What should my teen boys wear in Paris?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have to admit when I watch the kids walking to school I'm always struck by how casual kids look today compared to when I was a teen in the 1990s. And we thought we were casual back then! Today's kids really do look like they just rolled out of bed and are going to school in whatever they slept in. At least in my day the boys would throw on a polo and khaki or jeans.

Anyway, from what I've seen/picked up from friends living in Europe, wearing athletic clothes as everyday clothes is very "working class" while the middle class kids wear jeans. Beyond that I wouldn't worry too much about it as long as you are well behaved and put in a bit of effort if going out to dinner.

I just got back from a week in London.
I was surprised how much everyone dresses alike, no matter where they are from.
I saw someone in Levis and cowboy boots, assumed he was American, and heard him speaking French.

I don't think it matters any more how you dress in Europe. Globalization has made everyone wear the same coats, hats, sneakers, carry the same bags, wear hoodies, baseball caps, etc. no matter where you are from.

Bring some nice pants and a dress shirt for going out to a nice restaurant, but for sightseeing, hoodies and sneakers/shorts are just fine.

Exactly this. And I can always tell who the try-hard tourists are because they cos-play the sterotypical "European sophisticate" and it's painfully obvious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It depends when you go. Who are these weird posters who think that teens in Germany and France do not wear shorts? Sure, going to a nice restaurant in the evening would need to wear pants, but for sightseeing shorts are acceptable attire.

I’m one of the “weird” posters who said I would have the boys leave the shorts home - based on the fact that the trip is coming up, according to OP, and so shorts in Nov/Dec/Jan would just look goofy and off-season right now in Paris, even if it’s unseasonably warm.

I don’t understand all the posters who think wanting to dress nicely on a vacation in a major European city (or any major city, anywhere) is some sort of weird cosplay. My family steps up our game a little on vacation - it’s a sign of self-respect, we look nice for pictures, get treated a bit more nicely in restaurants and shops. We’re not talking about suits, for god’s sake. We’re talking about pants/nice jeans instead of shorts in Nov/Dec. Is it really such a sacrifice to be less of a slob than you are at home? Have a sense of occasion.

Um, ok. We were in Rome this summer and everyone, including us, was sweating through their clothes. We wore shorts and tried to stay as cool as possible. As did everyone else. We dress to be comfortable, not to "step it up".
DP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In Paris, we saw a lot of 90s style sweatshirts with "New York" on them. I was surprised to see this there, but there you go.

I spent two weeks in Paris and some smaller towns and didn't notice teen boys wearing the big basketball shorts and hoodies that boys wear here. I'd definitely go with jeans and a shirt that doesn't have words on it. My teens wore black stretchy pants (they hate jeans) and tee-shirts without words.

They will know you are American no matter what and bring you ketchup.

Other times, I was surprised to have French people start speaking to me in French. I think this is because I wore a scarf. Parisians love their scarves!

I also told my family they HAD to use knives. Americans tend to use their forks to cut instead of a knife. To be polite, I felt we should use utensils the French way.

What? I'm American and everyone in my family, as well as friends, use their knives to cut. That's a very strange generalization!

[Anonymous]

Let them wear what they are comfortable in. No reason to impress the French.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In Paris, we saw a lot of 90s style sweatshirts with "New York" on them. I was surprised to see this there, but there you go.

I spent two weeks in Paris and some smaller towns and didn't notice teen boys wearing the big basketball shorts and hoodies that boys wear here. I'd definitely go with jeans and a shirt that doesn't have words on it. My teens wore black stretchy pants (they hate jeans) and tee-shirts without words.

They will know you are American no matter what and bring you ketchup.

Other times, I was surprised to have French people start speaking to me in French. I think this is because I wore a scarf. Parisians love their scarves!

I also told my family they HAD to use knives. Americans tend to use their forks to cut instead of a knife. To be polite, I felt we should use utensils the French way.

Seriously, Americans use their knives to cut. The PP is nuts.
What? I'm American and everyone in my family, as well as friends, use their knives to cut. That's a very strange generalization!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your kids aren’t gonna look European, op, just give that dream up

That’s a dream? HAHAHA!

[Anonymous]

Marinière et béret.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It depends when you go. Who are these weird posters who think that teens in Germany and France do not wear shorts? Sure, going to a nice restaurant in the evening would need to wear pants, but for sightseeing shorts are acceptable attire.

I’m one of the “weird” posters who said I would have the boys leave the shorts home - based on the fact that the trip is coming up, according to OP, and so shorts in Nov/Dec/Jan would just look goofy and off-season right now in Paris, even if it’s unseasonably warm.

