wear running shoes jeans
I am not a fashion expert, and I don’t claim to be one. The point of this guide isn’t to teach you how to look “European.” In fact, there isn’t really a “European” look. Just like in America, Europeans wear all styles of clothes and it varies from country to country. That said, styles do tend to be a little more “dressy,” but many younger (under 30) Europeans are moving toward a more casual, t-shirt and jeans wardrobe.I’ve created a new guide to women’s fashion in Europe with female fashion tips and advice. The guide you’re reading now is geared towards mens style. In fact, I really don’t think there is a huge difference between what the average 22- year-old American wears and what their European counterparts wear. Anyway, this is a guide to help you “blend in” so you’re not taken for a tourist from 100 yards away. If nothing else, this guide will help you look like a European tourist (as opposed to an American tourist). Running/Athletic Shoes: Unless they’re doing something athletic, most Europeans don’t wear athletic shoes.
This doesn’t mean you have to wear nice “dress” shoes, but you should avoid the solely “athletic” style shoes. If nothing else, avoid white shoes. White shoes are the calling card of American tourists. Flip-flops: You only want to wear these on the beach or in the hostel showers. Athletic Shorts/Pants: Much like athletic shoes, Europeans don’t wear athletic clothing unless they are playing sports. Some of Europe’s “seedier” people wear a lot of track suits (and similar clothes), so avoid those if you don’t want to be mistaken for a troublemaker. Shorts: In general, Europeans view shorts as children’s clothing. This is starting to change a little though. Shorts are becoming more popular in England, and you’ll find them in southern Europe. (However, you should avoid wearing khaki cargo shorts as this is another trademark American tourist stereotype.) I would still avoid shorts. Lightweight cotton pants work well, even in the heat. Sweatpants: Come on, this is Europe — not your 8:00am History 101 class.
They look bad and they’re too bulky to travel with anyway. Baseball Caps: Baseball caps are pretty synonymous with Americans, although, rap and hip-hop culture is very popular in much of Europe, so you do see a lot of people dressing like American hip-hop stars (complete with baseball caps). I would still avoid them though. White Athletic Socks: Leave the white socks in Chicago. Actually, this isn’t a huge deal, but many Europeans tend to wear socks that match their pants (i.e. not white). Well-Fitting Clothes: Europeans tend to wear better fitting clothes. You really won’t find many people wearing “oversized” styles. Limited Bright Colors: Many Europeans tend to wear more subdued colors, but I think many are starting to wear more color (especially younger people). You can’t go wrong with black, gray, and other earth tones. Scarves: Everyone wears scarves when the temperature starts dropping. You’ll probably look out of place without one. Daytime/Sight-Seeing Clothing: During the day, you’re going to be visiting the sights with a million other tourists.
The only thing keeping you out of the super trendy nightclubs will be your shoes.
women's running shoe sale ukAlthough, many of these clubs have expensive cover charges and overpriced alcohol, so these are not places for budget backpackers anyways. Don’t worry because there are still many fine nightclubs that you’ll be able to visit without needing $200+ shoes. Topshop & Topman — British chain of clothing stores that operates in more than 20 countries. Geared toward the “hip” 16-25 crowd. H&M — A Swedish clothing company that is popular all over Europe and in the US. They are known for being fashionable and fairly inexpensive. Urban Outfitters – Urban Outfitters has spread across Europe and can be found in a few countries. A lot of the stuff there should work well. Zara — A Spanish retail store that sells fashionable clothes. They’re located all over the world, but have a heavy presence in Europe.
The Sartorialist — An amazing blog that features photographs of “real life” European fashion. A lot of this stuff is really fashion-forward. None of it is practical for backpacking, but it is kind of interesting to look at. Support The Savvy Backpacker - It's Easy! We hope you’ve found this article helpful. We get a depressingly small commission when you purchase anything on Amazon after you’ve clicked the link — this helps us keep the site running… & buys us a few beers. Plus, it doesn’t cost you anything extra! Thanks for all your support & click here to learn more about supporting us!Single women are really judgmental. And they need to be. They don’t have all the time in the world to figure out if a guy is worth their time, so they’ve honed in on a few key things men do on first dates that are reliable indicators of their (lack of) fitness as potential mates. The one most often overlooked by men is what to wear; To get a more accurate sense of how women judge a guy’s shoes on a first date, we surveyed 434 young, straight, single American women.
bestseller in its category. They covered almost everything a normal guy might wear on a date. We asked the women to imagine casual lunch dates with different guys wearing different shoes—and to rate what each shoe type says about the guy wearing them. We got more than 110,000 individual ratings, and more than 2,000 write-in comments. The women showed very similar tastes, both in what they liked and what they loathed. Their preferences were strong, consistent, simple and—once we crunched all the numbers and analyzed all the comments—broke down into seven major insights that every single man could use going into their next first date. 1. WEAR SHOES THAT COVER YOUR FEET Women hated every single sandal we showed them—Crocs, Birkenstocks, KEENs, Nike slides, Reef flip-flops, it didn’t matter. These all said, “I have no sense of style, I’m not interested in this date, I have contempt for you as a woman, I’m a lazy loser.” One woman said “Oh God!” out loud when she saw these, and not in a good way.
