why all the confusion on jeans and tennis shoes?
Jan 5th, 2001, 05:55 AM
#1
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why all the confusion on jeans and tennis shoes?
I really don't understand all the posts talking about wearing jeans and tennis shoes. Are these people posting for real? i have been to Europe 4 times and I don't really see people over there in loud pink t-shirts or jogging suits either american tourists or otherwise. {eople really don't dress like that anywhere do they? people should feel comfortable and dress in europe the same as they would dress here. I don't think it matters so nmuch what country (or continent for that matter) that you are in, but what are you doing and where are you going. Obviously people in Europe dress a little more sophisticated in the cities than they do in rural areas, the same goes for in the US. I live in NYC and never wear tennis shoes except to go running and i rarely wear jeans except maybe to do a quick errand on saturday morning, and yes I wear a lot of dark colors. People in less urban areas of the Us tend to dress more casually though and thats okay. the same goes for there. You will see more "smart" clothes in the Paris area but more csual in the countryside. Just pack like you would for a vacation here already! I think someone from rural Kansas would pack a few sleeker outfits than they would normally wear to visit somewhere like NYC and doubt they would have to post twenty questions on this board about it, so why all the fuss for Europe.
Jan 5th, 2001, 06:25 AM
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I'm from Texas and used to live in OK, and yes, people there really do wear jeans, tennies and bright pink t-shirts. And yes, people wear sweatsuits to run errands in. So what? <BR> <BR>People are concerned about what they wear abroad because they don't want to stand out like a sore thumb and draw unnecessary attention to themselves, in a place where they're not so sure of themselves. Being abroad can be intimidating enough without feeling like everyone is staring at you or laughing at you. In addition to that, there's always anti-American sentiment somewhere on the globe at any given moment, which is always hyped up by the media, so many Americans would rather not wear a sign that tells these people who they are. <BR> <BR>In spite of all that, people want to wear their regular clothes (maybe jeans and tennies and pink t-shirts) and be comfortable and don't necessarily want to have to buy a new wardrobe for traveling. That is why there are so many posts about it. <BR> <BR>I live and work in Munich and wear jeans to work and occassionally tennies (along with several of my international coworkers). That is what I grew up with and that's what I'm comfortable in. I ride the s-bahn to work everyday and see lots of people. Everyday I see Germans wearing jeans and tennies. I have even seen women wearing bright nylon (polyester?) jogging suits. I have traveled all over Europe in my jeans and tennies and never felt uncomfortable or out of place. <BR> <BR>
Jan 5th, 2001, 06:40 AM
#4
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<BR>I read a quote in a magazine during fashion week here in NYC: <BR> <BR>"It's more important to dress as you please than to dress as you should." <BR> <BR>I wore a lot of black when I lived in a small town out west, and I wear jeans about half the time to work on Park Avenue. Go figure.
Jan 5th, 2001, 06:45 AM
#5
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No matter what the question is about, people who ask questions must have some interest or concern about what others have to say. The motivations for the clothing questions could cover a wide spectrum, insecurity, intellectual curiosity, cultural sensitivity,inexperience,etc. We don't know each other and don't know what the motivations are, but <BR>any reasonable question indicates interest in reading a response of some kind. If they truly didn't care or don't worry about what they wear, they wouldn't ask, I guess. <BR>Many of us know people even at home <BR>(perhaps more common among women) <BR>who might ask a friend what she is wearing to a particular event, just as we know other people who would never need to ask or never bother to ask what will be worn. The latter could be admirably self-confident, or amazingly boorish, it varies with every individual. <BR>If people always feel comfortable in their own clothes from home, whether home is New York City or rural anywhere, more power to them. <BR>If others want some input, more power to them as well.
Jan 5th, 2001, 07:03 AM
#6
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i think the rule is the same in europe as america. would you wear jeans and tennis shoes to the teater here, answer mostlikey no you would at least wear dress pants and a nice shirt so why would you wear jeans and tennis shoes to the theater in London? would you wear jeans for a scenc ride through the country with an outdoor picnic in the US, the answer is probably maybe and closer to yes, so you're fine to wear that there. Would you dress up to go to dinner in the city in the US, probably so you should probably dres up to go to dinner on Rome or paris. Please just dress appropriately for whatever you are doing and you will be fine. Europe is really not tht different as far as dress goes from any other country. you need only aware of restrictions which are unique to Europe such as no bare shoulders in a cathedral.
