Rick is wearing JEANS!!

I've seen the photos! I've always worn jeans on the plane and packed my lighter pants. Wear jeans most of the time and feel comfortable in them. I don't wash my jeans every day at home and don't know why I would while travelling. Looks like Rick was wearing his jean in fairly hot weather too!

Though they aren't the only pants I take, I always take jeans. I wear them most of the time at home, and that's what I like to wear traveling, too. Maybe they are hard to dry after washing them in a sink, but I wouldn't know. If I DID need to wash them, I'd find a laundry.

I'm with Nancy. I wear jeans (and when I go to Ireland in cooler weather I even pack 2 or 3 pair of jeans) and if they get dirty I find a laundromat (shock! gasp!). My European relatives wear them, so why shouldn't I? If I'm not wearing work clothes or dressy club clothing, I'm wearing jeans in the city where I live so I'm going to wear them overseas, too. They sell so many kinds of jeans now in many different weights, not all of them weigh a ton in a carry-on and I use a backpack not a wheeled suitcase, so I do make an effort to keep my bag light but I'm not giving up my jeans.

He blended so much better than when he is wearing Dockers! I posted a comment about them on FB too. Jeans are what everyone wears.

Now if only he would wear shorts and a baseball cap, all of these silly wardrobe debates among his disciples would end.

If he really wanted to fit in he would wear man capris and a man purse......Next someone will catch him in baggage claim with two very large bags in tow. LOL

I know a lot of people love their jeans, and wear them all the time. Everyone is different which is great, I wear jeans maybe once a week, but for myself I prefer to take a couple pair dockers to wear. I just feel that they look nicer for going into restaurants, cathedrals, etc. I'm sure my husband would perfer to take jeans when we travel but he takes his dockers.

This is so hilarious! I see qestions/opinions about jeans in every category on the helpline! Jeans/no jeans....I waer jeans all the time, with everything, at home. So yes, I wear them when I travel, all the time, with everything. I have jeans for walking, jeans for dress up, lightweight jeans, dark jeans, all kinds of jeans. I wouldn't be caught dead in a pair of Dockers and I'm sort of too old for leggings or yoga pants, and skirts have proven to be too fussy for me. Yes, I sometimes wash them out, and its not the huge problem its made out to be. I say - throw off your indecisiveness - wear your jeans!!

Karen, you're my kind of lady! I wear jeans all the time too and have worn them on every trip except my last one in July, when I knew it was going to be very hot so I wore shorts. I felt almost indecent! :)

So Rick is a closet jeans-wearer. Big deal. I never placed much stock in the bit about jeans not fitting in with his Europe-Through-The-Back-Door philosophy and I doubt if he meant for people to leave their jeans at home. Now it can be told: I too wear at least one pair of jeans, usually two, but not at the same time, on my travels. Until now, I was ashamed to admit my sin. Now that Rick has been outed, the rest of us can slip out of the jeans closet. Jeans are great in summer, even in the Deep South,because the cotton breathes, unlike the cheap polyester pants I wear at work - the same as most other men - being men, after all, we don't care about fashion, just the budget. Jeans are also warm in the winter, which is important for those of us who do not wear pantyhose. As for washing them, I only do that when my wife insists, anyway. As long as it does not bother her, I don't worry about offending strangers with the odor. As for Rick, Helpline recently carried a link to an article that described the pigeon poop scam that some pickpockets are using in Paris and Italy. If you wear khaki pants, you could be a victim. With jeans, you never have to worry about it.

I love jeans and used to take them on every trip. Then on a trip to Ireland I was on Inishmore and got caught in pouring rain. I was in those soaking wet jeans all day until I got back to the mainland around dinner time. Unfortunately, jeans take forever to dry. It was very unpleasant, and I vowed never again. But why is this a topic of discussion? Wear them if you like them!

JEANS ARE THE DEVIL! OUT, DEVIL! OUT! (sorry, just feelin' contrary; it happens)

Oh my but I am a die-hard rebel! I have worn jeans (and shorts when it is hot) since I first began traveling to Europe in 1978. My first trip was for 3 months and we didn't wash our jeans for the first 6 weeks! We did wash undies, socks and tee shirts in the sink but never bothered with the jeans until they could stand up by themselves! Latest trip was just this past May - wore one pair of jeans for both weeks with one laundry stop in the middle. Works for me.

Lisa, I'm with ya! Jeans get more comfortable the dirtier they are. By the time they're filthy, they fit just right.

I do not usually wear or take jeans to Europe,, not that I never have,, I did take a pair when I went to London one year,, my trip was in March and I knew I would need warmer wear. I also took a pair of cords. I generally prefer wearing capris and skirts and sundresses on my trips,, which other then the aformentioned trip, have always been in summer( June-September) I actually only wear jeans here about once or twice a week,, so for a two or three week trip I can live without them quite easily. I find they impossible to sink wash ( how did you manage that previous poster) and then drying them without a dryer produces cardboard stiff pants, yuck. I have never cared what Rick wears,, cause, frankly ,, he is a nerd..LOL A nice nerd, a smart nerd, and nerd who has a fun and interesting take on Europe travel, but really, still a nerd. Men ,, stop tucking in your shirts,, that is so nerdy. LOL Now, jeans do look great on some people, men included,, but not every type of jean on every person either. I am unfortunately do not rock in jeans,, but I certainly see NOTHING wrong with wearing them.

