What are they wearing in Paris this summer?
#23
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IMHO what people are wearing anywhere depends on their age group.
I don't know about France as I have never been there but in Italy the young women generally dress very sexy. The older women (if they are into fashion) wear elegant clothes. They do not have the number of clothes that a lot of US women have. They buy good well tailored clothes (or have them tailored so they fit them properly) and wear them for years. And they wear good leather shoes and carry good leather purses. Quality over quantity.
Luvparee, it sounds like you know how to dress in a good way that is you! Go and be yourself. Fashions come and go but style is timeless.
I don't know about France as I have never been there but in Italy the young women generally dress very sexy. The older women (if they are into fashion) wear elegant clothes. They do not have the number of clothes that a lot of US women have. They buy good well tailored clothes (or have them tailored so they fit them properly) and wear them for years. And they wear good leather shoes and carry good leather purses. Quality over quantity.
Luvparee, it sounds like you know how to dress in a good way that is you! Go and be yourself. Fashions come and go but style is timeless.
#25
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Probably a distinction should be made on what people are wearing in tourist areas -- where most of you spend 90% of your time -- and what is worn in other neighborhoods. I am staying in a working class part of the 18th arrdt. at the moment, and I would say that most women are wearing tight jeans with colored tops -- and flip flops. Sometimes they will wear gypsy-style skirts. This may change if the temperature decides to drop below 30° in the coming days, but in my experience, once summer sets in, most people prefer to look at the calendar to decide how to dress rather than the weather reports.
In the tourist areas such as Notre Dame or the Champs Elysées or the Louvre, you will see mostly European tourists, particularly Germans, Belgians and Italians at the moment -- along with the extremely visible Americans, since June is the American month (the number of American tourists drops by 50% in July and by 80% in August, but there are plenty of other nationalities to replace them). If you are looking at what people are wearing in the tourist areas, the information you are basically getting is what people are wearing in other European countries.
In the tourist areas such as Notre Dame or the Champs Elysées or the Louvre, you will see mostly European tourists, particularly Germans, Belgians and Italians at the moment -- along with the extremely visible Americans, since June is the American month (the number of American tourists drops by 50% in July and by 80% in August, but there are plenty of other nationalities to replace them). If you are looking at what people are wearing in the tourist areas, the information you are basically getting is what people are wearing in other European countries.
#26
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Some of these points are very well taken. If you are neatly and appropriately dressed -- not necessarily like a local but like someone who respects him/her self and the efforts of those around them -- you really will get better service, better tables in restaurants, etc, particularly if you learn some of the local politenesses. This is just as true in big cities in the US as it is in Europe. If you stick to the tourist spots, it doesn't really matter. Here today, gone tomorrow and you don't matter to them any more than they matter to you. In the town where I live, they say of daytrippers, "They arrive in t-shirt with a $5 bill, and they don't change either while they are here."
#27
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I was in Paris 2 weeks ago for a couple of days. I have to say from the start that it was unusually cold (I had my winter coat the last days of May) but I did notice locals in pretty much only dark colors. I am an American living in London and I see color here everywhere (starting in the spring). I specifically did not see this in Paris. Mostly black, brown, and denim. I did see 3 ladies walking around together in Lilly Pullitzer type stuff - they were from the south US I could tell from their accents. Really stuck out if you are concerned about that kind of thing. If you are 40, I would go for denim and black pants. Women are wearing capris here in London - I don't know about Paris as it was cold when I was there.
#31
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It has been my experience that a woman does get checked out by both sexes but so discreetly she might not notice.
I can tell when I am wearing something other women like because I can see them checking it out and making mental notes like I do. If I see a well dressed woman or just one that is wearing something that catches my eye I make a mental note of it and put it on my list of things to look for for myself.
Isn't that what we all do? Even on this thread, someone notes what looks nice on someone and we all start thinking how that would look on ourselves. We wonder if we are too thick, too thin, too short, too tall to wear it too.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to look nice, but I want to be true to myself too.
I can tell when I am wearing something other women like because I can see them checking it out and making mental notes like I do. If I see a well dressed woman or just one that is wearing something that catches my eye I make a mental note of it and put it on my list of things to look for for myself.
Isn't that what we all do? Even on this thread, someone notes what looks nice on someone and we all start thinking how that would look on ourselves. We wonder if we are too thick, too thin, too short, too tall to wear it too.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to look nice, but I want to be true to myself too.
#34
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I was in Paris last week and can't relate to Boston Harbor's comments at all. We were in 5 different arrondisements and no one looked fashionable at all. The flippy skirts that are all over in NY this season were nowhere to be found although I saw them last year. I saw lots of shorts which weren't as prevalent as last year. Jeans were everywhere. Nothing made an impression on me as being different. Shoes were the same as I see where I live. My husband asked where were all the fashionable Parisian women he had heard about. We never saw any.
#35
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I was in Paris this spring, and agree with Boston Harbor's assessment at the top of the thread.
I thought of it as "Madonna's look in her Like a Virgin Phase"
Very hard to pull off if you're not young and thin.
This time of year I'd pack a few lightweight skirts instead of shorts/capris - skirts are more versatile in a dress up/dress down fashion.
I thought of it as "Madonna's look in her Like a Virgin Phase"
Very hard to pull off if you're not young and thin.
This time of year I'd pack a few lightweight skirts instead of shorts/capris - skirts are more versatile in a dress up/dress down fashion.
#36
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I am not exaggerating. The official temperature of 32° Celsius (90° F) is in the middle of a park in shade, not on the street. Street temperatures are 15-20 degrees higher, and on the street it is most definitely in excess of 100° F. Since tourists spend their time walking around the streets of Paris, and not sleeping under trees in the park, the official temperatures are not realistic. They serve as a baseline for statistics and large-scale weather reporting and prediction, but they are always understated compared to the actual temperatures people are enduring as they go about their business in the city.
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