Popular fashion for touring British isles and on board celebrity

Absolutely!! Dress for comfort and to protect yourself against the everchanging elements most likely on a British Isles cruise.

I am in Scotland now and it is freezing. 40-52 degrees F and windy, rain, hail and sunshine.

Paddingtonbear I think that you'll find that sneakers and trainers are synonymous, whatever colour they are ! 5 degrees and sleet here in Portree today, fur lined boots are more appropriate and certainly no one seems to be concerned too much with fashion !

Paddingtonbear I think that you'll find that sneakers and trainers are synonymous, whatever colour they are ! 5 degrees and sleet here in Portree today, fur lined boots are more appropriate and certainly no one seems to be concerned too much with fashion !

I realise every country is different but This is what I thought people referred to as sneakers:

http://*******.com/p5umdzd

And these are what I refer to as trainers or joggers:

http://www.footasylum.com/mobile/nike-air-max-90-premium-trainer-078252/

I think what people are generally referring to is that it is not necessary to wear big white trainers (as above) as there are so many more elegant and much more comfortable options available.

Most people I've been travelling with in Ireland and Scotland have been wearing real walking or hiking shoe. But I happy to live and let live : )

Even at home I never wear sneakers unless to and from the gym. Just can't seem to bring myself to do it, I guess mostly because, to my eye nothing goes with sneakers except sweats and workout attire. But when traveling I only notice people who are obviously Americans wearing sneakers. Though I'm sure there's bound to be locals wearing sneakers! But I am amazed at the local women wearing heels while walking on cobblestones! I iust try to be comfortable in Mephisto type walking shoes or sandals.

I've travelled in many countries, including the UK and most of Europe.

I never heard of not wearing sneakers until I read it here.

I see many people wearing sneakers/sports shoes and they are not all Americans. I'm a dual citizen, UK and NZ, and I wear sneakers on occasion. To me, it's more important to wear comfortable shoes that are appropriate to the weather and the occasion than it is to disguise my nationality.

Amercans are conspicuous by their (usually) loud voices, not by their footwear.

The op was actually asking about wearing white slacks but the discussion was diverted by someone suggesting tourists should not wear sports shoes! Sneakers and trainers are the same thing viz Wikipedia. I am wearing sports shoes as we speak and now do 90% of the time in Edinburgh as does most of my cohort as we are old with bad feet. When we are not wearing sports shoes we are wearing comfortable boots. I think if Americans, who are no louder than tourists from other countries, want to wear fashionable clothes they should. We were down at Ambleside on lake Windermere the other day and a woman was wearing a black and white sequinned mini dress. No trainers ! Surrounded by people wearing sensible British fleeces, polo shirts, trainers etc. It was a lovely day. She was English. Why not ? But if you want to blend in in Scotland at least I would not wear white trainers at the moment. Possibly a fashion for them is coming but in general it would be very hard to keep them clean.

You can wear whatever you like, and no one would worry. That includes sneakers, trainers and sheepskin Uggs boots in the middle of summer!

I am living in my black and pink Sketchers sneakers at the moment, superlight and soooo comfy.

Slightly OT, but I hear that red trousers are de rigueur here:-

I think that what stands out is when they are white shoes with white socks. That tends to mark out the American tourist. The colour not the fact that they are sneakers/trainers. I think maybe we British tend to only wear white ones for actual sporting activities, not wandering around the place.

When you are in London you will see that anything goes, there really is no norm to work to, it's a very 60's 70's concept does not apply especially in London.

To go back to OP my only comment is white trousers are impractical as a tourist if you use public transport, sit on outdoor benches as they will show up dirt. But if they are dirty/torn/unkempt they are more likely to be in fashion at that time!!

For June cruising in the British Isles are white slacks in style? Thanks

My British husband favours blue trousers, but usually only on Wednesdays. I only wear dresses and skirts.

No restrictions on wearing white trousers in the UK. You will see Brits wearing them on hot days, but usually with sandals.

Only problem will be keeping them looking clean if you are going ashore in them. You will see lots of other pale colours like khaki and beige, as well as pale blues, pinks etc.

The weather may make darker colours more appropriate, and jeans are very popular.

Re the debate around sneakers / trainers, I have a white pair which only get worn indoors for sports. I have some dark coloured ones which I wear outside on warm and dry days. As these are not guaranteed in the UK(!) I tend to wear lightweight leather lace up shoes for sightseeing.

White trainers, especially with white socks and short length trousers ( Capri pants) do tend to scream American tourist, if that is a concern for you.

One suggestion would be to take a look at the website http://www.marksandspencer.com This is a popular UK clothing store, this will give you an idea of what the shops are trying to sell us this season!

I have visited 70 countries and found that touring attire varies according to climate (temperature), local custom (including religious sensibility) and to a minor degree fashion.

When I did touring in Europe in the early 80s, you could always spot the Americans since they were wearing athletic shoes (also with cameras and carrying michelin guides).

Today, it is more common to see Europeans wearing athletic shoes. Also, everyone tends to dress more casually than they once did.

I remember during the 50s, when my parents took me out to lunch at a hamburger place, my dad still wore a coat and tie and mom wore heels. That era is definitely gone. However, I would say that we found the Japanese people probably dress better with almost no grunge wear.

What I dislike in going about in the USA is that some people wear torn T-shirts and clothes that looked like they came from the Salvation Army thrift store.

Anyway, back to tourist in Europe. I still notice that Italians are into style, however, Germans and British are not. They dress more casually, although, I can usually spot which country they come from based on how their hair is cut and sometimes their clothes.

Americans do like to dress casually, and particularly if you are in the MED in the summer, shorts make a lot of sense. Of course, going into Cathedrals, that doesn't always work out well.

While touring, DW and I tend to walk quite a lot and I would not want to do that in my hard soled shoes. I stick to my tennis shoes. Since we largely travel to Europe in Spring and Fall, there are few times we can wear shorts, and wearing trousers and a shirt with a collar seems to work out well.

What's with this "sneakers" issue? I just returned from 22 days land & cruise - British Isles, and saw lots of people wearing sneakers [AKA trainers]. In fact, having read on CC that it's a big faux pas to wear sneakers, I kept watching what people wore while in London. My sneakers were the norm. A friend from Bournemouth, with whom we traveled, was wearing sneakers when we met in Salisbury.

 

Wear whatever you want, comfort is more important that style.

Darcy

I totally agree with you. While preparing for our first trip to Europe in 2005, the posts on CC about not wearing tennis shoes there had me really worried. We live in them. I can't walk without mine. Would we be out of place? We weren't at all. No one seemed to care or notice what we were wearing.

After many trips to Europe, I've noticed that you'll see the whole spectrum of clothing. For casual touring, if you wear jeans, a t-shirt and something on your feet, you'll fit right in. White pants aren't something you see a lot of men in (some women though), but who really cares? Wear what you want. ;)