Dress etiquette

Bad behavior will mark you as an ugly American, not your clothes. Wear what you find comfortable, convenient and appropriate, and don't worry about anything else.

Easy to say that but the reality is that the "shorts" culture on older males is not as prevalent in Europe as it is in the US. Sure you will see lots of other people wearing short but they are generally other American tourist. I would not do it. I find a light weight long pant to be just as comfortable as shorts. I always try to dress just a little better than shorts and t-shirts. Generally a polo shirt with a collar over long pants - tan or dark tan. Actually have a several travel shirts (synthetic blends) that have secure front pockets and very cool to wear. Try not to look sloppy.

You will need at least one pair of long trousers anyway. The summer temperatures in Bavaria, Czech and Austria can jump from 10°C to 25°C in one day and back the next. In the mountainside, 1°C less per 100m elevation difference as a general rule.

I have seen lots of shorts and capris on men, but Frank's point about age seems true. Most older men wear long pants.

Bad behavior will mark you as an ugly American, not your clothes. Wear
what you find comfortable, convenient and appropriate, and don't worry
about anything else.

Could not have said it better.

You know, if you don't look like a tourist, then everyone will think you are local and not one will make the effort to share their world with you. Is that what you want?

This is kind of a 1980s era throwback question. The "ugly" tourist has mostly moved on to other nationalities now. Europeans are also more casual in dress today. And since when is youthful dress undesirable?

The biggest fauxpas a tourist can do is being unnecessary loud. One "COME OVER HERE, DARLING, LOOK!" will annoy a lot of people who are silently enjoying the scenery. And when you look up (as a German tourist in Germany for example) you see someone in shorts with a ridiculously big tshirt chewing bubble gum. And sigh. That's where that notion "shorts -> ugly tourist" comes from. So, your trousers aren't of interest to anyone. Neither are your tshirt or your bubble gum. As long as you aren't loud.

loads of folk wear shorts in Prague, my mate wears them even when the temps get a but low and socks with sandals is very common.
Don't worry about what you wear I never do. When are you in Prague I am back there with a walking group from 5th-12 August.

Thank you very much to all for your feeback. I am in my 50s so your input in age and behavior was very valuable. In Prague late July. Best of wishes. Ricardo. MD, USA.

enjoy yourself, if you need any help on Prague Pubs and beers then just ask, one of my few fields of expertise.

In Austria, when it is hot, everyone wears shorts. I did an analysis on my way to work the other day counting the % of people in shorts. By my estimate, 46% of the people I passed on my way to work were wearing shorts. The remainder were wearing short dresses and/or capri type pants. I could tell many were going to work. Many were over the age of 50 and most were local (as tourists wouldn't travel my work route, typically).

I'm an old man, 60 yrs.old I've always worn shorts and t-shirts on my summer trips through Europe. Just wear what you want to wear. Don't worry what those people over think.

My husband always packs a pair of shorts and a pair of pants/jeans when we've traveled to Europe. The shorts, for example, came in handy when we were in Bruges this past May and it was uncommonly hot the day we rented bikes. He wore shorts that day, which included a few stops at some of the more popular churches in Bruges and never felt out of place or scrutinized. Of course, had we been in Italy, he wouldn't have gone into churches in shorts!

Also - we don't typically eat at 5 star restaurants where shorts would be inappropriate. I think that night we were exhausted after a day of riding out to Damme and all around Bruges and ate a local fast food restaurant we found though the RS book.

This is the perpetual question about dress, shorts, t-shirts, ballcaps, etc. Obviously, there is no correct answer. Surprised that the comments about blending in has not arisen. There is a difference between blending in and standing out. We always try to dress conservatively. When the pickpocket or scam artistic is surveying the crowd, I want him to focus on and choice the more obvious tourists. When they see us I want them to have second thoughts about whether or not we would make good targets. At a distance maybe we don't quite look like tourists. But I don't mind if you wear shorts or a loud t-shirt, it just helps to insure my safety since they more likely will focus on your rather than us. So to quote, James and Max, "wear what you like" and we will do the same.

I think that the person who stands out due to dress the most in Europe is the person who is dressed immodestly. I don't think shorts vs. pants is as big an issue as shorts vs. short shorts. Museums may not be the correct place for your most recent beachwear purchase....

