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How to dress in Paris?
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So I'll be visiting Paris for the first time on January 20th and I've done my research, I've planned my itinerary and everything but now I just have one question. I've read online somewhere that you should avoid wearing jeans, t-shirts and sneakers. Why? It said to bring along a couple pairs of khakis, slacks, shoes. Any validity on this?
Posted at 8:26AM, 3 January 2007 PDT
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Surely it depends on what you plan to do and where you plan to go. If you are just sight-seeing then dress for comfort, but if you are going to visit the best restaurants and take good seats in theatres and concerts it probably a good idea to dress a bit more formally.
Posted 66 months ago.
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Basic blue jeans are fine in Western Europe, but people don't tend to wear them with sneakers (that's an Americanism you'll find.) I got along fine with Doc Martens, since they're good for walking in. Bring nicer pants if you plan on going somewhere nice (I wore a comfortable dress, cardigan sweater, tights and Doc Martens to the Louvre and was fine).
Don't wear shorts (big no-no, especially since it's cold this time of year) or bring/wear printed, T-shirts with crazy designs or writing in English on them. Solid colors should be okay, and soft cotton button-down shirts would be better.
A few pull-over sweaters will be good, since you can add or remove them according to your comfort levels and loop them around your waist/neck, etc. Also a raincoat, and sensible cold-weather gear: coat, scarf, gloves, etc., especially for walking.
Just try to avoid looking like the stereotypical "ugly American." Be polite, and learn some basic French phrases if you don't know the language. Parisians won't be overtly mean, or send you into a horrible part of town for kicks, I've found. But you do have to -try- and don't expect everyone to speak English. :)
Posted 66 months ago.
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jeans, sneakers. get down with the times, bro. you'll don't want to be the only 24 yr old walking around in black shoes, pants, and tuxedo, with ppl pointing at you saying, "touriste!"
paris is practically the same as new york city, and we both live here, so jeans and sneakers on the streets, and nicer pants and dark shoes at very classy restaurants and at the opera.
besides, here's an article about fashion by a paris fashion editor.
findfreearticle.com/aid7658/Jeans-and-Sneakers-Fashion-Do...
Originally posted 66 months ago.
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lucky_dog edited this topic 66 months ago.
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(I'm just curious why you're asking a bunch of New Yorkers what to wear in Paris?)
Posted 66 months ago.
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yup wear whatever you're happy in... its just like london or ny in that respect
unless you're going there to play the beatnik poet... in that case pack you black polar neck and beret
Posted 66 months ago.
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what??? where do you think you are going? a mosque in islamabad, or what???
this is paris!!!! EUROPE!!
elissa==basic blue jeans are fine in western europe...? like meaning another planet?
im getting hostile here but at the same time i would have expected more of new yorkers-
the fact that you even ask!
here in london and paris you are free to wear whatever the heck you want and surely and i am pleased to say, nobody will even look at you. if you are going to a fancy place in new york surely you wouldnt wear shorts , a hat backwards, and nike shoes would you??
is common sense, but i sense new yorkers are lacking that these days.
Posted 66 months ago.
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I'm going to be in nyc this month... is there a post here about places to eat... I've been a few time before so am looking for things to do a bit off the beaten track.
Also, is it ok to wear jeans?
:)
Posted 66 months ago.
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Calm down QUiDam DeMenTia! Unfortunately we're all not ass intellectual as you. You're pretty pathetic if you getting "hostile" over a simple question. Get over it!
Posted 66 months ago.
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And, yes, New Yorkers would wear shorts, a backward baseball cap and sneakers to a restaurant, which is why we need to be told what to wear.
Posted 66 months ago.
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Just protect yourself from cold and maybe rain.
People in Europe dress the same as here.
If you feel comfortable, just dress. Even the baseball cap...
I'm from Portugal and I never wore any special garment to travel to other European countries... or the US.
You don't have to be shamed of wearing the cloths you like and feel better.
Keep your eye at the weather and that's it! :)
Have a nice trip :)
Originally posted 66 months ago.
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M0rph3u edited this topic 66 months ago.
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I found that the rules aren't so strict as far as fashion there. Jeans and white athletic sneakers aren't awful, but, from what I saw during my visit, didn't seem to be the norm. I wore boots and black Pumas during my trip.
More importantly, learn a few french phrases (je voudrais... "I would like" and "pardonez-moi, ou est la/le..."excuse me, where is the"). French people, like Americans, are very proud of their culture, and with a little effort on your part you'll have a better trip.
