Dear All,
I am having a lot of trouble researching exactly what to be
prepared to wear in many countries that I am thinking of
visiting. I have two problems- the number of countries that
I am thinking of visiting, and getting CLEAR information
about what to wear. (And why is it with any trip people
become obsessed with what to bring?? I definitely have the
disease!!)
So many countries just say "modestly". What does this mean?
I am not at all asking whether or not I can wear my
sleeveless crop top. (DonÆt you hate seeing those posts
where someone is confused as to whether a crop top and mini
skirt could posssssibly pass as "modest"! Derrr!!! :-)) IÆm
talking in terms of sleeve length and dress/pant length. In
very warm climates such as Egypt the difference between
sleeves that go to the wrist, elbow or T-shirt length makes
a lot of difference!
Also, wouldnÆt it be nice if there was one resource which
lists all countries, or all countries in a region and
advises women on what is appropriate clothing and behaviour?
So anyway, can anyone pleeeasse help me with the following
countries, and the answers to the following. (a) tops =
wrist, elbow or T-shirt length ?, (b), neck = covered or
doesnÆt matter? (c) skirts = above knee, below knee or ankle
length? (d) head = face covered, hair covered or doesnÆt
matter. (Tell me if IÆve missed something here).
My countries of concern are-
France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Greece, Turkey, Syria,
Jordan, Israel, Egypt, Thailand, Vietnam, China.
Eg France= everything except the birthday suit is OK?,
compared with Thailand = tops elbow length, and the rest
doesn't matter?
Oh, and one more thing- Is it possible to get tops that go
to the wrist that are also fashionable and okay for REALLY
hot weather? IÆm wondering if it just isnÆt some alien plot
to prevent women from visiting places like the middle east.
If I get some good answers, IÆll collate the whole thing so
everyone on this posting can benefit.
Thanks in advance,
A
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re tops to the wrist:
check out the souk (market-whatever) in Athens- cool
comfortable tops in light weight cotton. Wearing long pants
and long sleeved tops is not THAT unpractical. There is a
reason besides modesty that women and MEN wear such
clothing in hot places in the world- loose fitting cotton
actually keeps you cooler! I swear. for one thing you
don't have bare arms/legs that are sweaty and stick to your
chair etc- the cotton absorbs sweat and quickly dries. Also
the loose fitting part allows for a breeze to flow through.
Try i
www.journeywoman.com has country-specific indexes on what is
appropriate as posted by actual travellers.
Long sleeves shirt, cotton, loose, with high collar and
buttons may be carried in the bag. It's good against
overdose of sun exposure, and can be worn above a sleeveless
blouse, without closing the buttons - it's good for modesty,
hiking and more in these areas. (long sleeves can be
folded). Wrist length sleevs cotton shirt - I found in
Thailand (may be found also in Jewish orthodox areas).
Long loose cotton pents are good for most areas, it's very
comfortable when it's warm and sticky, as metioned before.
I take them both for whatever trip I take in these areas, in
Europe they are not as valuable, except for the mediterenian
area.
A long skirt (can also be squized to not more then a fist in
the hand bag), is better for religious areas and occations
that require being more representable (although black wide
pents are also very good for that, but not for the middle of
a warm day), and can be worn above shorts.
I would always carry socks - to go into mosks and temples
instead of bare-foot. They all know you're a tourist, so it
doesn't matter if you put them wearing sandales in more
orthodox areas (and if it gets coller by evening - gain
again).
Hair cover, you haven't mention Iran/Pakistan,... and as
well as I know is required mostly by most orthodox muslims,
in utterly orthodox countries. If you do go there - you'll
have to by a proper scarf or whatever. In the areas you
mentioned - you don't need them. (as a single women you
don't need head cover in Jewish places).
Greece and Israel (except possibly in specific places like
synagogues) I know that t-shirts are fine, no headcovering
required, don't know about skirt length but know that
relatively firm (not necessarily tight) jeans are fine. I
know that T-shirts and shorts are the go on many Greek
Islands. France I'd be more worried about appearing
underdressed than about how covered you are. I don't have
personal experience with any of the other countries
If you have long pants and a big, loose cotton shirt that
goes down past your hips, that outfit would pass just about
anywhere, I think. Bring along a scarf that you can throw
over your head for those places (churches, mosques etc)
where you shouldn't show your hair. As long as you aren't
going to Afghanistan or Saudi, that should be plenty.
