June 18, 2009 A difference of opinion
A reader who recently e-mailed me disagrees heartily with my clothing choices. In the interest of airing all sides (no pun intended), here goes. Tell me what you think.
My wife and I have been to Europe twice, in 2003 and 2007. The last trip was to Bath and London – U.K, Paris, Nice and the French Riviera - France, and Milan - Italy.
The universal dress code I saw in Europe and probably the world, is cotton blue jeans, cotton t-shirts, walking/running shoes, and a lightweight pullover sweater when needed. Near the water, like the French Riviera, the dress code was cotton shorts, cotton t-shirts, and sandals. The only time the Europeans dress up, is for business, when needed. You are way-way over dressed, in my opinion, and to be able to see your white undershirt is a no-no. In hot and humid climates, one should wear cotton underpants, not these plastic synthetic ones. Why? Because you will end up with Intertrigo, which is a troublesome fungus. While these synthetic clothes have their place, such as going on a hike or safari, they certainly are not the universal dress code for Europe. So if you want to look like Jungle Jim, be my guest. The readers of your excellent web-site should be aware of this fact.
My responses would be:
- I don’t believe Europeans only dress up for business based on what I’ve seen on four trips to Europe in the last four years, especially in London, Geneva and Venice. I’ll grant you though that Europeans seem to be a little more relaxed and more American every year. Still, I felt very underdressed a few times. I also don’t feel great about visiting churches and major museums in extremely casual clothes. And we almost always visit churches, museums, and go to the theater. It’s easier for me to take slightly nicer clothes since they’ll do almost anywhere.
- As for the synthetic undies health concerns, I wear them all often in the southern US where I live and generally find them more comfortable than the natural fiber alternative. I sometimes work with a friend of mine, more or less for fun, who’s a high-end finish carpenter. I turn to the technical stuff when I know I’m going to be sweating all day. Southern Europe or the southern US (where it’s typically warmer) are not the tropics.
- I’ve tried not look like Jungle Jim, but you make the call.
- Lastly, I sometimes choose to take “travel” clothes so I can test them for the sake of the OBOW readers, knowing that there’s interest there. It’s a thankless job, etc. etc….
One more excerpt from the e-mail:
While waiting for the flight to London, U.K. in 2007 at the Dulles Airport in Washington D.C., I saw the “perfect traveler.” He was a thin man, traveling alone, in his 50’s, going bald, with gray hair and a beard. He had gray glasses on. His clothes consisted of a light gray sweat pants with cargo pockets, light gray t-shirt, white walking shoes, and a thin light gray pullover sweater tied around his neck. His luggage consisted of a black colored duffle bag, with compartments on each end. He picked up the bag with such easy, that it must have weighted 10 pounds, if that. An aura of “peace and tranquility” radiated from him, and his body language was Zen like calmness. He was one of the last people to board the plane, after everyone had pushed and shoved their way to their seats. He appeared to not be in any hurry, at all. I couldn’t see where he put his duffle bag, but it would have fit anywhere, unlike the rest of the wheeled and non-wheeled luggage stuffed to the bursting point in the overhead compartments.
I could certainly be a little more relaxed. When it comes to travel, though the word has the same root as the word for work (travail), it shouldn’t be work. Do what works for you. And keep the suggestions coming.
Frank@OBOW
You must see the picture that accompanies this Daily Mail post:
This week has seen the Foreign Office take time out from wondering whether its big chief is staunchly supporting the Prime Minister in his hour of need or preparing to do his best Brutus-in-the-Forum impression (‘Et tu, Milibandus?’) – by issuing a warning to British tourists about respecting local sensitivities when holidaying on foreign shores. - see the pic
Reader Comments (13)
As a European with a degree in Fashion design, having lived in Germany (all over) and France (Paris) as well as in the US (Austin), I feel qualified to pronounce myself on this subject and render the "final verdict" in my first post. :)
I don't know how acute the poster's eyesight is but his assessment of universal dress code with jeans, t-shirt and sneakers is definitely OFF. People under 20 do dress like that, OK. From everyone else, no matter which European country, age group, social class you can expect more and they do not have that dress code. That doesn't mean Europeans are always impeccably dressed. You will see white tennis socks with dress pants and black leather shoes in Germany more than you want to, for example.
