as tourist: dressing up abit?

[bmccasland]

Y'all are evil. I just ordered the dress. Here's hoping it fits, as the reviews gave mixed results.

And I'm in the prefer dresses crowd, especially on hot days. As for travel, ease of wearing is important, but it helps to blend in with the local crowd. I found I could peg Americans (Norte Americanos) when I was in Europe because they tended to dress down.

[indysteel]

In Europe, I tend to "dress up" a bit, which for me is a skirt and sandals or boots. I might get by with jeans during the day, but I try to wear something a little nicer for dinner to blend in a bit better with the locals. I always took it as a good sign that I was often mistaken for a native when I traveled alone. No heels though; I can't walk more than a few blocks in heels.

Most of my North American travels revolve around the outdoors, so I keep it low maintenance. I might still wear a casual skirt for dinner, but I do absolutely nothing to my hair (which is a real vacation for me since my hair takes some work). I enjoy wearing a bit of makeup unless I'm working out or hiking/biking.

[limewave]

I seriously want some Athleta dresses. I've been coveting them for a long time.

This thread reminds me of when DH and I took a trip to San Francisco and through Sonoma County. We stayed at a beautiful B&B right on the ocean. Every afternoon they served caviar. The first afternoon we showed up STARVING from our day of hiking (covered in dried mud and sticky with sweat) and in full hiking gear. It was a bit awkward as all the other couples had just finished their afternoon of touring wineries and were dressed up a bit

There was one couple in particular who liked to talk ALOT about how much they played golf and rubbed shoulders with the rich and kind-of famous. Her hair was always coiffed and his collar always popped. We called them "Jules and Parker." Ever since then, whenever we see a couple that is trying too hard, they are immediately branded as "Jules and Parker."

[sgtiger]

Usually when I travel I want to be as comfortable as possible, so I take more casual relaxed wear. (I pretty much live in casual wear anyway.) However, I'll usually take along a piece or two that can be dressed up or down. That way if DH and I want to have a special date night while there, we can.

Being parents of two younger kids, we don't have too many quiet moments to ourselves, so we try to make the ones we have special. I like to dress up very femininely on occasion too. It's just plain fun. Lately I've been playing around with '30's and '40's style makeup and hair. I just need to find a couple of dresses that fit the period to pull off the look.

[Crankin]

I also tend to wear dresses in hot weather. That is the first thing you learn, when you live in a desert climate, as I did for 16 years. No horrible waistband making you sweat!
I love Athleta dresses and would buy them all if I could.
That said, I do bring nice clothes for vacations, even when we are cycling all day. I tend to bring 3 types of clothes: cycling/hiking stuff, casual pants/capris and tops for walking around/shopping after the sports part of the day is done, and some dresses or skirts to wear in the evening. I might stay in the pants/capris all night, too, depending on where we are going. I like choice and sometimes we're in spots where it can be 95 one day and a few days later, it's in the 50s, like when we went to the Czech Republic.
I love dressing up, but I wouldn't say I am totally dolled up on vacation like I would be if I was going to a fancy place in downtown Boston. When we take winter trips, focusing on x country skiing, what I wear at night depends on if we have to leave the inn and travel in freezing cold temperatures. In Europe, I dress as the natives do. I never, ever wear running shoes, or carry a fanny pack! Not that I do this at home, either, but frankly, I have been told I dress like a European at home, in a kind of mean way. DH gets this all of the time, because he wears capris, the kind guys wear in Europe, and wears really cool shoes that most American men don't buy.
I mean, what's wrong with getting dressed up and wearing make up on vacation, if you are going out in the evening? It's not like I do that when I am riding. Sure, last year when we went to the AMC lodge in the Maine Wilderness, I wore my hiking type clothes at night, but that was more like a camping trip, even though we slept in a cabin.
Oh, and I have that Athleta dress. I have to wear a camisole under it, though, or the cleavage shows way too much. I tried wearing it sans camisole last year, at dinner one night in Spain, and I ended up running upstairs and putting the camisole on, because I felt uncomfortable.

[OakLeaf]

I should note that the only reason I wear old running shoes as my kicking-around shoes is that my feet are so hard to fit. I really can't even find running shoes that fit properly, but some can at least get close. I've never found a pair of casual shoes that I could walk more than a half mile in without agony, let alone the five or six (or more) miles a day one usually walks as a tourist. I'm well aware of how conspicuous they are, and a bit uncomfortable with it when I'm overseas, but really don't have a choice.

[PamNY]

Interesting -- I've always thought European tourists look very casual, at least when they are sightseeing. What they wear to dinner I have no idea.

[pll]

Interesting -- I've always thought European tourists look very casual, at least when they are sightseeing. What they wear to dinner I have no idea.

It depends on the country, and big cities versus small towns. In my experience, on average, Spaniards, Italians and French tend to be dressier, relatively fashion conscious.

[pll]

I have been told I dress like a European at home, in a kind of mean way. DH gets this all of the time, because he wears capris, the kind guys wear in Europe, and wears really cool shoes that most American men don't buy.

I'd take that as a compliment. And the meaner the person sounded, the better... People's notions of what is "European" are strange. With jeans, I often walk with colorful sneakers (this type). I've been told that looks "European." Oh, well.

I like dressing up a bit, depending on where I'm going. It makes me feel put together.

[Crankin]

Those are exactly the kind of shoes DH and I wear. I have one pair I bought 6 years ago and they are wearing out. I hope I can find replacements.
Oak, have you ever tried looking at these types of "laceless" and colorful sneakers for walking?

[OakLeaf]

Never seen them before.

I'll keep my eye out.

[pll]

Those are exactly the kind of shoes DH and I wear. I have one pair I bought 6 years ago and they are wearing out. I hope I can find replacements.

There are plenty of similar shoes. Look for Onitsuka Tiger (an Asics brand) or Gola in Amazon. For some reason, the men's models have more color options, so my Onitsuka are men's. I could not go with pastel colors... Same goes for Adidas: among their 'originals' series, sometimes to produce cute models for men (I've been wanting to get this Merckx/biking style sneaker... any New Yorkers that frequent the Brooklyn Machine works here?).

PS: And, if anybody is looking for a colorful running shoe, search for "Karhu". Who said running shoes have to be white, black or gray?

[shootingstar]

In Europe last year (for 1 month), I wore a black lycra skort at times and sometimes a jersey or some sort of t-shirt, sleeveless top.

I did bring 2 prs. of shoes --cycling shoes and running shoes. My feet cannot withstand much walking-touring beyond 3 kms. anywhere in heels.

We genuinely vacation travel...without a car about 95% of the time. So that means cycling with my clothing, gear, using trains at times or public transit. We rarely rent a car when we vacation. It has happened for our snowshoeing trips where we did rent a car for 1-2 days for a 5-7day long trip. It's been like that since I've known him.

To me, dresses and skirts (unless short knit things) take up volume inside my knapsack or panniers....and cause more unnecessary weight for me to carry on my back or haul around for several hundred kms. on bike.

I really have to economize in terms of baggage weight since I have to carry or cycle with all of it. He doesn't carry it for me. He might carry extra anyway in terms of food.

Even when we went to Hawaii (twice), I didn't bother bringing any skirts or sundresses.

Um ...as far as sticking out like a sore thumb...um...in some crowds.I just can't change my genes!!