hey im going to Berlin, Germany from september 18- september 26 with my cousin Dani.
we are meeting our family for the first time, so we want to look really cute. only problem is, i dont think germany has as hot of weather as Michigan has around that time.
so if any of you know what the weather is like in Berlin in late september, please let us know. I’d hate to show up in a skirt and flip flops and it be like 20 degrees.
also, does anybody remcommend what NOT to wear over there? because my cousin Katja…..who is in germany….and all her friends only seem to wear very simple clothing with simple colors like grey, black, and white.
however, me and Dani wear anything from hot pink knee high boots to mini skirts with crazy patterns to designer sunglasses.
i dont want to look goofy over there and stand out, so help me here.
thanks much,
meggi
Stay away from bright colors, I guess.
Try not to dress too casual.
The weather should be fine, although it will probably rain a lot.
why stay away from bright colors?
and too casual? does this mean they dress up a lot?
It’s hard to explain.
It’s just that Americans are really easy to pick out, usually.
If you don’t mind being recognizable as an America from a block away, you can pretty much wear whatever you want.
The European idea of casual is a little less casual and a bit more polished than ours.
Americans tend to dress like they are going to do a bit of yard work.
I noticed something along those lines while I was in Ireland a week ago, particularly in Galway where people had come from all over Europe for an Arts Festival. I could pick out the Americans (and I’m sure I too stuck out like a sore thumb) and the Europeans. The Europeans tended to just care more about their clothes (not always, of course, I know fashion-conscious Americans exist) and Americans looked more… I think “schlumpy” was the word I used while I was there.
that really surprises me. maybe its cause i come from a ritzier side of town. but all the people here look like fashion models. at least in my high school. even by the malls and stuff, parents and older people are becoming more fashionable. and i can always pick out the german exchange students because they always seen to dress in no color and they always wear scarves and they always seem like their hair is fried and undone. however, the people IN germany seem to be a little more stylish.
so i was a little unsure of what they would think of americas more ….lets say…..more flashy side of fashion. i fit in perfectly here, but i dont want to look like a hooker or anything over there.
I suppose it’s all about perspective. I don’t consider Americans to have a flashy fashion sense. Pockets of Americans do, sure, but not overwhelmingly so from what I personally have seen up and down the east coast. That’s only based on my perspective, though… I’m not suggesting it’s factual.
I also think that (again, in my experience) Americans tend to go for comfort when traveling… jeans, t-shirts, sweatshirts to ward of chill… not their fancier attire. So when I was abroad and saw American tourists dressed the way I just described, it was easy to pluck them out among the generally more hip clothes of Europeans. And I was in Ireland, not Germany, so maybe that changes it all around.
Not a clue… just interjecting my own personal experiences, observations and opinions. Either way, enjoy your time there.
I agree – I’d avoid bright colors. The darker and more muted colors are much more popular. My entire wardrobe when i lived in Germany was black, grey and some maroon when I wanted to be really wild. Jeans are fine. nothing (NOTHING) with a big designer label. no sweatshirts. try to wear some black boots/shoes for walking in – make sure they’re comfortable. I wore my black doc martins and was fine – with skirts and pants – but most women i saw wore black shoes with a slight heel. On cobblestone, i don’t know how they did it, but tennis shoes were rare. and even then, they were nicer canvas tennis shoes – not nikes or adidas. Get some sandals for september. birkenstocks or something similar. skirts with a pattern should be fine.
In Berlin you’ll be able to get away with more fashion statements than in other places. so don’t fret too much. you can always buy when you get there too, which is what i always do (the fashions are so much better than here in the states and Berlin has some funky resale shops). just wear things that are comfortable – especially shoes. You’ll be walking all over the place. it’ll be warm in september. the weather patterns are very similar to MI/WI/MN and in a big city it’s going to be warmer than in the country. expect 70s and 80s. You can google weather berlin too.
thanks, you have no idea how much that helped me.
Huh? No colors? I see tons of people wearing colors in Germany! I see things like a bright green skirt paired with pink fishnet tights, or someone in a bright red coat, etc. You also see plenty of people dressed in all black. I don’t think you’ll stick out if you wear bright colors, though. Mini skirts in crazy patterns? See it all the time.
Germans in general tend to look very put-together. Hair done, makeup on, wearing a skirt or some nice dark denim jeans with a little black boot. I think as long as you look put together like that, you won’t stand out as a tourist. You might stand out a little as someone with a bright fun style, but isn’t that what you’re going for when you wear hot pink knee-high boots anyway?
As for weather, it can be both warm or cool during the time period you mentioned, and will probably be both. There are days in September that I’ve worn a tank top and shorts, and other days when I’ve needed long pants and a light jacket. Usually if it rains, it’s also chilly. So bring the skirt and flipflops if you want, but also bring some long pants, closed shoes, and a light rain jacket, and check the weather before you go out.
Why do you care about what the people in Germany would think about you? It’s obvious that you wouldn’t be comfortable in those boring clothes. I visited Germany September last year (I’m from Norway), and me and my friends wore bright tights, mini skirts, high heeled boots or converse, huge bug shades and striped socks in loads of colours all the time. Of course we bumped into a bunch of German youths at a hostel, and they all started laughing, but we simply didn’t care :) (some of us said some nasty stuff, but their english was “ehh” so they didn’t get it.)
Anyway, dress the way you want, stand out, be cool and different! :D