Firenze 2006-2007

Travel Guide Part X: Clothes

Some people can tell from the clothes you wear whether or not you are a European in an instant. Pretty much all Europeans can tell Americans before they speak, just from the clothes, and if you’ve ever been around a lot of Europeans, you may be able to tell them apart as well. It really isn’t hard to notice once you know what to look for.
It is rare for Europeans to wear flip-flops, so if you want to try to fit in, leave those at home. They tend to wear nicer shoes, or else more casual tennis shoes. Not skate shoes but Puma’s or Adidas’. Most Europeans wear pants, it is rare to see shorts in day to day life. Granted, they do wear shorts for some activities and more often in some parts of the year than others, but as a general rule- pants or jeans. They don’t sag their pants either. Up at the waist and usually with a belt. Shirts are varied. Almost anything is common. They don’t wear much in the way of hats, especially baseball caps. If you want to fit in as best as you can, try to plan you attire according to those generalities and you should be fine.
Choice of clothing is also important in a few other instances apart from trying to fit in. For example, churches quite often have “dress codes.” They require pants or at least longer shorts- below the knee, sleeves on your shirt and no hats. It is a respect issue, so if you have to wear sleeveless shirts, make sure you have a pull-over to put on in case you visit a place with a dress code. It’s not a big deal to comply with the rules, just something that may catch you by surprise the first few times you experience it.

posted by Daniel Williams @ 14:19