Wear what you find comfortable and enjoy the ride)

Nowadays there are so many people with so many backgrounds everywhere, so most don’t really care or notice how you look.

You'll still be identifiable as Americans, or British people, or Italians or whatever regardless of whether you wear shorts or not. Just make sure you wear comfy shoes - if you don't you won't care, or even be able to think about anything else except your feet.

Rome is 88 degrees today and in looking at the webcam for Piazza Navona I am seeing people of all ages, Men and Woman, wearing shorts. Most of them are the longer kind (cargo for men) with some of the younger girls wearing shorter shorts. Lots of summer dresses (tanks and jersey) and people in line to fill up their water bottles. Ball caps are also being worn, in this kind of heat you want to be protecting your face. Some of the older men and woman are in long pants, but they just look hot to me. Ball caps on woman is really popular where I live, so not surprised to see on woman in Europe also.

It may indeed be a weird American thing.

I think many of us see ourselves as representatives of our country and want to do the best we can to be respectful of the places we are visiting. We have been taught that in general Europeans dress more formally. We have also been taught how to dress for the occasion and in an age-appropriate way.

But, this is in stark contrast with the exceedingly casual lifestyles many of us live. For example, I've attended the opera in Seattle and seen everything from ball gowns and tuxes to cargo shorts or jeans and Birkenstocks and socks. And who can forget the recent thread about wearing pajamas to breakfast in hotels?

Then there are those of us who were not taught how to dress for ANY occasion, have no clue what's approprate when and for where and are totally ignorant and oblivious of such a concept. I can count some friends and members of my family in that group.

Finally, there are those of us who have been known to deliberately reject the "rules" for appropriate dress. At least I didn't get any bad tattoos back in the 60's and 70's!

Personally, I don't want to embarrass myself or my country by what I wear or how I act. I'm guessing that at least some of us who ask this kind of question probably are thinking along similar lines.

Lo is spot on. Every place in the world has social norms which includes manners, language, etiquette and how you dress. US standards just happen to be pretty low for a civilized country. Its a good thing to want to know what the norms are, in a place you've never been. You might not get thrown out for not blending in, but how you're dressed surely does impact how you're treated. It's not dressing like a tourist that bothers people, its dressing like a slob.

The area you will be traveling in has some of the least restrictive conventions on dress. I wouldn't worry about any tourist attractions or museums.

I'd only dress nicer if you're going to a very nice restaurant or show in the evening. Even then, casual is okay; but you should wear a nice casual shirt and pants rather than shorts and a t-shirt.

What do you think with this?

I want to speak up for dressing like a slob, and for bothering people while you're at it:

• panhandlers and pickpockets leave you alone
• time and money saved regarding laundry
• those on the lookout for panhandlers and pickpockets also leave you alone
• the whole bench is yours when you want to enjoy a picnic
• ditto seats on mass transit
• people are relieved when you sound sane, putting them in a positive frame of mind

There is a down side to it though -- many of us have mentioned that you tend to get treated well when you present yourself well.
"Be yourself" is good advice if your self is one that inspires the kind of interactions you're looking for--If not, then don't be yourself.

avirosemail, love it.

You'll still be identifiable as Americans

This comment is often posted and it amazes me. Are there Americans who are really never mistaken for locals and spoken to in German, Danish, whatever? Kind of sad. Happens to me a lot. And everything I wear comes from Kohl's and I always wear a ball cap.

I'm with you Tom. When I'm in the UK I frequently get mistaken for a local. It's happened to me in Europe. It makes me smile. But hey I live in NYC having grown up in the midwest and when I get mistaken for New Yorker, I smile then too! It's a global world that we live in and when you travel, you should dress for comfort and by that I don't just mean physical comfort. I mean are YOU comfortable in the situation with the clothes you have on? Some of us are more at ease than others. Some of us care more about what perceptions people have of us. Some of us just don't give a damn. It's really a matter of choice and aren't we lucky that we for the most part we live in that world?