Posted 66 months ago.
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I was told in Italy in 1998 that I couldn't be "American" (In Italian, of course) because I wasn't wearing shorts. :) I was wearing a long skirt, sandals, and a short-sleeve sweater that day. My answer was simple, tongue-in-cheek (and also in Italian) "Yes, I'm American, but I've been here before. I know the rules."
Some Americans DO stick out while overseas, and as a woman who travels alone often, I don't like attracting too much attention to myself.
Most of the British wear sneakers/ "trainers" mostly when they're exercising. This might not be true with the teens, but this was the case for most adults as of 2004 or so, when I last spent a week there. So, wearing jeans AND sneakers together is a good hint that you're American/ Canadian.
Styles of jeans are different, too. I've a pair of wide-leg, almost skateboarder-ish blue jeans from a store called Hot Topic that I got in LA in 2003 (they still fit). I wore them in Sicily in March 2005 because they're really comfortable to be climbing around ruins in, but the Sicilians on the city streets weren't wearing anything like them: basic, 5-pocket, regular cut-blue jeans were still the rule of thumb for women and men. Back in 1995, Italians were wearing a darker wash of blue than most Americans did at that time, and a much more slim/form-fitting cut.
I've noticed that Western Europeans have tended to "dress up" more than Americans, in general. There's a higher suit ratio among working people in London, for example. "Casual Friday" just doesn't seem to have taken as stong of a hold as it does here in NY.
In short, the world has become much more global, in terms of clothing, yes, but there's still regional differences. This is even within the same city: you don't tend to see people wearing the same stuff in NY's East Village as you do down by the Financial Center on a workday...
So, just be sensible with what you decide to wear where, and enjoy your time in Paris.
Posted 66 months ago.
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Leave your fanny pack at home. Everyone. Everywhere.
Posted 66 months ago.
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im sorry but i would not dress up for paris its such a over rated no body place to be its just a big jock of new york and it doesnt dazzle me with the fancy resteraunts and stupid french lingo , pathetic that u even ask what to wear when u go there just wear what u want are u some kinda puppet or somthing?
Originally posted 66 months ago.
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volcano vaporizer mode enabled edited this topic 66 months ago.
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I'm in london and wouldn't agree about brits wearing trainers only for exercising... I guess it depends where in London you were... I have to admit to not seeing many city workers in white sneakers :D
Posted 66 months ago.
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NYers don't wear white sneakers. That's a Jersey thing. As in NJ.
And I can't believe that I have now participated twice in the dumbest discussion ever on flickr.
Posted 66 months ago.
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One thing that NO American should ever do (and I've heard a few on my travels) is say to their companion, in a loud voice of course, when looking in a shop window, "Honey, what's that in real money?". I rapidly curl up in their presence and forget all the knowledge of the English (British version but not everyone in Europe can tell the difference|) I have spent over 70 years accumulating, for fear of being associated with them.
Originally posted 66 months ago.
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πρώρα (Prora) edited this topic 66 months ago.
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I laughed at some of the comments above and then decided to add my two cents.
Paris is like New York and every other internatioanl city.
Wear what is comfortable. You would wear the same things there in a nice restaurant that you would wear in NY and ditto for museums, parks, etc.
Europeans tend to not wear sneakers for everyday, but nothing says that you can't. If you look like a tourist, well, you are a tourist. Unless you are going to meet the Heads of State, don't worry.
Be comfortable.
Enjoy the trip! Paris is beautiful!!!
Posted 66 months ago.
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Wear a Kilt !
Posted 66 months ago.
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Thanks everyone for you advice and suggestions. I'll take with me an equal amount of jeans and some pants.
Posted 66 months ago.
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Just got back from there a couple days ago and there's the same eclectic mix of people and dress you get in any major city. Some all chic that look ready to dine at the Hilton, and others looking like they just came out the gym. Wear whatever you find most comfortable. I spent the couple days I was there in jeans, casual shoes (not 'sneakers'), and a jacket. Oh, and a scarf, hat, and gloves 'cause it's quite chilly this time of year.
Posted 66 months ago.
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There's nothing wrong with white sneakers, Ingrid. I lived in my sneakers even BEFORE I moved to New Jersey.
Posted 66 months ago.
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By the way, don't talk about going out in "pants" - in Britain at least that means your underwear, and apart from the risk of arrest you will freeze in the current weather.
Posted 66 months ago.
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