In the middle east, I have only travelled in Turkey, Syria,
jordan, israel and Egypt. My idea for modest in those
countries was long cotton pants and a loose, elbow length
t-shirt and my hair tied back neatly. To visit mosques,
I usually rented one of those revolting coverall outfits and
a headscarf (NB, these are not usually long enough for
really tall women). This seemed to be adequate (and
suitable for the intense heat at the time I was there)
although from what I can tell the same rules do not apply to
the Gulf Arab states. I am hoping to visit Iran some time
in the future and definitely plan to go in a cooler season
so that I don't expire.
.
For SE Asia, the same rules apply basically although you can
get away with less in some places. The other consideration
is to dress neatly and not like a sloppy backpacker. i
picked this up mainly from working in Indonesia, ie, their
idea of both office and casual clothes is much more formal
than here in Australia.
don't stress out too much. The 'dress code' for women is a
lot less restrictive than India, say. But cover the
shoulders - ie. no sleeveless dresses - and avoid shorts.
The thing that seems to offend the Vietnamese most of all
is the too-casual Western-traveller look. Dress a wee bit
more formally than you otherwise might? I'm not talking
pinstripe suits and court shoes, but a frock [!] every now
and then when the spirit moves you. Have fun.
the general rule is, wear what the locals wear. In Bangkok,
at one temple, pants had to cover the ankles, but skirts
only had to cover the knees. So, even though my pants were
longer than the rent-a-skirt, I had to wear the skirt
since my pants were only mid-calf length. I did pack a
dress for border crossings (never got searched), and that
would have been a good thing to wear to the important
temples. I really like a previous suggestion about a pair
of long pants and loose cotton button-down long-sleeved
shirt, with scarf, meeting most of your needs.
p.s. in Singapore I was wondering why everyone was staring
at me in the subway. Turns out it was not because I was
wearing a t-shirt & shorts I bought in Singapore, or white,
or fat, but because I was chewing gum. HUGE fine for that
offense, but I lucky and didn't get caught. being ignorant
of the laws is no excuse there! I thought Singapore was a
great place for my first overseas solo trip.
Hey everyone- Thank you all very much for your replies.
I actually got a lot from the jouneywoman site that was
recommended, and a lot from all your postings. The answer-
yeah, I've got to relax a little and stop being a
clothing/packing nazi.
After a little counselling, I think rather than what I
wanted originally, which was the definitive guide which sets
out what to do for each country, what I really wanted was
reassurance and to pack for versatility!
I think what I will do is take the following-
(1) a few long sleeve shirts to be worn untucked (bah to
fashion! :-()
(2)a few t-shirts to wear underneath in case the local
situation means I can take of that overshirt and be a FREE
woman... yah...
(3)NO shorts (cept beddy bye ones)
(4)lots of long skirts, which I love anyway, and
(5)from what you are all saying- no head covering required!
Does this sound good to you?
Thanks to-modesty, wendy, Ts, suzie, euro, catherine, bitser
& sheila!
A
I'd just take one more little item with me. I always carry
a really big scarf (not really a scarf, it's as big as a
duvet but really thin), which fits in my day pack. I can
wrap it around as a long skirt, wear it as a head cover, in
tourist areas make a kneelong dress of it, and use it as a
blanket in hot areas. Indespensable!
1 pair of shorts can't hurt. You're heading to warm
climates, and in most areas beach resorts/islands and even
some towns (Tel-Aviv for example) they are more then
accepteble and more convenient then skirts.
I am leaving for three weeks in SE Asia next week. I was lucky enough to find a long-sleeve silk button-up shirt at the thrift shop for a couple of dollars. I also am bringing some exercise shorts and some long skirts. I am coming from -35 degrees in arctic Alaska, so I know I will be really hot. I can wear a sleeveless top under the silk shirt and the shorts under the lightweight cotton skirt. I have found that wearing shorts keeps my (fat) thighs from become irritated from heat and sweat. Hopefully, this will pretty much cover anywhere I want to go.
while in most of israel itself (eg tel aviv, haifa etc)
pretty much anything goes (especially in beach areas) if you
are going into the west bank or gaza then it's best to be
much better covered. the more you cover the better basically
and if you cover your hair you do get considerably less
hassle (and not so dusty either). incidentally, the west
bank IS well worth going into - not necessarily a
comfortable experience but it certainly gives you a totally
diferent view of israel, especially hebron.
Just a quick note - on a lot of French beaches even your
birthday suit can seem overdressed - a relaxed people the
french! - I wish I was back there!