Jeans in Europe?

I always bring a couple of pairs of jeans and a pair of nice slacks. The jeans are practically all I wear when travelling. Some people find them too hot. I don't. I find them comfortable and really practical because they really don't show dirt.

You won't be the only one. Europeans wear jeans too ...

Jeans would be best if you wanna blend in with everyone else in Europe. Great to combine with anything, easy to dress up or down. However, when travelling they might not be the most practical choice as in the summer heat they can feel rather hot. And if you get soaked in the rain they take forever to dry.

I took a pair of jeans and 2 pr of black pants. I only wore the jeans and one of the pairs of pants. I wore the jeans quite a bit but mostly at night as during the day time it was too hot. It was Oct in Rome.

Jeans are all over in Europe. Fancier ones than we have, even. Not a problem except, as everyone repeats, they are hard to dry when you wash them and they can get hot. I'm often surprised when I look at my pictures how frequently I wore jeans and flip-flops.

BTW, I think the origin of the word "denim" is from "De Nimes" - but I'm too lazy at the moment to go to Wikipedia.

Thanks all. Since our trip is from mid-June to mid-July, I will think twice on whether the weather is right for them, but will am comforted that I will fit in if I bring them.

Thanks

Dan

I love jeans and I pack at least one when I travel.
I respect what other travellers have said on this board, but at the same time I don't believe we should not wear them in Europe. Young Europeans wear jeans. However their jeans don't look anything like all-American jeans, they have a modern cut and design.

If you love jeans then by all means bring a pair. Everyone wears jeans. Darker shades are more prevalent but not as a rule. Just plan to get 2-4 wearings out of them before you wash them. My husband has found light weight jeans for warmer weather that dry more quickly. I take jeans with a bit of lycra in them for comfort and the drying factor. It is not hard to do a load of laundry after about a week, which is what my husband always does. I give him my jeans to throw in with his load and otherwise I take things I can wash out in the sink. Have a great trip.

I took a pair of denim capris in 2006 and ended up wearing them a lot more than the other capris (based on my pictures). They did not keep me hot, and in fact, were easy to mix and match my tops with. I also had a black and tan capris. This was summer. My husband and son took their jeans but ended up using shorts most of the time because theirs was too heavy for that heat. They wore theirs to travel in and on the few cooler days we had in England.

We saw lots of people wearing jeans across the pond. It's so easy to dress up or down.

I thnk most of us would agree that the problem with jeans is not whether they are in style or worn or not,, yes, they are worn all the time. The problems seem to be more about the practicality of bringing them.

They are heavy to pack. They are impossible to hand wash . They take days to dry .They can be too heavy for hot ( 90 + ) weather.

Will you look odd in them?

No,not at all.

In our case, we will have access to a washer/dryer in two places, plus we're going in mid May so it might be a lot cooler than our last trip in July.

Wear it on the plane to save space.

Finally... people who agree with me that jeans are okay to travel in!! I will be in Europe for the month of May and plan on bringing two pairs of jeans, a pair of jean capris and a pair of black dress pants. I am most comfortable in jeans and that is what matters in my mind!!

I love jeans at home and see them all over Europe (at least in shoulder season when I travel) on locals and tourists.

I don't encourage them because they aren't travel friendly. If they get wet, they become very heavy, can feel miserable and take a long time to dry. They're bulky and heavy to carry in your luggage, you could take two other pants for one pair of jeans. They cost a fortune to launder because they take so long to dry. Cotton stretches - jeans tend to sag around the waistline, butt and knees. They won't look good again until they are machine washed and tumbled dried, hand washing and hang drying don't bring the shape back.

I'm taking my jeans to France!

I wear jeans in hot, humid South Florida year-round. So, if the concern is jeans in summer, I am pleased that I have been in "training" for a long time.

We are lucky to have access to W/D so that's not an issue.

I always wear one pair on the plane and pack one. Then I'll take a pair of black pants and maybe one khaki. I live in jeans and am willing to lug the weight in order to feel comfortable.

Cecily, it is all about what will make you feel comfortable and happy in the long run.

I don't carry jeans, but will carry my jeans "capris". It's the most awesome fit I ever found. But hubby and son loves their jeans and wear them on the plane. My daughter is also planning to take her jeans that she can roll up on the legs to make them into capris. They're dark and look really smart. Washer/dryer is always a major incentive too :-)

If you want to bring a pair of jeans and don't mind them taking a lot more space than another lighter pair of pants, I don't see the problem. I don't like bringing them on longer trips because they aren't fun to wash (not that laundry is fun to do but you know what I mean) and that if it starts raining like crazy in the middle of the day, well, wearing a wet pair of jeans for the rest of the day kind of sucks. However, jeans are nice for a night out when it gets a little cold outside and they are easy to match.
For my upcoming trip, I won't bring a pair from home but am planning on buying a pair on my way. This way, I don't have to carry it for the whole trip (just part of it) and I come back home with a nice new pair of pants. I usually leave home with an almost empty luggage and come back with a full one. Then I get to tell a story every time I wear the clothes I bought. I find they are the nicest souvenirs. Anyways, if you bring a pair, bring a darker wash definitely.

No you will certainly not b the only one wearing jeans in europe! If you feel you need/want to wear them do so. (They do take up more room & do take forever to dry when wet)

-I took a pr of levis for the Zermatt portion of a recent trip & was so glad I did! I then left them at the hotel, folded, with a note stating I did not have any room in my bag & if someone would like them...
levis are easily replaced,& my new souvenirs bumped them from my suitcase lol.

I never machine dry my jeans. When I washed my jeans in Germany, I machine washed them and then dried them like I do at home. On a hanger over night, it took them about 9 hrs to be fully dried. In the summer with Florida humidity it takes about 8 or 9 hours and they can but wearable after 7hrs.

On my first trip to Europe, I didn't wear jeans. I felt kind of uncomfortable wearing those khaki travel pants...ugh.

So, I decided to wear jeans during my 2nd trip, when I visited Oslo, Copenhagen, and Stockholm. I blended right in with the locals (being of Scandinavian heritage helped, though), to the point where the Oslo locals would speak Norwegian to me right off the bat. They were surprised when I replied in English.

Last year on my third trip, I mainly wore shorts, as I was walking a pilgrimage trail across Spain. But when I finished my trek and went to Paris, I bought a pair of jeans at the Gap. Lots of other natives were wearing jeans, so I felt like I fit in OK. And it was nice to wear comfortable pants, especially on the plane!

A few years ago we were in the south of France, having lunch at a small, but busy restaurant. She and I were wearing khakis...

We-were-the-only-ones-not-wearing-jeans.

We are this very minute packing for departure this weekend for three weeks in the UK (assuming our flights are not cancelled:-).

So, for me: couple pairs of slacks, three pairs of jeans, and jeans on the plane.

She likes the sport coat and jeans look. Suitable for the Sistine Chapel? Beats me. We're going to the UK...

Rgds,
bill