Does Wearing Bright Colors Make Me Look Like a Tourist?

Bright Colors as seen around the world

In a sea of young professionals dressed in black, wearing color can feel like a neon sign announcing your vacation. Our critic gives advice for blending in abroad — and a few exceptions to the rule.

Daphné Anglès, an editor and the manager of our Paris bureau, said that in France, “people wearing flashy-colored clothes stand out.” She continued: “The most popular colors are hues of blacks, dark greens and blues, beiges. Wear a bright colored scarf in the metro, and it’ll draw frowns.” I can attest that this is also true in London and Milan, the other main fashion week centers.

Motoko Rich, our Tokyo bureau chief, said that in Japan, “you would stand out if you are not wearing black or gray.” If you see a color, she said, it’s usually on a tourist.

Some of this may have to do with the urban environment, which is generally colored in shades of stone, cement and steel. Often what we wear reflects our physical surroundings (it’s that camo thing again). If you are going hiking in Nepal, or going to the beach in Mexico, it’s obviously a different story.

Still, Ms. Anglès said, even in Paris there are some (ahem) bright spots: sneakers, to be specific. They have become such ubiquitous fashion items that they are no longer the badge of the tourist. “They are the true color statements of a cool Parisian these days,” she said. Especially in “bright orange, electric green and flashy yellows.”

(Stay away from other items of workout wear, however. Donning leggings and sports bras while touring historic monuments is like wearing a neon sign flashing “tourist.”)

There are also, however, some major geographic exceptions to the colors-are-for-tourists rule: India and Africa. Suhasini Raj, a reporter in our New Delhi office, said the norm in India was “an explosion of colors, especially in desert states like Rajasthan, where it would be hard to find blacks and sedate colors” in the mix of indigo blue, fuchsia pink and turquoise tops, kurtas and stoles.

Ruth Maclean, who is our West Africa bureau chief and lives in Senegal, said much the same. “I can’t remember the last time I saw anyone in neutrals,” she noted. “And it’s not about pops of color, either. It’s full-blown, head-to-toe color and prints for the most part.”

Adapted from NYT.