I have a pretty bad memory so it is always interesting to me when I can recall something from my childhood that seems completely trivial. One such memory I still hold with me is a vow I made one middle school day standing in my driveway talking to some of my neighborhood friends. The quote isn’t verbatim, but it was something to the effect of, “I will always be a jeans and T-shirt guy”. I obviously had no idea where my life would lead and what kind of wardrobe it would require but I do remember being pretty serious about my statement. I sometimes wonder if the reason I am a jeans and T-shirt guy to this day is because I still remember that promise and have some inherit need to keep my word or if I really knew myself well enough at that age to realize I just couldn’t pull off a trench coat, scarf, and shiny black shoes. In either case, the practical result in my adult life is that I have absolutely no idea of how to buy clothing. I mean this in every possible sense you can imagine. I don’t understand color, style, size, or trends. I think I know if somebody is well dressed but I wouldn’t know where to start if I tried to go to the mall and imitate it. I went through a couple phases where I tried to grow up but I only ended up with clothes that I literally never wore outside that dressing room.
With this background you can understand that I was worried about fitting in clothes-wise when we got here. The (in)famous Euro look haunted me. Mainly, this was just my anxiety of being the clueless American fulfilling the all the stereotypes and drawing unwanted attention. In France I was pretty uncomfortable in most settings as I almost always felt underdressed. When I tried to compensate with my limited selection of ‘nice’ clothes (khakis and button shirts) we would find ourselves in a bar where I would be overdressed.
Now imagine a place where I feel 10 times more fashion illiterate. You’ve just imagined Zurich. Because I can’t even buy clothes I can’t correctly describe what I am seeing here. I’ll need to get some photos and put them up. Basically, I see dozens of men on the street everyday wearing outfits that cost more than my entire wardrobe. Sure, you will see a lot of jeans, but they are JEANS. Oh, and the shoes, and the jackets, and the shirts. Use your imagination.
The good thing for me is that the 10x factor has completely had the opposite effect on my clothing attitude. First, there is no way I could afford the clothes these guys are wearing. Second, there is no way I would feel the least bit comfortable wearing them. So, here I am. Sitting here in my jeans and T-shirt and feeling pretty dang good about myself after all. I was so smart in middle school.
I think the key is to avoid blue jeans. I'd think that black jeans and black T should always work. Add a dark leather or wool coat and anything but sneakers and you'll be good. There was an earlier comment relating to hot women's club fashions, but that doesn't help you much. Post some photos so we can see what men's fashion is like over there (no tight pants, please).
Barney's Bern, March 16, 2005 08:42 PM:black jeans and a black T? only if you're trying to be Erik Nikitas...
Bryan, March 17, 2005 11:41 AM:Hillarious. Gotta love the inside jokes. Yeah, the jeans are actually blue here. I haven't seen a whole lot of the SNL Dieter look going on. It's just that the jeans are those fancy ones that fit real well and look like they came right from the dry cleaners. I'll probably have to get a pair of those. I just need to figure out where to draw the line.
Scop, March 19, 2005 06:56 AM:Easy, no Berets, form-fitting turtlenecks, and definately none of those expensive Moccassins (sp?) that all the magazines seem to think are in.
J, March 20, 2005 01:13 AM:Or you could just give 'em all the finger and wear nothing but Old Navy like Steve and I. We're going shopping there together on Sunday, let me know if you need anything. LOL.
Hey - Erik would blend in over there well!
Aargh! Thar She Blows!, April 15, 2005 09:44 PM:Cuz mesh t-shirts are HOT in Zurich.