Unless your first date is at a hacky sack tournament or a nudist colony, women do not want to see your toes; they want your foot properly covered in a proper shoe. 2. WEAR LEATHER SHOESThe top seven shoes we showed had entirely leather uppers. The only shoes in the Top 14 that didn’t were Vans and Converse All-Stars—the classic casual sneaker. By contrast, of the 10 lowest-rated shoes, seven were mostly plastic. There was nothing specifically appealing about leather, per se, it was more that leather shoes look nicer, which codes to women that you are at least making an effort. On the first date, that’s all most women are looking for. So just wear the leather. Even if your date proves to be a vegan who morally disapproves of slaughtering a defenseless animal, skinning it and wrapping it around your feet, it’s light years better than shoving your grubby bare toes in her face. And—bonus!—your leather may have saved you from a tedious, frigid relationship with a humorless killjoy.
3. WEAR NORMAL SHOES, NOT BOOTS Of our 12 top-rated shoes, only one was a boot (the Red Wing Iron Ranger, $300). Most of the boots scored in the middle of the rankings, including the Clarks chukkas, the Red Wing chukkas, the Timberlands, and the cowboy boots. You might think the boots are making you look manly, confident, protective and sexy, but most women don’t see them that way. They’re mostly just thinking “Meh, boots, whatever.” Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. There was a statistically significant strain of cowboy lust among our survey participants, for instance. The problem is that you’re unlikely to know that about a woman before the first date, so you’re better off just wearing normal shoes to be on the safe side. 4. DON’T WEAR ATHLETIC SHOES Vans and Converse scored O.K., but they’re more “stylish casual” sneakers than true tennis shoes or cross-trainers. The true athletic shoes—Merrell hiking shoes, Asics running shoes, Innov-8 minimalist cross-trainers, Brooks walkers, KEENs water-sports shoes, and FiveFingers Paleo-training shoes—all scored in the bottom half of the rankings.
Women are just not impressed if you wear athletic shoes on a date. For those of you who were considering wearing one of these shoes, we know you think they say, “I’m strong, fit and sexy.” You know what does? Your stomach, your jawline and the fit of your shirt over your chest, shoulders and arms—things you can’t hide or fake with a pair of shoes that actually say, “I’m poor, have bad taste, don’t respect you as a woman, and didn’t care about getting myself together for this date.” 5. DON’T SPEND A LOT Two of the three top-rated shoes in the survey cost less than $100: the Kenneth Cole Reaction Sim-Plicity ($98) and the Dockers Gordon ($50). In fact, 80 percent of the shoes we showed women cost less than $200. Shoe price correlated zero with overall rating, and only modestly with how much women thought the shoe cost. You don’t have to break the bank when you’re shopping for shoes. There are plenty of simple, classic, reasonably priced options that women find acceptable and appealing.
Besides, on a first date women aren’t looking to see how much you spend on yourself. 6. STYLISH SHOES MAKE YOU LOOK LIKE A MAN Young men, especially, tend to worry that stylish shoes will make them look gay or feminine. Nothing could be further from the truth. Women rated the more stylish, dressy, leather shoes as more manly and masculine, and as making the guy look more sexually experienced, more mature, and better able to protect and defend them physically. In fact, the Kenneth Cole dressy Oxford ($98) was rated more manly than the Red Wing Heritage Iron Ranger combat-style boot ($300); the To Boot Winston stylish oxford ($375) was rated more manly than the Laredo Castle Rock cowboy boot ($125) and the Cole Haan Winter Saddle ($198) was rated more manly than the Red Wing Heritage Work chukka ($250). Remember, looking nice and put together is the outward expression of inner confidence. And for women, confidence is the manliest of masculine virtues. 7. WEAR SHOES THAT SHOW YOU MADE AN EFFORT
Too many guys think looking cool and casual is the key to getting laid on the first date. As a result, American guys tend to under-dress, and wear shoes that are much too casual for a first date. In our survey, we described our hypothetical guy as wearing quality jeans and a casual shirt, for a weekend lunch date at a local restaurant, and even then women hardly ever complained that stylish shoes made a guy look over-dressed. In fact, women equate stylish shoes with, “This guy is interested in the date, respects me, wants to impress me, and is considerate, kind, and mature.” You might think that dressing up for a date says “I’m desperate,” but most women just think it means “I am confident, mature and bright enough to know that this is appropriate footwear for a real man to wear on a real date with a real woman.” And real women find that very attractive. Young single men, this advice from America’s single women can help you put your best foot forward. Just do us a favor and don’t put that foot in your mouth before the check comes.