Who said it was okay to wear casual shorts as a tourist in a big city? Nobody. So why are you wearing them?
You know who you are. I estimate your age as between 30 and 60.
Women older than that left their gardening clothes at home and wore pants or even a dress. They (me too) were born in an age when "appropriate" was part of the dress code. Those habits die hard.
Younger women? My personal opinion about what to wear in a city will be irrelevant; I understand.
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| "What? Me worry?" |
By shorts I don't mean “city shorts”, those to-the-knee-ish, tailored shorts. I never saw anyone wearing them. I saw instead a sea of full-on in-your-backyard short shorts.
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| City shorts never caught on. |
Are you older than 30? It’s time to grow up. Shorts are fine at home. We live in casual times, and summer is a little hot for yoga wear. But a city is a city, and they don't get any more "city" than Washington, DC.
For once men out-dressed the women. Men in suits were everywhere. And there were well-dressed women of many ages. Of course these people were
all government workers or diplomats or presidential candidates. I could tell they weren't tourists because they walked fast.
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| I didn't see this guy. |
I'm in my mid-seventies and was brought up like you to be dressed appropriately for the occasion - this involved summer hats and gloves worn with a summer dress when going out. Seems amazing to think of now. I like the fact that these days anything goes but it does mean that a lot of women do themselves no favours! My tip to a friend who was going to Venice for the first time was to dress properly, not like a tourist. She was keen to practise her newly learnt Italian and came home delighted that the Venetians had presumed from her choice of clothes that she was local and had struck up conversations with her. (You'll only find me in shorts in the garden or on the beach!)
ReplyDeleteSame thing happened to me in Venice! I was wearing a DRESS, and a gentleman started talking to me in Italian. Unlike your friend I am tongue-tied in Italian, but I liked being mistaken for one.
DeleteOh, excellent - I'll tell my friend!
DeleteDo you have some ideas for men also?
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I’ve very much enjoyed reading your blog from the beginning—too bad that the book deal fell through as I love your writing style. Am looking forward to your commentary on Fall fashions. I too love the anticipation of the September editions, although last year I was rather disappointed by what was on offer. Even the ads didn’t really show any clothing—it seemed like the ad companies focused on the accessories part of their business. Although I know that this is where the money is, it was nonetheless disappointing. Hoping to see more fashion shots and ads this year.
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Thank you for those nice comments. I know I've written less lately, because haven't I covered it all??? But something will always get me going and no doubt it will be fall fashion. Stay tuned!
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