Pam

"Americans, eat with only a fork." Gee, I use a knife in tandem with a fork...including when devouring bacon. Must I be re-educated to use a fork only?
/s/ Confused

You'll still be identifiable as Americans

You may be indentified as American, but more likely, you will be identified primarily as a tourist NOS ("not otherwise specified"). Tourists, no matter where they come from, dress and act rather similar.

Personally, I think this whole thing is rather overblown. And I have a rather shocking suggestion... believe it or not, as visitors, our presence is likely to be completely inconsequential to the residents of the locales we visit. If we're visiting the place, there's a good chance that thousands or even millions have preceded us, and unless we are particularly physically attractive (or conversely, particularly annoying), our presence will be completely forgotten once the moment passes.

"Americans, eat with only a fork." Gee, I use a knife in tandem with a fork...including when devouring bacon. Must I be re-educated to use a fork only?
/s/ Confused

A knife & fork for bacon. I must look like an animal picking bacon up with my hands!

If the bacon looks like it needs a fork, I send it back. It's not crispy enough. Crispy bacon, pick up with fingers. Do I look uncivilized? Do I care? Nobody pays any attention anyway.

"you'll be identifiable as Americans". Not always. I was in France last month and was constantly approached by people speaking French to me and it wasn't until I would look at them perplexed that they would launch into English and even then I was still mistaken for a lot of other nationalities (Australian, New Zealand, English were the top three) and had to let them know I was none of those and had come over from the U.S. Maybe I confused the French as as I don't put my fork down. Being left handed, it's just easier for me to hold both my fork and knife throughout the meal and cut one piece of meat at a time or use the knife to push stuff onto the fork. Where I most definitely would be outed as an American would be one of those countries where people only eat with their right hand because they use their left to wipe their butts. Being a lefty, we do everything in reverse!

Hell, even my own fellow Americans can't seem to figure out I am one of them. While sitting outside at a cafe having a glass of wine and a cigarette, the American couple sitting 2 tables away were giving me the stink eye for smoking (if you aren't a smoker and you come to Paris, don't plop yourselves down at one of the outdoor tables. HINT: when you see ashtrays on the top of every single table, there's a really good chance someone is going to light up). They started complaining loudly in English about how they "can't even enjoy a simple snack with that French woman blowing her smelly French cigarette smoke near us!". Were they observant, they would have noticed I had a pack of American cigarettes on the table and the shoes I had on were an American brand. In response to their attempt at smoke shaming, I lit up another one and watched as over the next 10 minutes they were boxed in on all sides by other smokers who had come to have a drink and watch a soccer game on the big screen tv over the bar just inside.

Sorry, I grew up eating with a knife and fork and I hold them in the European manner. Ate tonight's pork chop that way tonight in my NYC apartment. And, BTW you do eat the type of bacon you get in the UK with a knife and fork--it looks more like a slice of ham. I have never seen anyone eat it with their fingers unless it's a butty. :)

So, you you cannot stereotype us all. That's not to say that I don't have plenty of characteristics that scream American. To begin with I smile too much. Heck I smile too much for New York City! I'm a midwesterner at heart.

Pam

Not only must you try to look like a local when in Europe, but don't give the stink eye to smokers regardless of the circumstances. Alternatively, take up puffing while on holiday there and therefore blend in oh so well.

My husband and I just try to dress comfortably when we travel and assume that locals know that we are obviously American. Sometimes we are surprised when locals assume my husband is Dutch or Norwegian, so apparently it is not always obvious!

Some pay hundreds and hundreds in travel clothing and laundry service my cost is only about $50 for a two-week trip.
This is what I wear when traveling. http://hmsource.supply/workwear/safety-clothing/kleenguard-a30-breathable-splash-particle-protection-apparel

I can pack 7 of these in a carry on with no problems and because it has a full collar I can slap on a tie and go to the opera in Vienna in complete comfort. I also have the first two pages of passport silkscreened on the back so that in the event something bad happens I can be identified. If it gets unusually hot I have scissors that can deal with that. Cold? Just double up.

On two week trips I wear each one time then turn it inside out and wear it again. Works perfectly. I have never had anyone tell me I look like a tourist.

The clothing James identified seems perfect and I'll try on my next trip. Bonus: I can use such when painting the house.

The clothing James identified seems perfect and I'll try on my next trip. Bonus: I can use such when painting the house.