I suppose that the OP actually saw Americans and thought those were Europeans. ;) Seriously, though, this assessment is so far off the charts it makes me doubt if he's sincere or joking.
Brad was definitely NOT over-dressed. Seeing a T-shirt under a shirt can be a deliberate look which usually goes towards the casual and is often used by Europeans who are fashion conscious enough to know that his is a very American look. Maybe they try to appear like those people in the Ralph Lauren adds. It is not a huge fashion faux-pas but definitely not elegant, either. Many people in Europe do wear "wife beater" undershirts especially in the south where it prevents sweat stains on your shirt. AC is still not common in Europe.
The OP is right about synthetic clothes not being the universal dress code in Europe. Neither are they in the US. Under close scrutiny Brad might stand out for wearing synthetic clothes. People will then assume he is a traveler, which is precisely correct. Yet he would not look like Jungle Jim. (Brad, perhaps it's the beard? :) ) Now, the khaki colors particularly when two brownish or khaki colors are combined can look "safari" in Europe. So maybe the color scheme is at fault here. Especially with a white or grey shirt it becomes a real safari color scheme. Perhaps not ideal. The wild animals in Europe will see you are not one of them. I'd suggest more of a grey and blue scheme.
As for intertrigo, ouch. Really not so much fun. Dermatologists do recommend cotton underwear but most of all they recommend not to wash too often (once a day is enough) and not to use aggressive soap and to change underwear frequently/daily to a clean pair. If you follow these rules, intertrigo won't happen even with synthetic underwear.
Brad, and I, both like to wear a sports coat on travels to up our looks. In reality, the sports coat is more of an American thing. They exist in Europe particularly in the university/professor/teacher/intellectual milieu. Otherwise you will rarely see them. People either wear a suit or they go without a jacket. The "depareille" = unmatched look is something that is not very common yet but slowly is seen more and more.
Be it as it may, but I can still spot a European in America and an American in Europe from a mile away. It might even have something to do with the facial features and the body types which I find are different. I don't think this is a bad thing. I don't even think we should try to camouflage when traveling. But I do think that it is good to be rather one notch over-dressed than under-dressed especially when traveling. You want to pay your respect to the host country and you are representing your own country, so why not make a 'vestimentary' effort? Looking at the photos from the trip, Brad and his wife were definitely the best and most appropriately dressed people, synthetic or not. The others didn't get the memo Brad sent out, though.
I will second Till's eloquent posting. While I'm an American born and bred, I have lived for a year in Cambridge, England, a year in Berlin, and a year in Paris, and I've made several shorter trips of 1-8 weeks to various western and central European countries. Jeans and t-shirts are definitely not the universal dress code for men or for women. While it's impossible to totally blend in with the locals unless you shop locally (and have the body type to do so), Brad's approach is much more sensible than that of the anonymous responder, whose two trips to Europe appear to have been in tourist centers during the high season.
Well, another vote against the opinion of the reader who maintains that the jeans/T-shirt combo is the "standard dress" worldwide. It might be... if all Europeans and Asians are between the ages of 14 and 25. Sure my wife and I saw many people dressed like this when we visited Rome, Bath, London, Nice, etc. We also saw a whole lot of people dressed in the "dressy/business casual" mode with leather shoes, nice pants, open collar shirts with some sort of T-shirt or undershirt underneath, jackets, etc.
In the picture, you looked like a traveler and like one who cared how he travels. So you don't look like a native - who cares? Jungle Jim? What? Where did that analogy come from?
... and jeans are too heavy in hot weather, hard to layer in cold weather, and a pain to wash and dry.
I strongly disagree with the emailer's comment about synthetics. Modern synthetics are engineered to wick moisture, not trap it. In fact, cotton underwear will exacerbate fungal problems in humid climates. For example, cotton socks and non-breathing shoes are a quick way to get a variety of fungal infections by keeping your feet damp all day.
Looking around my office in Hamburg, all the men (ages 25-40) are wearing jeans and t-shirts (or a dress shirt) today. However, it's Friday, and I work in an American-owned software company. I rarely see suits here, but dress shirts & pants are reasonably common.
