This thread started off with someone asking how NOT to look like an American. It's true that as soon as an American opens his/her mouth he/she is going to be pegged for a foreigner. I think the issue is how to blend in as much as possible. Some Argentines affect an "American" look but by their physical appearance and demeanor they are clearly Argentine. In general Argentines are conservative dressers who go for a classic look, especially among professionals. Dressing simply helps one to blend in. Argentines can wear shorts and baseball caps and still look Argentine; Americans can't so if they want to blend in a little they should be more conservative in their dress when in Argentina.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
Common Attire
- Thread starter xipher
- Start date
Jeans and tshirts are mostly all I see on people who are not in work clothes. As for the suggestion to buy clothes here be aware that the local brands are mostly inferior quality and higher priced than what you'll find at home. But there are imports but that defeats the purpose of buying here.
Recoleta Carolina
Registered
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2009
- Messages
- 180
- Likes
- 45
diego7david said:with all the responses this seems to be a "warm" topic
i have to interject with one of my first big mistakes language wise down here during my first hot summer, when i went around introducing myself and saying, hola, me llamo david, soy caliente. thinking with the heat it was a bland, non-offensive way to start a conversation. little did i know for three months that "soy caliente' meant, i'm horny, not so much that i was hot !
but:
asking about cloths falls into a couple of categories
1. what to bring to fit the climate or what is a bargain to buy here so i dont bring it.
2. what is appropriate to fit the culture
3. what to wear and do so as not to be attractive to be a victim of crime
4. how to try and fit in so i dont get ripped off, and i will still maintain that no matter how one dresses, the minute you speak, if your not from buenos aires, they will know you are a tourist. (although to be fair, some of you really have learned the language and im jealous)
addendum
i personally find almost every where i've been in argentina to be very welcoming to me, as a foreigner (with a smile and an hola), and so far, to my low intellectual level, have not felt particularly "ripped off" anywhere.
What????? Aren't you the guy who just last week was complaining because you found out that your portero was using your apartment as a love nest when you are not in town, and, as a result, you installed a camera system, etc. to keep an eye on your apartment when you are not there. If I am not mistaken, you ended your post by saying that "it never ends." This is a form of being ripped off (at least to my way of thinking).
diego7david
Registered
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2007
- Messages
- 187
- Likes
- 15
to recoleta caroline - yes, thats being ripped off. i guess i was sort of thinking about what cloths make you blend in and street crime and because one was obviously a tourist since that was what the post started out with being about. but i dont think that the portero ripped me off specifically because i was a foreigner. he used my apt and i presume he would have used it whether it was a portenos or a foreigners apt, as long as he knew the person wasnt going to be there for several months. he was also, like most porteros, taking a cut of all repair activity in the building, which of course involves everyone in the building. and i am the only foreigner in the building. so i dont consider that anything to do with being a foreigner, but youre right, its another form of crime. it has to do with porters taking advantage of tenants. and porters in most building in most countries (i happen to have properties in several countries) do usually take a percentage of all building repairs etc from contractors working in the buildings. i still maintain that argentina is a much safer place than many places south of usa borders. try living/walking/visiting/living around mexico city, peru, rio - or most of brazil for that matter, or paraguay. etc. if one wants backup that ba is a much safer place to be.
I'm afraid to comment for fear I will be personally attacked by Ms Carolina or Mr. Steve, but this still kind of amazes me. Do people really worry about things like this? I am an old man, I have traveled extensively on every continent except Antarctica on earth, and not once has it occurred to me to worry about how I dressed or that I might be "picked out" as not a local. Well, yes. I am not a local. I am a vagabond. I am passing through this city (even if I will probably be passing through for quite a few years); I was last in another city on another continent, and in a few years I will be in yet another city on another continent. If I was trying to pretend to belong to all those places, I would feel like a clown. People who belong in those places make the commitment and stay there for all their lives; the rest of us pass through. I think the locals laugh their heads off at we travelers when we think we are "blending in." I am sorry if I have offended those who want to blend in to a city they hate.
sergio said:"Jeans and tshirts are mostly all I see on people who are not in work clothes" Cujodu
In Barrio Norte, especially Recoleta, there are plenty of people dressed elegantly, especially women. Adjust your eye glasses.
I don't frequent either. And don't desire to. But tell me, are those "people dressed elegantly" the exception or the rule. I did say "mostly." Adjust your attitude. Put some energy into coming up with an original and helpful post rather than only trying one-up everyone else's post. Why are people on this board so anxious to jump all over what other people say. Funking arseholes really.
You know, cujodu, it's not that I disagree with your messages, but couldn't you have said it with less venom?
it is the nature of expats website all over the world that they are dominated by the whiners and moaners. It is the nature of the beast. I read these as entertainment, and sometimes for information, and that means it's not worth getting much worked up over.
it is the nature of expats website all over the world that they are dominated by the whiners and moaners. It is the nature of the beast. I read these as entertainment, and sometimes for information, and that means it's not worth getting much worked up over.
The locals don't wear shorts when it's blazing hot & humid?I love my shorts, so I wear then anyway, but it is a clear yanqui identifier...
If that's the case, so be it. I did observe this in Panama City, Panama when I was there last year.
Makes me wonder how they stand it, but that's my "gringo-ness" I suppose..
dsc said:The locals don't wear shorts when it's blazing hot & humid?
If that's the case, so be it. I did observe this in Panama City, Panama when I was there last year.
Makes me wonder how they stand it, but that's my "gringo-ness" I suppose..
Generalization based on my observations primarily in Barrio Norte, but visits to other places in BsAs and time in Rosario as well: Argentine women nearly *never* shorts that I have observed. Tight-fitting pants/jeans or skirts/dresses. Even for sports, two common ones are tennis (tennis skirt/shorts) and for girls field hockey (skirt/shorts).
Argentine men rarely wear shorts as well, with one huge exception: shorts for playing futbol! All of the other sports too, but "futbol attire" (shorts, high socks (probably hanging down around the ankle) and sneakers) is common on the weekends.
I think I've seen a few other occasions men were wearing dressier shorts, but they were fairly rare.
They "stand it" because they are used to it. I hated wearing shorts until I was about 25 (in Nebraska/Kansas summer heat!). Since then, I wear them exclusively from April to October (northern hemisphere) and now October to March.
