Fashion in Europe

It's probably a sign of my youth that I'm this fashion conscious about going to a foreign country. I don't want to stick out as an American, especially as Americans are evidently hated by the rest of the world. Or at the very least, we're considered rude and loud. If you heard my mother's family all together during Christmas, you'd believe the loud bit at least. I'm sure some of the rudeness is just a cultural difference. I was always of the "when in Rome" way of traveling. Recently, I've changed my mind a bit. It's so hard to find what people find socially acceptable. Forums and websites offer conflicting views - probably because of regional and generational differences. Taking this into mind, it seems a lot more reasonable that people will make gaffes that are considered rude.

Back to fashion, though. Rumor has it no one wears flip-flops - my summer shoe of choice - in Europe. I began flipping through fashion blogs to see if there's a general "style" that's big in Poland. When I was last in Dublin I noticed that women rarely wore jeans or pants. Tights and dresses were the thing. Heels or at the very least boots were required. Hairstyles tended to be wavy and look almost unbrushed, and heavy make-up was only popular among a certain "punk" group of teenagers.

My pre-departure "how to learn a foreign language" class (required) warned about dressing in a manner that fit the culture. Especially for women wanting to avoid unnecessary catcalls or attention of any kind, dressing more modestly than normal might be required. In America, mini skirts are now the size of belts, and if a skirt is an inch or two below your butt, it's considered acceptable. Understandably, I'm worried about what will be considered acceptable elsewhere.

At least the weather will stay cool - the 60s and 70s - and rainy, encouraging some of my cuter outfits. My mom keeps telling me that when she was in Poland (when she was 18, as the stirrings of Solidarity were beginning) blue jeans were very high fashion. Evidently they smuggled jeans in and sold them on the black market. Which sounds very exciting, but a little bit like it could not be true anymore.

For now, I'll just shop for appropriate summer footwear and pack just enough outfits to get by.