Vaca clothing

Not to beat the poor dead horse, but nobody cares what you wear. I have been in Munich for over two weeks, somewhat conservative place one might think, and I have seen every kind of clothing imagineablethe shortest short shorts, floor length skirts of gauze and chiffon covering barely there underwear, short and long shorts on men and women who shouldn't be wearing shorts at all, strapless tops on enormously overweight women, clothing that wouldn't seem appropriate on the beach, yet is worn in the city. These are tourists and locals.
Wear what you like and what is comfortable for you.

An astute Paris commentator on another site periodically points his camera out his apartment window and clicks the streetwear/streetware. His latest report graduated to video which you can see here: http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=paris&action=display&thread=6668 Just back from Paris myself, I can vouch for what the video shows: Parisians look like North Americans (or Italians, etc.) on the pavement, even if the surface is cobblestone. Or at least they do in hot weather. The one exception is rather less gear branded with sports logos. In cooler months Paris blossoms with scarves and shawls.
All of that said, I feel more comfortable with a little bit of dress-up (long pants; a light sweater over my shoulders) when going to a bistrot where the food is worthy of respect.

There is no simple answer and everyone seems to have there own opinion. Our observation as recent as May is that shorts on older males are seldom worn in the city. The local tends to dress a touch better than the average tourists. All of shorts I have seen worn as mostly on what I believe are tourists and young males. And, of course, females wear short more frequently. Wearing shorts is not a no no in itself but I would not.

General guideline: Dress more casually outside of cities and a little nicer in cities. This is just a guideline; it's pretty rare, outside of some cathedrals, for people to care much about what you are wearing. Sure you will look like a tourist wearing shorts when the locals are dressed a little nicer but you can wear a kilt in Edinburgh, lederhosen in Munich, or a beret in Paris and they'll still spot you as a tourist (only partly because of your outfit, LOL). Along the same line. If you look at a photo from March, people are going to be wearing long pants everywhere. A photo from August is a different story.

I would like to say thank you to all who have responded to my query. You have helped much.

Paris from July 8 to 15, lots of Parisians in shorts and man-pris. On the coast every summer and I see men in shorts and man-pris. When it's hot, people adapt.

Paris report from July 5-10: shorts, shorts everywhere!

I am a 50 yr old lady-any ideas for September weather-9/19-26?
Holly

Report of shorts in Paris July 5-10. Don't the locals read Travelers Helpline and know they must dress in high fashions always?

Rick we were in Nice last July.. it was hot.. everyone wore shorts.. except at fancy restaurants for dinner.. People walk around in beach wear basically,, no , they do not walk around in their bathing suits.. but yes to shorts and tshirts.. many women wear light sundresses and skirts. Nice is not formal at all in the daytime in the touristy areas that we frequented.. we were only there for four days but I imagine it was a pretty typical ..

Holly, is your question about Nice? Or weather somewhere else? I wouldn't think that the fact that you are female would affect the weather.

Nigel, what is appropriate for London in August? Besides a rain coat? It looks like London has been pretty warm lately, but the humidity has been low, at least compared to the South. My husband and I will be there the third week in August, and then we will be in the southeast for 3 days. Thanks

Mary, where are you reading that the temperatures and humidity are low at the moment? We reached 34 the other day, the Underground is a mobile sauna, the new Boris Bus "Roastmasters" have flaws with the air conditioning and no windows that open, and we have been under stage 3 RED health warnings. Yesterday I was on a train where the moisture was running down the walls. That being said, and as awful as it is for us (we asked for a hot summer, yes, but then it got silly) it is probably childs play for those of you who live in the balmy sunshine of Mississippi. It could be hot or cold in August. It could be wet or dry. If I knew I could make a fortune. My experience is that August is less pleasant than July, by-and-large, often wetter and cooler. But, as I said, it really could do anything. We keep having seasons which are very different from the averages. Global warming.

Thanks, Nigel, we'll just come prepared for hot and cool weather, and check the 10 day forecast just before our trip.
Just looked at the weather there on Weather Underground, and the main differences I see for today's weather are that we currently have the same temp---about 80F---but your humidity level is around 50% and ours is about 90%. Thanks again for your help.

@Mary and Nigel,
There is one big difference even when the temperatures are similar and that is the arctic-blast air cinditioning found in the States. If something is air conditioned in Europe, it runs at a much lower temperature. Most buildings are not air conditioned at all.

My point exactly. Very little air conditioning here, and where it does exist it only cools a little, often.

Middle age women with capri's, teens in shorts. All women wearing scarves, I needed to buy one. Men in shorts, if very hot only.

"I wouldn't think that the fact that you are female would affect the weather." Great sense of humor Nigel!