Eileen, you are a trouble maker. They may end up sending you back to Texas if you don't simmer down! LOL Ceidleh, I spilled my tea reading your post. It was worth it though. Hopefully my keyboard isn't going to start slapping me in the face for what I did. Rick is a hot nerd now, and even my daughter said he is pretty darn awesome in his jeans. I hate jeans in the winter. They make my legs even colder, so I do some cords usually. I could never travel in jeans! My circulation would suffer terribly since I inherited my mother's wonderful tendency to varicose veins..ugh I did wear jeggings though to fly recently and they looked "hot" ..ahem...yeah Eileen, I still look hot, LOL They were of a type of material that stretches a bit so I felt like I was wearing leggings but with some give. Mainly use capris in summer, and even jean capris. I love the darker jeans though and wore one in the UK this July where it was quite nice in York, Canterbury and Brighton. I wore a dressy top to go out to dinner and some dressy sandals. Hubby thought I looked good, and his friend remarked at how pretty I was...he had a few drinks by the time we met him, so it was probably the alcohol talking, but it did make me feel good! :-)

Eli, I'm sure you do (still look hot) - drunken compliment or not LOL! (hey, I take what I can get...)

I travel in the winter. Jeans make sense to me. Especially if I spill Gluewine (spelled wrong probably, but its hot mulled spiced wine) on them, you can't spot stains too easily (I wear dark jeans and or black jeans). And yes, the more worn the jeans are, the better they become. Just as long as they do not smell like cigarette smoke, its the best European travelers uniform out there. Alternatively, I live in Florida with hot humid weather. I still wear jeans, especially at night, but even jean capris during the day. Viva La Jeans!

I am currently in Italy and I only brought 2 pairs of pants...both jeans. I wore one pair on the plane 6 days ago and haven't worn either pair since, but I will soon when we run into cooler weather. I have been wearing a skirt, sundress or fast drying capris so far. Luckily I was wearing the sundress today, as I encountered my first toilet that was a hole in the floor with a place to put your feet. That was interesting! Not only does everyone wear jeans here, but you see many people in...gasp...shorts, tshirts with English writing, white tennis shoes, and any number of things we have been warned about not wearing in order to "blend in" for years. The people I have seen wearing these things are most often European. I have seen a large variety of white tennis shoes in store windows. I say wear what you want, no one cares anyway.

I've had to remove posts on this thread a few times already. Please stay on topic per our posting guidelines and be considerate of Rick's private life. Thank you.

What did I miss? Some irate Docker's wearing poster having a meltdown over the number of people who pack jeans? An angry diatribe about how we are playing Russian Roulette with our back muscles if we lug around anything that weighs more than 3 ounces and can't fit into a TSA ziploc bag? I got my Rick Steves September newsletter today, and I must say, he looks smoking hot in his dark jeans & jacket hanging out on a hilltop in England. He may be a bit nerdy, but at least he's a hot nerd now.

[[..EDIT - Sorry, meant Ceidleh..]]...I hear ya, Ceidleh (giggle)- nice photo.........AND I'm married to a hot nerd: jeans at home, Dockers in Europe (usually...) - for those at home keeping score.

Those poor children don't have PBS (slowly shaking head).........Eli, that's too funny about the squealing! Sure beats squealing over Britney...<<..EDIT..>> WOO-HOO - my 500th post!!! Waiting for the confetti to drop...any minute now, I'm sure...still waiting...

I'm in to out...love my jeans, wear them everywhere, and happy as a clam. ( Remember the old Donovan song? :-) )A pair on the plane and another in the suitcase; trouser packing complete. Used to take a pair of dockers for "dress up" (that should be a clue) but no more. Have yet to be shunned or mistreated by fashion hostile locals, probably because they're all wearing their jeans too.

Lighten up, webmaster.

I travelled in Germany, Belgium, France, and the Netherlands this summer and most people (not just the tourists) wore jeans. If you can, though, get a pair with "cargo" pockets so you can stow stuff.

I'm in the jeans group! I wore a pair of starched jeans on the plane and packed two pairs of starched jeans on my trip to Europe, this past January. Considering it was sooo cold, I was very grateful for my jeans!

I love jeans and can't imagine life without them. Denim cones in varying weights and I just travel with the lightest ones.

At home I wear jeans almost every day (when I'm not wearing cargo shorts, -Kent-), but when I travel, I take lighter weight khaki pants. I don't care if jeans only weigh 6 oz more, or 3 oz more; more is more. On my website, I stress that keeping the weight down is a matter of discipline; avoid taking anything that adds needless weight. The things in my carryon bag weigh about 9#. So, when I travel, I wear khakis. When I get home, I wear jeans.

Me too, Lee: jeans or shorts every day. Areas where Europe could learn a thing or two from us (we could learn a lot from them, too) are: shorts and T's are fine, the informality, the customer service, and the ice cream (which kicks gelato's posterior).

"Areas where Europe could learn a thing or two from us (we could learn a lot from them, too) are: shorts and T's are fine, the informality, the customer service, and the ice cream (which kicks gelato's posterior)." I'll agree with you on the customer service part. In many businesses that don't normally cater to tourists, I'm learning that the customer, in fact, is not always right. But as for the ice cream- next time you're in a European convenience store, try a Magnum bar. You'll be an addict at the first lick.

And for the record, I'm in the fast dwindling anti-jeans camp. I rarely wear them unless I'm going yard work, hiking, camping, or doing some other vigourous, dirty activity. But, here's my two cents worth: When in Europe, wear what you want, jeans or no jeans!