I don’t understand all the posters who think wanting to dress nicely on a vacation in a major European city (or any major city, anywhere) is some sort of weird cosplay. My family steps up our game a little on vacation - it’s a sign of self-respect, we look nice for pictures, get treated a bit more nicely in restaurants and shops. We’re not talking about suits, for god’s sake. We’re talking about pants/nice jeans instead of shorts in Nov/Dec. Is it really such a sacrifice to be less of a slob than you are at home? Have a sense of occasion.

Um, ok. We were in Rome this summer and everyone, including us, was sweating through their clothes. We wore shorts and tried to stay as cool as possible. As did everyone else. We dress to be comfortable, not to "step it up".
DP

You wore shorts in the middle of an Italian summer and PP recommended not wearing shorts in the middle of winter. What is your point?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have to admit when I watch the kids walking to school I'm always struck by how casual kids look today compared to when I was a teen in the 1990s. And we thought we were casual back then! Today's kids really do look like they just rolled out of bed and are going to school in whatever they slept in. At least in my day the boys would throw on a polo and khaki or jeans.

Anyway, from what I've seen/picked up from friends living in Europe, wearing athletic clothes as everyday clothes is very "working class" while the middle class kids wear jeans. Beyond that I wouldn't worry too much about it as long as you are well behaved and put in a bit of effort if going out to dinner.

I just got back from a week in London.
I was surprised how much everyone dresses alike, no matter where they are from.
I saw someone in Levis and cowboy boots, assumed he was American, and heard him speaking French.

I don't think it matters any more how you dress in Europe. Globalization has made everyone wear the same coats, hats, sneakers, carry the same bags, wear hoodies, baseball caps, etc. no matter where you are from.

Bring some nice pants and a dress shirt for going out to a nice restaurant, but for sightseeing, hoodies and sneakers/shorts are just fine.

Exactly this. And I can always tell who the try-hard tourists are because they cos-play the sterotypical "European sophisticate" and it's painfully obvious.

Exactly what does the stereotypical European sophisticate look like? I’m European and I have no idea what you are talking about.

[Anonymous]

There’s casual and there’s American teen boy casual.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No advertising that you are an American. Keep your sports hoodies and hats at home.

It's not the sports hoodies and hats. Europeans can spot an American man from a mile away. They walk differently, carry themselves differently, etc., and one is highly unlikely to nail European fashion unless they've been living there for a while.

And really, trying to fit in in Europe is sort of cringey. Respect is what you need to aim for, not fitting in.

There is no distinct European fashion anymore. In the last 20 years, fashion has become homogeneous.

Hmm, disagree. I think there are pockets of fashion norms everywhere, even within the US. But the main thing that gives it away is the walk and the body shape.

Not anymore. Europe is rather rotund now.

36% of American adults are obese compared with 21% of French adults. 71% more adults are obese in the US.

[Anonymous]

They should wear whatever they want. We go all the time and my teen boys have a basic wardrobe of plain vuori joggers, shorts, t shirts. They wear khakis, golf shorts, quarter zips to dinner and suits for really nice dinners. The people recommending “stepping it up” by wearing jeans are dingdongs. Jeans aren’t worn a lot and they are uncomfortable for a day of sightseeing, of course, your kids can wear them if they like them.

FWIW Europeans always think my kids are German or British.

[Anonymous]

OP, they are teen boys. They should be able to dress themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They should wear whatever they want. We go all the time and my teen boys have a basic wardrobe of plain vuori joggers, shorts, t shirts. They wear khakis, golf shorts, quarter zips to dinner and suits for really nice dinners. The people recommending “stepping it up” by wearing jeans are dingdongs. Jeans aren’t worn a lot and they are uncomfortable for a day of sightseeing, of course, your kids can wear them if they like them.

FWIW Europeans always think my kids are German or British.

Suits to dinner? I’m sure your kids enjoy those meal 🙄

Congrats

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No shorts and no crocs, but otherwise the same thing they were here. Some nicer restaurants have more formal dress codes, but nice jeans and a sweatshirt are fine. And yes, everyone understands English.

Agree with this. American branded sportswear is everywhere there. They will be totally fine, assuming no formal restaurants. Honestly, this whole thing about Europeans dressing better just wasn’t necessarily what I saw unless I was in a business district — same as in DC. I saw a mixture everywhere else, same as here. And, I was in areas with a lot of locals. The only significant difference I saw was that more people of all ages and both genders had scarves on.