(The few other women here are always dressed to the nines. They are also naturally blonde, beautiful, and half my weight. My self-esteem will be off whimpering in a corner, thanks.)
Actually, the specific clothing items I see here aren't very different from what I'd see in the relevant places (street/office) in the US, but here they fit well, are clearly to the latest style, and are never scruffy. Even jeans. Especially jeans.
(Yes, Till, I know. It's Germany, so terribly not stylish. :-) )
My basic interchangeable pieces that were terribly dressy in the US and are verging-on-scruffy here work fine for traveling. Lightweight blouses and underwear dry quickly; pants will either dry quickly or dry on me. Trust me, I can geek out for hours on cool technical fabrics, but if I wouldn't wear it to work I'd feel like a dork wearing it for (first-world) travel.
All of which blather is to say, the basic style of what Brad was wearing in his picture with his wife would fit in perfectly fine here. Two exceptions: The seam across the chest marks the shirt as "technical" - for hiking or travel or something. And most of the men I know would either not carry a bag or would carry a bigger messenger bag for laptop/workout-gear/etc.
But really, given the gaggle of underdressed tourists you were herding along? You and your wife are the picture of European urbanity... :-)
Er, and lest my last statement be taken badly: Your wife didn't look like an underdressed tourist *at all*. She looked like someone I'd see out shopping downtown - nicely put together and way too relaxed to be leading a tour group.
On the cotton/synthetic issue, I suppose for a really extreme or unfamiliar climate I'd take a variety of materials and just see what worked. Underwear (apart from shirts) isn't going to add much weight.. The really expensive ultra-lightweight wool stuff might be the ticket. I know lots of backpackers use it and I'm guessing they deal with extreme temperature variations and lots of sweat.
And let me say that the quoted reader is not anonymous to me. He's also a good sport and seems to be a very nice guy. I appreciate what he has to say. He's been reading OBOW for a long time.
Morfydd, you are in Hamburg. That's one of the most stylish cities in Germany. Only Munich and Dusseldorf can compete. Go to Recklinghausen on your day off and see hwat German stylishness really means. ROTFL!
Very astute for picking up on the horizontal line across the chest that makes the shirt "not formal" or gives it a certain outdoor/trekking character.
I heartily recommend trying out the Brooks Brothers non-iron shirts. Excellent quality, pure cotton and when properly ironed can be washed three times without needing a re-ironing. Brad's concern is always that they dry fast. When I get mine out of the washing machine they are dry and smooth within 60-90 minutes when hung on a hanger in a house that has 78F and 50% rel. humidity. When I hang them in the Texas sun they are dry in ten minutes. I bet that they dry over night even in unfavorable conditions.
They come in lots of versions to casual to very dressy with thick mother of pearl buttons and French cuffs. They also offer lots of different neck, shoulder arm size combos so that you should find a very well fitting shirt without tailoring. Plus they come in three basic cut variations from wide to centered at the waist.
Very hard to beat for traveling and everyday wear. I love mine. Cost is $50 to $100 per shirt. I always buy in outlet stores.
My compliments also on your wife and how she is dressed. Very classy and European looking, hair cut included. Brad I could still pick out, his wife not. :)
I bet the OP is a good sport BUT his perception of clothing style is still way off. :)
Till, I have a Liz Claiborne (for men) 60/40 l/s dressy shirt that dries as fast as anything else. If not for an unfortunate pocket design it would be my number one travel shirt. I should have brought it along on the latest trip. It has twice before served me well. For some reason it dries quite unwrinkled. My mother can usually look at fabric and predict its quality. I'm not quite so prescient.
Brad, there are only three people whose fashion advice you should give a second thought: your mother, your wife and I. :) Check out those BB shirts. You won't regret it. No pockets, though on most of them.
I agree with those who suggest that this might be a joke. The only thing missing was the endorsement of the generic white tank top. In many seemingly casual to semi-casual evening gathering spots in england admission will be denied to those wearing blue jeans or athletic shoes.
It's hard to understand how anyone with fashion sense could consider gray sweats as the best thing to travel through Europe with-- a few looks come to mind: the athlete, which is acceptable if travelling for athletic purposes; or the appearance of an escaped or recently discharged patient, generally less desired unless one is such an individual.