Is it true that I shouldn't wear white tennis shoes in Germany?

[Longhorn]

I'm traveling with about 40 other Texans so I don't think we're going to fool anybody into thinking we're European. ;) If the shoes are offensive as opposed to being a fashion faux pas, then I wouldn't want to wear them. I've also read we should wear a lot of black and not a lot of bright colors. I just wonder how much of this stuff is true.

Thanks! :hi:

[GoneOffShore]

1. Here's the idea for dressing in Europe

Be comfortable but stylish. Shorts are not the best choice nor are tshirts.

White sneaks and socks are a fashion faux pas anywhere.

Get some really cool looking shoes, trousers ( not dockers) and collared shirts.

Remember that going into churches with shorts is usually a non starter.

[Longhorn]

2. I was hoping to wear some skirts.

They are comfortable and easy to pack. :)

I generally don't have a problem wearing white athletic shoes in Texas but I'll leave them at home and get some good walking sandals. Thanks!

[Kellanved]

3. Wear good shoes - people in upscale places will look for the shoes first.

Not sneakers and never white socks. Males should avoid shorts and bright colors - that's about everything there is to know regarding dress code.

[Longhorn]

4. Well, I guess I need two new pairs of shoes then.

I don't have any good walking shoes that aren't white and I wanted some sandals for when I wear skirts. I do want to walk A LOT on this trip -- I want to see as much as I can up close and personal.

Thanks again!

[Matariki]

5. I read the same advice about Italy

I was just there last month, and despite that advice, i counted a multitude of Italians wearing white sneakers. Personally, I wouldn't be caught dead in the things outside of the gym, though.

[Longhorn]

6. So did I in Germany!

Not as many athletic shoes as I see around here but I still wouldn't have stood out wearing mine, especially when you saw some of the things my fellow Texans were wearing. :eyes:

The main thing I noticed about Germany is about half of the men were wearing capris like this:



It was hot but I live in Texas and I don't think I've ever seen a man wearing them before. See how enlightening my trip to Germany was? ;)

[Patiod]

7. I had to wear skirts when I went over to Italy for work

and I discovered they were WAY more comfortable than shorts or jeans for all the walking I did. Wore dressy knit t-shirts and skirts with bike shorts underneath (to prevent chafing). Plus there are plenty of comfortable shoes that aren't sneakers (like Clarke's).

Plus I didn't feel that I stood out as much in a skirt (although at 6', I stand out just about anywhere except Texas and Minnesota....)

Quick story: I had to be available to do interviews at a moment's notice, so I had a satellite phone in hand at all times, but was otherwise free to tour during downtimes between interviews. I was feeling so Italian that as a joke, I answered my phone the way all the Italians around me answered their telephoninos: "Prego!".
The guy booking my interviews started speaking in rapidfire Italian.
"Hey! Hold on! What are you saying?" I asked.
"Oh, from the way you answered, I thought you spoke Italian," he said, knowing full well that I'm a typically mono-ligual American.
Served me right.

[Longhorn]

8. Sounds like a neat job!

Tell me more! :)

Since I am of German heritage, I blended in pretty well in Germany. But I had the same situation -- one "danke schoen" and I'd get an ear full in German. I decided maybe I should tip them off and just say "thanks." :D

What's also funny is that I would so desperately want to reply in Germany but when my mind was searching for my nonexist German vocabulary, I'd come up with Spanish! And I don't speak Spanish that well, either. :shrug:

[Patiod]

9. Kept wanting to speak French, which I'd probably mangle anyway!

Was impressed that some Spanish tourists sitting near me in a cafe could communicate so well with the waiter. I asked if they spoke Italian, and they laughed and said, no, but that Spanish and Italian are close enough that they could understand each other.

My job is usually 100% domestic - the boss or her daughter take all the overseas assignments (the legitimate perogative of all the time they put into the company) But I had a long history on a project when we discovered that the specialists we needed to talk to were all meeting in Venice, so I got to go over and interview them at the Hotel Bauer instead of an office complex in suburban Dallas (which is more typical). What made it perfect is that I could wander the city between interviews - so long as I could be back at the hotel in 30 minutes once they found me someone to talk to - not a bad limit in Venice! Normally I fly into a city, and sit in a room for 14 hours, interviewing doctors all day. This was a nice change of pace.

[Matariki]

10. it's 'pronto' - not 'prego'

:-)

[Obamarama]

11. David Sedaris wrote in one of his side-splittingly funny essays:

"Americans should not descend upon Europe dressed as though they have come to cut its lawns."

He was writing about obnoxious Americans he encountered on the Paris metro.

I happen to agree with him. Leave the white tennies, message emblazoned t-shirts and denims home in the closet.

[Longhorn]

12. I did leave the white tennis shoes at home.

Unfortunately, the group I was traveling with wore "the white tennies, message emblazoned t-shirts, and denims" everywhere we went! :shrug:

[Eurobabe]

13. You came all the way over here and didn't PM me?

J/K. I live near Munich. Hope you like Germany, and the beer, etc. Definitely, ix-nay on the ite-way tennis shoes, unless they are Adidas.

[jberryhill]

14. I wear crocs on the plane

...and buy a pair of shoes at my destination upon arrival.

The poster who mentioned "people look at your shoes first" is right. It's bizarre, but true.

Get off of the plane, look at people's shoes, and then hit a shoe store.

You save room packing, your shoes are "local normal" and you have your first souvenir.