May 16th, 2002, 10:06 PM
#1
Pat
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Difference in European dress
Hello,
I have a question I wonder if someone can answer. I have only been to Europe once, and relatively briefly at that. I had heard that we Americans dress differntly than Europeans and so even if we did not even speak they would know we were from America. Can someone tell me how? Is it only the way we dress as some have suggested to me? And if so, what way do we dress that is so different? Thanks, Pat
PatMay 16th, 2002, 10:16 PM
#3
janis
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These are only generalizations - but in most Eurpoean cities people dress much more conservatively. Better quality fabrics, much better quality shoes. Europeans tend to dress casually only for casual events whereas many Americans pretty much dress casually most of the time. There is more classic clothing But also a lot more avant garde things too. Europeans tend to have a lot fewer clothes but those they do have are higher quality. many Americans buy lots of new things every season but Europeans usually just buy selected pieces to compliment what is already in their wardrobes. They also have an amazing flair for accessories.
May 17th, 2002, 04:55 AM
#4
Mitchell
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Don't forget that when you go to Europe, you are looking at people who are going about their daily lives at work, etc., and they are dressed accordingly.
You, on the other hand, are a there as a tourist. Your dress, of course, is more casual than it would be if YOU were at work.
Too many people who visit Europe forget this, and think that they are underdressed compared to the Europeans.
However, when the Europeans vacation, they, as tourists, dress pretty much the way we do, quite casually.
I think it is very funny that so many Americans are intimidated by Europeans going about dressed for work, and so the Americans spend a fortune buying what is essentially "work clothes" so that they blend in with the Europeans.
On the other hand, some of the most unusual outfits I have ever seen in my life have been on European tourists visiting the U.S. on vacation.
May 17th, 2002, 05:14 AM
#5
Stet
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I was thinking that this was YET ANOTHER post on how American tourists should dress to blend in, only about the 10th such post and one guaranteed to end in a typical Fodor's "uncivil" battle over what's wrong or right with AMericans and what's wrong or tight about how YOU, personally, think you should dress.
But Mitchell, your post was the sanest, most reasonable I've ever seen on this issue! Can we just go back, re-read Mitchell, and let it stand there?
May 17th, 2002, 05:25 AM
#6
elina
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I don´t think it is so much the actual clothes. Americans jut seem to put them together differently. They also often have different bags and shoes. Something about haircuts, too. And their way to move.
If my husband and my American brother-in-law would wear exactly the same clothes you could still see that another one is American, another one European. Even though they are of equal height, about equal weight, and also equal colour.
May 17th, 2002, 05:41 AM
#7
Myer
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Just returned from Rome, Sorrento and London.
Locals wear jeans. Locals wear sneakers. Locals very seldom carry a backpack. Locals almost never carry a camera.
If the goal is not to look like a tourist while the locals are going about their daily routine, you'll have to drop the backpack and camera.
If that's inconvenient or unacceptable, then what's wrong with looking like a tourist?
I wore shorts only in Sorrento but not in the big cities. So did many others.
If security is the issue I'll give my impressions.
I don't want to minimize the need to protect your valuables. I used a money belt for airline tickets, passports and excess cash. My camera was accross the chest. My wife's purse/bag was accross the chest, always zipped and under her arm. Did we look like tourists even in non-tourist neighborhoods? Most likely yes.
We never had a problem. Never felt threatened. Never had to take any kind of protective action. We never spoke to anyone who had a problem and never heard of any.
There were, however, many signs warning about pickpockets operating in areas. This invariably causes people to touch their valuables and tips them off.
May 17th, 2002, 05:54 AM
#8
xxx
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I think most of these comments about the differences of dress are pretty off base. Of course if you wear shorts and a t-shirt into a major city filled with dressed up people going to work then you will stand out. That is true if you are in Rome, Paris, Chicago, or New York. Gap, Ralph Lauren, and certainly all the jeans companies are as popular in Europe now as they are in the States, so don't think that there is really a difference. You just need to use some common sense about where you are going and dress accordingly. The same thing applies to Europe that applies to the US.
Anybody who thinks all Europeans dress any certain way is just as wrong as thinking that all Americans dress alike.
May 17th, 2002, 05:59 AM
#9
J
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In some countries the cost of clothing is pretty high and salaries are low,so you might see more people wearing plain and dark clothing,to wear often with accessories.Also,Europeans are not as casual as Americans, even when NOT working, you will not see a Parisian walking around the shops in sloppy sweats and sneakers.Some Americans go out of the house like they just rolled out of bed, I have never seen this while traveling in Euorope.
