A Day in Paris

Monday, March 14, 2005

Shorts Subject

Ok everybody! Let's play "Spot the Tourist!"

When you are on vacation in a foreign location, you should enjoy yourself. You should visit places you want to see, eat the local food.... but should you try to fit in with the norms of the country? When I visited Morocco and India last year, I did a *little* research and didn't walk around in low cut, short sleeve shirts. When I visited the Vatican I wore a skirt. Now my questions are...

Did anyone tell this guy that no one wears shorts in Paris, especially in March, and certainly not with a bright blue sweatshirt (no one ever wears sweat clothes)? What do you think? Dress as the locals dress or do your own thing?

-- said Auntie M in Paris
11:42 PM

10 comments

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Comments:

Some people are beyond help -- ever heard the phrase "You can dress him up, but you can't take him out"? Class dictates dress. Some have no clue and even if they did, they'd probably ignore it. Generally, I'd go with "be yourself" -- unless, of course, the occasion calls for something else. Just my opinion but then, you invited it. :-)

# posted by Anonymous : 3:50 AM

Hopefully he's just taking a break from jogging or playing soccer in the park.

It wasn't THAT warm yesterday!

# posted by Anna : 7:26 AM

just as a side note, my other half and his friends sport sweatshirts quite a lot, but I suppose they are probably young enough to pull it off (they're all fans of pop-punk and the sweatshirts all have band names blazened across the front).

Those shorts are mighty bright, though.

# posted by kim : 9:13 AM

Bwahahahhaahhahahahaa!!!

*ahem*

I bet he's the same kind of guy that doesn't speak French so he speaks English VERY LOUDLY. Sheesh.

# posted by ViVi : 9:28 AM

We get this ALL THE TIME in Spain as well. Tourists arrive in February with nothing more than shorts and tank tops, seemingly oblivious to the fact the rest of us are bundled up in our woolies and that men here over the age of 22 only wear shorts and "wife beaters" UNDER their clothes. But that said, slippers are considered appropriate outdoor footwear in our village, which has taken some time for me to get used to.... :-)

# posted by mylifeinspain : 11:15 AM

Ha! My mom is coming to visit for the first time and I am torn as to whether I should warn her not to bring loads of sweatshirts and comfy clothes or just let her be herself - it is quite the dilemma! Personally, I feel weird when I am dressed like a slob in Paris, I really feel like I stand out but maybe I don't. Maybe it is just my desire to blend in that makes me especially sensitive. But it is strange to see someone in their sweats on the metro...

# posted by Sarita : 12:05 PM

Maybe he has a medical condition that prevents him from wearing pants...

# posted by Sammy : 1:21 PM

If it's not the sweatshirt, it's always the white tube socks that give them away! I could MAYBE see this attire in the summer, but certainly not in March. He had to be cold. The funniest part of the picture is knowing, based on his attire, that he was unfortunately treated poorly in Paris. I think the French can be ruthless in this scenario.
CMAC

# posted by Anonymous : 2:19 PM

That's funny!!
My brothers and I always play spot the tourist everytime we travel-- I've become quite good at guessing the country of origin!!!

# posted by Magabe : 7:01 PM

This is a great picture. Maybe you could forward it to the American Embassy for the front cover of the brochure they should publish..."What not to wear when visiting Paris!". Our dilemmia when we travel begins the moment we decide we are going...do we take jeans(I am in the late 30ish crowd)...or do we go for strictly black, which doesn't seem to be necessary anymore. And what about kids under the age of 15, as my daughter will be next year. See what I mean, dilemma, dilemma, dilemma. Maybe you expats should each write a little blurb about what not to wear while visiting Europe.

# posted by Kelley : 8:31 PM