Going native...

I have been wanting to do this post for weeks now.  D and I have admired European fashion the entire time we have been here. I sincerely appreciate the great variety we see in the Grand Place daily.  Truly, it is very difficult to stick out, there are just so many different styles, colors, piercings, etc.  I see winter clothes on warm days, summer clothes on cold days and all different colors in the clothes.  My favorite clothing items have been orange plaid pants (most recently seen, therefore leaving an impression), lederhosen (a perennial favorite), and costumes seen at the Cologne train station (we happened to be there on 11/11, which is the beginning of their Carnival and people dress up - and they go all out, we saw cows, cowboys, monkey suits, hippies, lady bugs, you name it).

D and I have made some observations regarding general Euro fashion - or more appropriately said, Belgian fashion.  Por homme we see that white shoes are ALWAYS available and popular. The rules about no white shoes after Labor Day are not in effect here.  Por femme we see a lot of the 80's style boots - just above ankle with a pie wedge toe and heel.  We also see a lot of spike boots - 2-4 inch heels that are ridiculous on cobble stone roads.  I truly don't know how they don't twist an ankle.

Scarves are THE thing to wear.  They have beautiful and warm scarves, weird and eccentric scarves - and they are worn all year round.  Since Belgium is so close to the ocean, the temperature can fluctuate quite a bit.  Rain and sun and clouds all in the same day is normal here.  Therefore, warm and cool clothes somewhat mix - and a scarf is about perfect to keep you warm when it is chilly on the warm day, but also wonderfully warm on a cold day.  People wouldn't necessarily wear a jacket but we rarely see people without scarves.

Furthermore, the sizing on clothes is a bit off  - at least by American standards.  The arms (in jackets, shirts, sweaters) seem a bit short.  This is more uncomfortable than a problem - the US is going toward longer sleeves (which I LOVE) but that can even go to excess.  However, if given the choice, the longer sleeves are preferable.  But the more concerning bit is that pants, shirts, sweaters, etc are worn quite tight - for both men and women.  We are used to seeing young ladies wear tight clothes in the US (at least teenagers) and there is a move for guys to do the same.  I know that there are teenage boys doing this in the US as well, but then there is the addition of the pants only going up as far as the middle to lower portion of the rear end, never up to the waist.  Here, I see very little of that, as a matter of fact, when I see it I think they are American.  

Fridays are our favorite days because D gets off work early and we have a couple of hours to go shopping together on the Grand Place.  Usually I will do some advance work to find stores with good prices and the items we are interested in looking at or buying.  They have some wicked expensive stuff (G Star Raw is a brand that we see a lot of ads for here that we have found in the store - 55 Euro T-Shirt!!  The jeans are 200+.  That is ridiculous) as well as cheap stuff.  Both are interesting.  We had the idea that D couldn't possibly go back to the US without an outfit that showed his more sensitive Euro side.   

Now I really like this outfit - really! The sweater is warm and attractive (no Mr. Rogers here) and the shoes are actually Le Cox Sportif knock-offs (LCS is a serious brand that has the French rooster, the Cox part, as its logo and is expensive) which makes them that much more endearing to us. The scarf is warm and attractive, with a jacket or not.

D has a slightly tacky crinkle shirt and manpri's that I haven't been able to get modeled for me yet (he is looking for the right shirt for the manpri's - Renee, you suggested it months ago and when we saw them on sale, we really couldn't resist. I am frightened because I actually like the way they look on D.) If we can find something this afternoon, I may have an update with the manpris.

This then leaves me with the thought - are we going native? Have we lost our US fashion chops? Will we need to detox when we get home by spending hours of rehab in the malls? Frightening, I know. Thankfully, I already have a date with a girlfriend to hit the thrift stores in the good old USA upon my return. I will keep you posted as to our recovery.