May 17th, 2002, 08:38 AM
#12
stellina
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Europeans do have a different idea of dress & deportment, and they are indeed more formal or conservative. For example, my German co-worker often complained that Americans wore shorts everywhere, whether they were appropriate or not.
I travel to Italy about once a year & spend most of my time in Rome. I also have many Italian relatives & friends here in the States, so I can at least speak with some authority on the attitude in Italy. Generally speaking, Italians are very particular about the way they look, and they are very deliberate about dressing appropriately not only for the occasion, but for their age. For example, women over the age of 35 or so don't wear jeans in public except for resorts or the beach. Being in that category myself, I tend to dress more carefully when I'm there - I just feel more comfortable. I'm also not a sloppy/casual type anyway.
From my own observations, I think that what gives us Americans away is not so much our looks as our manners. We just aren't as formal as Europeans in that respect either, and we tend to seem loud and somewhat abrupt to them. You don't have to know much of a foreign language to exercise good manners: learn the polite forms of address for both men & women, greetings, and the words for "please" and "thank you." Also learn something about the country & culture that you plan to visit - to me, the real "ugly Americans" were the ones who obviously didn't bother to learn a thing about the place & didn't care. Showing good manners is basically showing respect.
Having said that, I can also tell you that Europeans vary considerably in their own attitudes & prejudices about Americans. The Italians are generally quite friendly, especially if you use a little bit of Italian - even if you're not too successful, they're quite flattered & will be more than glad to help you out. However, I believe that politeness & good manners go a long way no matter where you go, much more so than the clothes you wear.
May 17th, 2002, 08:55 AM
#14
Capo
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Hi Pat. While sometimes it's difficult to tell Americans from Europeans by style of dress, there's one type of outfit, IMO, that *seems* to be particularly American. And that's a t-shirt (or polo shirt), shorts, white socks and running shoes (toss in a baseball-type cap for extra measure.)
I'm not saying that no non-Americans dress like this but every time I've seen people dressed like this and have heard them talk, they're talking with an American accent. Anyway, that doesn't mean you shouldn't dress like that, just that I think you're *more* likely to be perceived as American.
Great comments, Stellina, though I must beg to differ -- based on my observations during a recent three-week visit to Italy -- on one minor point, that women over the age of 35 or so don't wear jeans in public except for resorts or the beach. I'm not saying a lot of Italian women over that age wear jeans, but some definitely do.
Anyway, very good comments about manners, and I wholeheartedly agree with what you said about the Italian people being friendly, and appreciating it if you try to speak some Italian. That was certainly our experience.
May 17th, 2002, 08:56 AM
#15
Therese
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It's not just the way we dress (though that makes it even easier), but subtle things as well: the way we walk, the way we stand, the open expressions on our face. It's just different. I can pick out Americans easily in Europe (even the ones wearing all black, nicely groomed), and I can pick out the Europeans in the U.S.
This is not a bad thing. In fact, it's differences like these that make travel worthwhile in the first place.
May 19th, 2002, 12:20 AM
#17
Lexma90
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This is a good discussion! My husband and I (Americans) play a game when travelling in Europe - guess the nationality. We get it pretty close most of the time (rules of the game: try to guess the nationality of people as they're walking along, then walk close enough to them to hear what language they are speaking.)
My gross generalizations are that Americans wear clothing that (on the whole) looks newer, and often brighter colors. Think Lands' End type of stuff. (Germans are second for wearing newer, brighter clothes, in our books.) That fits in with the other theories that Europeans wear their clothes longer, because the prices are higher, so choose higher quality items (that might be more serviceable or conservative colors).
It's the shoes that really give us away, though I don't think I can pinpoint how. It's probably just that shoe styles, and sock styles too, vary a bit from country to country, and on the whole, American shoe styles (and I'm not talking about sneakers here) are different. (Yeah, yeah, I know, lots of Americans wear foreign-made shoes.)
May 19th, 2002, 10:00 AM
#19
jenviolin
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But dress-for-work varies from country to country as well. A group of American college girls once asked me on the train near Amsterdam, "Doesn't anybody WORK in the Netherlands? We hardly saw anybody dressed for work. Is everybody unemployed or something?" Turns out they were looking for suits, which are much less common in Amsterdam than other places, even on the gainfully and productively employed.
I can usually spot American tourists by their pants (trousers) that look a size or two too big. Fanny packs stick out, too. But we're all tourists somewhere, 'toch'?
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