Standing out like a tourist...

[yoga*bird]

Paint on your jeans and wear tons of tight clothes. No really, if you want some good advice, come with some great basic quality clothes and then buy your accessories and a few fashionable sweaters or tops and shoes here and you will fit right in.

 

[BAwithkids]

Paint on your jeans and wear tons of tight clothes.

Is the tight clothes thing men and women, or just women?

 

[steveinbsas]

Is the tight clothes thing men and women, or just women?

It might depend on sexual orientation.

(I didn't see very many men wearing spandex in CF.)

 

[Kahretsem]

I hope you just wish to blend in without looking ridiculous and not run from your nationality.
I have been here for three months and I generally use my clothes from abroad and have added with some shirts. Wear what is comfortable for your.
The golden rule, as I see it, is to use long pants at work and dinner. The rest is quite relaxed. It is only depending on how vain you are. When I came here I complained a little about the temperature and this rule as I come from cold Denmark. The answer from my collegue was: "Well, you are not Argentine". So I do not know if it is a disaster to brake the rule if you are about to die from the heat.
In our spare time we dress according to weather like the rest. Short pants(not tight shorts for running) - pants covering the knees and flip-flops. At this time I still wear short sleeved shirts and my collegues laughes, but this season is like the Danish summer .

Another rule, as posted in the beginning, is to look like you know where you are. We have several times been adressed by Portenos with fundamentle Castellano. So we can also look like the locals. If you are lost a taxi can help you. The travel book warn about using the taxis, and using a remis instead. This time seems to be over. I have had no problems with the regular taxis at all.

Come and enjoy the life in Argentina and do not forget your big sun glasses

 

[BAwithkids]

I hope you just wish to blend in without looking ridiculous and not run from your nationality.
I have been here for three months and I generally use my clothes from abroad and have added with some shirts. Wear what is comfortable for your.
The golden rule, as I see it, is to use long pants at work and dinner. The rest is quite relaxed.

Thanks for your helpful post. I'm not interested in blending in so much as not standing out as a tourist for pickpockets, etc. You mentioned long pants - is this true for men and women? Are capris common for women? I assume skirts are...

 

[glasgowjohn]

I agree that it's best to blend in to avoid being seen as a tourist.

But my problem is that I have been wearing a kilt since i came out of short trousers/pants.

Any advice?

So far I havent been pick pocketed but my sporran can't take any more surreptitious fondling in the Subte.....

 

[nikad]

Another thing that gives you out as a tourist or foreigner is the personal space thing: local couples usually hold hands when walking or the man puts his arm around the woman´s waist or shoulder, while tourists walk as if they were school mates... same with parents and their kids.

 

[LAtoBA]

Thanks for your helpful post. I'm not interested in blending in so much as not standing out as a tourist for pickpockets, etc. You mentioned long pants - is this true for men and women? Are capris common for women? I assume skirts are...

The thing is, at least in the city, thieves are equal opportunists. At some point nearly everyone becomes a victim of crime or knows someone who has been a victim of crime. Thieves don't discriminate here.

They will steal from you if you are a tourist, they will steal from you if you are Argentine, they will steal from you if you are a male and they will steal from you if you are female.....and so on.

The only reason I can see why tourists are more likely to be victims is not because they stand out, but because they have this preconceived, romantic notion of Buenos Aires being the "Paris of South America" and being more sophisticated, chic and safer than it really is.

Buenos Aires is still a "rugged" city, which depending on the day can make your experience non-generic and interesting, or down right frustrating. Depending on how you view the glass here will influence which experience you choose. If you can remember that you're not in Paris or Beverly Hills, and can't wear your wedding ring during the day, even in upscale Recoleta, without becoming a target.....you'll be fine.

Forget about the clothes. Mind set is more important.

 

[Kahretsem]

Thanks for your helpful post. I'm not interested in blending in so much as not standing out as a tourist for pickpockets, etc. You mentioned long pants - is this true for men and women? Are capris common for women? I assume skirts are...

As I noticed (I do not look at the girls in this direction , hhm) they do not show legs at work. They have pants of some kind. At dinner you are, as a woman, free to wear what you like. This is the only rule I noticed regarding the clothe. Some managers at my work is quite informal when wearing the warmer clothe at these cool months. The rest is relaxed and informal.
I also mentioned that it is depending on how vain you are. Many Argnetines are very vain, especially the women, and this may give you a wrong interception before comming here.

To really blend in you definitly need to drink "mate" and few foreigners dislike the taste, especially in the beginning.

And a little hint. I heard Argentine women like Argentine men, so if your husband stands out from the croud, you have nothing to worry about

 

[va2ba]

I really don't give a flying hoot whether people can tell that I am a gringo or not. If they think I am a gringo, they will still scowl at me. If they think I am an Argentine, its the same.

But I do wear the typical Argentine shoes (my american ones were banned by the wife) and I keep my bread untrimmed and only shave every now and then.

If you are looking to avoid getting robbed, it doesn't really matter what you wear. It is more about how you carry yourself. The muggers and pickpockets take the easiest targets, so if you look lost and out of place (having nothing to do with what you are wearing) you could become a target.

Look like you THINK that you belong and that you know where you are going and you'll most likely be left alone. People with their heads cast down on the ground look like they have something to hide, and look like they have something valuable on them. The harder you cling to your purse or backpack, the more people can see that you have something worth taking.

I act like I don't care what I've got and that I've got nothing to hide and I've been fine.