"Why are americans less stylish than europeans/japanese?"

Blog

Forum

Finds

"Why are americans less stylish than europeans/japanese?"

Irene

Veteran

An American friend of mine posted this on his facebook wall lol

http://marginalrevolution.com/.....anese.html

Actually, there some good points in the responses, like the fact that because cities are more crowded in Europe and people take public transport much more often, ithey take more care of their apperances.

Anyways, the writer has obviously never seen any of you in your great outfits!!

13 years ago

General

6 replies

Latest reply was from JR

Anonymous

People who write stuff like that have probably only seen American tourists, who more often than not look sloppy. There are plenty of Americans who dress well.

13 years ago

Irene

Veteran

Just so it's clear, I found this curious, but I obviously DO NOT agree!!

13 years ago

Makrame

Veteran

I only read about 1/3 of the page you linked to so I am not sure whether this was discussed there but I think someone on YLF (or maybe some other site) had discussed how there is a lot more "people watching" going on in Europe (or in large urban centers in the US) compared to most american cities/regions. When you spend a lot of time walking city streets or using public transportation, you are much more visible to other people and also see more of other people compared to sitting inside a car. More or less what you said in you initial post, and in general a different culture of people looking at and evaluating others.

Now, that said, we could also argue about relative stylishness of americans vs. europeans, and I am not sure what to think of that (i.e., is there an actual difference in the degree of stylishness). Certainly not the case if you compare NYC with any European city, or at least that's my impression. (I am not an American by birth but have lived here for a long time so I don't think I have any bias one way or the other).

Ruth, speaking of tourists, I had a really funny experience in Italy. I was paying attention to how people were dressed, and noticed that everyone, including American tourists, was dressed in a fairly similar style (a lot of dark denim, nice jackets, stylish scarves). So I said to myself: "I don't understand why people often comment on the American tourists' lack of style". Then we got to the Delta gate in the airport to fly back, and suddenly we were in a sea of baggy, light-blue jeans, t-shirts and white sneakers. I still don't know what to make of this.

13 years ago

Anonymous

Were the sloppy people at the Delta gate headed South, to FL or GA perhaps? That would explain it, I think. My DH's cousin (in Nicaragua) always thought Americans dressed very casually because the only Americans she ever came in contact with lived in FL. It wasn't until her DD went to college in VA that she realized there are also Americans who dress nicely. She was pleasantly surprised, as the women in Central America don't dress casually.. I know from living down there for 8 years. Even the maids would dress nicely (dress and heels) to ride the bus, change into work clothes to cook and clean house, and then change back into their nice clothes to catch the bus to get back home. They were poor, but clean and nicely dressed. I always thought that was remarkable, considering how they walk long distances just to get to the bus stop.

I personally have taken enough cruises and trips back and forth to Central America to know that just about everyone I've seen in GA and FL airports dress casually. On the other hand, there are some women I know who just moved here from France, and they don't dress any better than I do. I'm not a casual dresser, and I'm not saying they look bad. Not in the least! But it would be a real stretch to say they're more stylish than many American women I know. They aren't.

In the end, though, it's not a good idea to make generalizations unless you're a seasoned traveler, have lived in many places around the world, and are therefore qualified to make them. Who am I to say Americans are all sloppy or that Europeans are better dressed than Americans, or whatever? I haven't been around enough to know. I can, however, comment on how women dress in Central America. I've been there long enough and frequently enough to know. Also, my DH and his family are from that part of the world.

13 years ago

Mander

(website)

Veteran

Hmm, I have a couple of objections. One, "stylish" is not a universal concept. One's subculture or taste (e.g. goth, gangsta, country) carries different rules about what is and is not stylish. Second, I suspect that it's more of a rural/urban distinction than an American/European one. Little old ladies in rural Spain and France can be just as frumpy as little old ladies in rural Kansas or Ohio. When a New Yorker takes a vacation in Paris, nobody notices them because they dress like an urban sophisticate and they are used to a big city.

13 years ago

Veteran

Mander has a very good point. Urban/rural is a very important demographic divide, with urban generally more concerned about style and rural more concerned about functionality. This, of course, has all the failings that dividing humanity into two groups of people has, but there is some real truth to it. I know a lot of Italian frumps. And then there's my husband's brilliant and highly eccentric cousin who lives in Rome and deliberately dresses like he lives on the streets, in order to deflect the attention of thieves. But he is in a category of his own, no matter how you slice and dice humanity...

13 years ago

Category