Can someone please tell me when sneakers became a sign of disrespect?

Ilisa: I guess that sneakers became a sign of disrespect about the same time that it became not only acceptable, but culturally superior, to treat people like dirt based on their appearance. <BR> <BR>Like you, I live in an area that has a lot of foreign tourists. I guess it's time for us to learn to be snotty to Germans wearing socks and sandals or Italians wearing lots of gold jewelry or Scandinavians wearing clothes in colors that you don't see around here. Not to mention Indians in saris. How dare they show such disrespect?

Silly me. And all this time I have been thinking that disrespect was not saying please and thank you and being courteous.

Just hang on to that perky, positive attitude, and no one will notice your feet!

<BR>KT, well said!

Katie really takes the cake. She sounds like one of those people who finds some sort of validation or security in running down her own country and imagining that some other culture or belief system is vastly superior. In the process of becoming a slavish sycophant, she only shows how insecure she is. <BR>Parisians are not some sort of superior race with uniformly exquisite taste and physical beauty, as well as bottomless bank accounts with which to adorn themselves. As I recall from my visit, there were plenty of middle-aged French men who dressed like semi-slobs; plenty of overweight middle-aged women; plenty of young people who tried their best to look like juvenile delinquent space aliens. To be sure, there were some in the tourist industry who tried to brightened their boring lives by acting imperious to the foreigners whose presence in their country paid their salaries. They are ALMOST as insecure as Katie. (At least they are chauvanistic about their OWN country.) Bottom line for me: dress how you would dress under similar circumstances in your own country, subject only to the religious or cultural taboos of the country you're in... and I'm not talking about Katie's taboo against white sneakers! So if you would wear your white sneaks to the public buildings and open spaces of Washington, DC, then wear them in the same sorts of places in Paris. As has been pointed out, you ARE a tourist; where's the shame of looking like one when it will be crystal clear anyway the moment you open your mouth. If your appearance makes Katie cringe with shame at being from the same country as you... I consider that a plus. Americans, I think, tend to be very solicitous to foreigners traveling in the US (except perhaps in New York where some people are rude for sport - just like some Parisians). When I hosted some Dutch teenagers a few months ago, I was pleasantly surprised at how many strangers struck up conversations with them totally out of the blue, genuinely interested in how they were enjoying their visit. (This was in Baltimore, which gets a fair number of tourists; not the boondocks.) And, yes, one of our guests wore socks under sandals one time, but I didn't notice anyone casting any "special smirks" [Katie's obnoxious words] his way.

Now, dammit, stop it, you guys. This thread has short-circuited some wiring in my brain, and I keep substituting Sneakers in Paris with the words and melody to Jimmy Buffett's Cheeseburger in Paradise, which in turn conjures up hordes of overweight Americans descending on Europe, their bellies hanging out from under yellow T shirts that say Party til You Puke.

Santa Chiara: <BR> <BR>But aren't their new sneakers nice?

Better than flip-flops, which one could blow out. Damn pop tops.

Janine, <BR>It's that perky, positive attitude that saves their "soles."

How about a store at the airport to dye sneakers to match your outfit (as with prom gowns)?

Yeah! Then "we" could dye our tennis shoes "jewel" colors and look really neat and put together and worthy of respect! Wonder if they can dye your fanny pack same color too! ... of course they would have to accept large size shoes since EVERYBODY knows that ALL American tourists are Fat! Maybe better make sure the sign's in English too since we're all stupid too...

I wish to add to the opinion expressed by KT, even though I know KT personally (she lays on MY couch with MY dog, giving MY dog ear scratchies). Working at UC Berkeley, I see all sorts of ethnicities walk into my office, and never once have I judged anyone by the appearance of their shoes!!! I wait for them to open their mouths before the judging begins. And Katie, your mouth is wide open with a big white sneaker stuck in it.

We had a French exchange student stay with us, and guess what? She along with her whoe group from Lyon wore tennis shoes!! It's true that a lot of European teenagers want the casual American look! Tennis shoes can look great with the right clothes.

YA know??? Now that I think about it... Albert Einstein DID look kinda scruffy!!! (wonder if he wore sneakers...)

Karen, <BR> <BR>By all means wear sneakers in Paris - but make sure they're black or navy. I'm not saying that for reasons of fashion, but for practicality. Those colours won't show the dirt. For the record, I've seen lots of European tourists walking around Sydney lately wearing sneakers, some of which are white. The Italians tend to wear high fashion ones, such as their local brand SuperGa. I remember about a year ago Prada brought out some casual footwear, some of which was white and very "sneakerish". <BR> <BR>As far as I am concerned, comfort is the most important factor, followed by ease of keeping clean and co-ordination with your travel wardrobe.

The definition of tourist is one who travels for pleasure. That's the definition. So, that renders a tourist a visitor. Not an excuse to "just be yourself", "wear what's comfortable", and disregard all respect for propriety. In Europe, the locals wear sneakers to play tennis, jogging suits while jogging, and parkas on the slopes. For sure, at the tourist attractions, anything goes. Once you wander away from the shops and restaurants at all those "touristy" places, though, it's a whole new world. Remember, you have seconds to make a "first impression" and how you're dressed makes a statement that cannot be forgiven later. How you're dressed definitely makes a difference in how you're received. If you're ignored in shops, told there are no tables available when there are plenty vacant in plain sight, and think everybody's being "rude" to you, look in the mirror. Being out and about (other than the tourist attractions) in Paris isn't like shopping in your local mall, or jumping in the car and heading to Burger King for dinner (as evidenced by the prices). On the other hand, if you got all dressed up and went to a nice restaurant in your town for a special dinner with your husband, and the restaurant was full of folks dressed in shorts and fairly new, clean sneakers, how would you react? Particularly if they brought their screaming baby and obnoxious kids along? And, I'm wondering - if you're not concerned about footwear, why are you asking? Of COURSE everyone has noticed this. I'm guessing you're hoping everyone will tell you your fairly new, clean sneakers are just fine.

Alright, I'll jump into the ring. I'm going to Paris this Fall. I'm taking black lug-soled gromitted boots that saved my buns in the cold at Rockefeller Center last December; Copper high heels for fancy restaurants in the evening that I usually wear when in San Francisco at business or social dinners; and Black sueded Arizona-knock-offs of my husband's Dexters that I last took to Rome because of their wonderful tread...you never feel the sidewalks. I decided AGAINST my platform white tennies because I though they'd look out of place in the Fall....they are ok in Summer or at the Beach. There.I've said it. Drawn my line in the sand. But my feet need the variation of footwear for 9 days of touring; even so I still come home with blisters. (Got my worst ones in Rome from tennis shoes!) -Cher

<BR>Ralph - <BR>Who said anything about screaming babies and obnoxious kids? That's covered in several other threads, as I recall. And who was suggesting that Karen go to a "nice restaurant" dressed in a jogging suit? But if, as you say, shopkeepers ignore customers because they are dressed in "tourist-casual", then the shopkeepers ARE being rude. As for not being seated in a restaurant with open tables, I suppose it makes a difference whether it's a cafe or a fine-dining temple of snootiness. I was in a rather nice restaurant in New York last week in which few of the men were wearing coats and ties at dinner (I WAS), and I wasn't offended in the least. I didn't notice the staff giving better service to the better-dressed customers either.

Ralph, Katie, Odette, et al: <BR> <BR>Are Parisians really that rude and unfair that they would not give you good service, even in shops, just because they don't approve of some items of clothing you have on? Why do you then rave so much about Parisians and Paris? France is one of the few western European countries I have not been to, and if your indirect depiction of Parisians is accurate, I think I will keep it that way.