Jan 5th, 2001, 07:16 AM
#7
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I've been all over the world and never once felt out-of-place in my black or blue stretch jeans, and comfortable walking shoes. I also wore my backpack and belly pack everywhere. For dress-up a pair of black jeans is nice or a packable knit skirt (I think long is more versatile).
Jan 5th, 2001, 08:34 AM
#9
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Well, I like to know what they are wearing in Paris or anywhere in Italy. I like to add a little bit of their panache to my style when I visit there. Sometimes wearing a silk scarf with your casual outfit here in the states just feels pretentious, while if you wear one in Paris, you feel fashionable!
Jan 5th, 2001, 09:56 AM
#12
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Bets, <BR> <BR>I don't think you have been out in rural American all that much. A silk scarf will brand you as "not from around here" in a lot of places, and pretentious in many of them. <BR> <BR>Heck, clean clothes will brand you as "not from around here" in a lot of places! <BR>
Jan 5th, 2001, 10:27 AM
#14
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Bets: <BR> <BR>Yes, there is a chain restaurant that cuts off men's ties if they wear them into the restaurant, and then hangs them on the wall. We ate at one in Colorado a few years back, but I can't remember the name of it. Ties covered all the walls. It's more a gimmick than anything else. Most diners know about it, and deliberately wear ties that they don't mind losing. The waiters and waitresses make a big ceremony of cutting the ties. (Wonder if there is some symbolism there?)
Jan 5th, 2001, 10:32 AM
#15
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While we're on the subject of scarves, I'd like to know how to wear a pashmina and look chic, not fuddy-duddy. I bought one because they are supposed to be all the rage in NYC and Paris, but I can't seem to pull it off. I always look like an old lady who is cold. I've seen the magazine layouts which show how to "casually" toss one side over the shoulder, but it keeps falling off. Help!
Jan 5th, 2001, 10:32 AM
#16
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i didn't realize anyone on this board was slamming Kansas as Jayhawk seems to think. (I'm from rural Tennessee by the way) i just thought evryone was saying you dress one way in rural parts of US jeans and tennis shoes and can get away with it in rural europe, but people dress snaazier in places like NYC and should probably dress up more for cosmopolitan areas of Europe. <BR> <BR>Incidentally I don't see anyone in rural Tennesse wearing nylon jogging suits around but i do see alot of jeans and tennis shoes.
Jan 5th, 2001, 10:35 AM
#17
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Gosh, I think jeans can be worn with a mink coat and/or high heals. Jeans are not the problem. <BR>I was in Paris last June. I saw this family of four at the Louvre and again at the Eiffel Tower. The man was wearing wrinkled off white shorts, a tee shirt with words ocross the front tightly covered his large belly, baggy off white socks and dirty sneakers. This man had enough money to bring his wife and two pre teenagers to Paris. Would he have been less comfortable in a pair of kaiki pants and a plain T-shirt? I doubt if he would go to any city in USA dressed like that. Why travel with t-shirts with words across the front???? <BR>Out of all the people crowding the streets of Paris that day, I remember this man.
Jan 5th, 2001, 11:04 AM
#18
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Ida, the habitual way to wear a shawl is to put it across your back, and the ends hang in front. Make one longer than the other, and throw that one over the opposite shoulder. This falls off.<BR><BR>The tres cool way so it doesn't fall off: put the shawl across your front, with the ends hanging down your back. Make one end longer than the other, and throw that one over the opposite shoulder across your BACK. Now, if you bend over, the front is anchored by the end that's come from the back.<BR><BR>Have a little looseness so there's draping across the front near your face; you can also anchor it all with a brooch (particularly good on a windy day).<BR><BR>I have asked this question before, and have never gotten a good answer: what do you people where that's so uncomfortable that jeans and tennis shoes are the only alternatives? I agree that ties can be uncomfortable (they look great, but they really are a stupid custom, when you think about it), and high heels aren't great for walking (especially on cobblestones or potholed streets), but what else in your daily working/going to church/interviewing clothes is so uncomfortable that you want to abandon any form of it when traveling?
