person who does care about style, maybe not according to Vogue, but according to your personal standards for your lifestyle, persona, budget, age, etc.

I've had similar experiences to cooncat--people complimenting me on the street or in a restaurant on something I'm wearing. One scarf in particular tends to drive French women to want to rip it off my neck. I'm serious--they always want to touch it! When they ask me where I bought it, how can I reply "In Greenville, Delaware" with a straight face? So I just say that it's from the U.S.

And I thought that Jules was really one of the few people who grasped what you were asking on that other thread and that she made a lot of sense. Although I'm still wondering about that one black shoe. . .

Hey jules4je7, we live in Europe and my hubby LOVES his capri pants. Most men over here are wearing them. Shorts make you stick out and pants are too hot, capris are perfect and currently in fashon for men. I doubt he will wear them when we return to the staes though.

Amapola - your husband should definitely take those capris to Madrid this summer! He will fit right in.

PJ -- I think my DH was envisioning what I was -- those capri's a lot of American women wear with the bright big floral pattern, etc. I love Capris because they are cooler and more appropriate than shorts, and like many women, my knees were the first thing to go.

However, my husband is 6'4" and just the mere mental image of him wearing them makes me giggle. I do wish I could see men wearing them IRL, but I'll be there in September when it'll probably be out of fashion due to the weather.

Somebody, send me a picture.

Jules

My hubby is 6ft and he looks darn cute in his capri pants. When he first started wearing them he said "I can't believe I'm wearing capri pants" but now he really loves them. They are the perfect alternative to shorts. If you wear shorts around here and you aren't at the beach, people stare. I'll see if he will let me take his picture in them!

We recently bought a pair he loves at the Adidas shop in Madrid. He wears them with is Real Madrid pratice jersey and totally fits in. He has other pairs but they are basically the same idea and are all solid colored.

I'm not mentioning anything about capris to my husband--I'm going to see if he notices.

Sometimes if I say I like something, he'll immediately reject it, but if he sees another guy doing it, he'll think it's cool (ah, marriage--the fine art of finding that one special person to be annoyed with for the rest of your life).

So perhaps he'll come home with a pair or two and be The First Guy On The Block To Wear Capri Pants.

Hey jules4je7 - I got my hubby to let me take a picture of him in his capri pants last weekend in Tarifa. Let me know if you really want to see it and I'll email it to you! He looks adorable. (Then again, I'm biased!)

PJI -- Thanks! I actually would like to see it. LOL My e-mail is [email protected]. Thanks again, Jules

Elle? I'll be looking for a gentlemen in capris at Janssens or Food Source...

While I know that intentions on many of these posts are good, I can't help but laugh at the suggested idea that everyone who lives in Paris (or anywhere else) dresses alike -- or even dresses well. It simply isn't true, no matter how much you might want to believe it is.

By the way, a person doesn't have to be very astute in Hong Kong to tell by sight who is European, American, or English (I guess the English aren't considered European) as opposed to being Asian.

Patrick, I've been to Europe from London to Istanbul, and know that not everyone dresses a like, but what makes a trend is many, not all people wearing similar clothing.

Like any female from The West who's the least bit fashion concious and heading to Paris in the near future, I'm naturally curious about what the heck they're wearing. Last time, while wearing my Incredibly Comfy Merrells, I discovered that the gals were wearing the super-duper-pointy shoes that weren't anywhere near becoming fashionable in the U.S. for at least another year. Just knowing that wouldn't have changed it, but like sports, fashion is sometimes an interesting spectator event.

I think a single man on the planet, in Paris or otherwise, wearing capris -- is certainly worth a look. To hear it's a trend is absolutely one of the funniest things I've ever heard of, short of the donut hole high heals that were in in the late 1970s, and have made yet another appearance this year.

Happy travels,

Jules