How to Dress for International Trips

You have an important business meeting in another country and are expected to dress well. Or you’re meeting your fiancé’s stylish parents in Paris and want to make a great first impression. After taking a quick look in the closet, you realize your best options are sweat pants and logo T-shirts. Stop right there. Before packing your suitcase, grab a pencil and get the lowdown on international fashion.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Know the climate. Middle Eastern countries are typically arid with cold winters and hot summers. For these, pack sunscreen and dress in layers. Countries like Japan are subtropical: cool and humid in the winter, and hot and rainy in the summer, perfect for umbrellas. Nations like Greece have mild winters, so you’ll only waste luggage space and look silly if you bring along your heavy fur coat.
2. Know the customs. If you’re traveling to Japan, wear shoes that are easy to put on and take off, because you’ll be doing so quite often. The Japanese also equate yellow with bad luck, so you’ll want to avoid that color for business meetings and important social occasions. Italians tend to judge someone’s social status, education, and financial standing based upon their clothing all within a few seconds of meeting them. Dress especially careful for these first impressions.
3. Know the style. A good way to determine what’s chic in any international locale is to check clothing ads for overseas countries and to read fashion magazines that cover modern trends. For example, you could go to a business meeting in Italy in a trendy, colorful shirt, but must wear a formal dark suit for your ultra-conservative Japanese associates. Ignore this rule and you’ll appear amateur and unprofessional.
4. Know the occasion. While it is perfectly acceptable to wear blue jeans and a t-shirt to a social gathering in Paris, you’ll want to make sure they fit properly and are of a very high quality. For business, the French and Russians won’t take you seriously if you wear excessively colorful clothes or clothes that are too pale. Also remember not to take your jacket or tie off in a French office or business meeting, as this is a sign of disrespect.
5. Finally, know the statement your clothing makes. Bold colors and stiff collars show confidence. Conservative cuts and average tie widths demonstrate you are striving not to offend. Button-down shirt collars and cardigans provide a down-to-earth friendly appearance.

Tips & Warnings

• To decrease the chance of being targeted by terrorists, Americans taking international trips to Middle-Eastern countries should avoid dressing in clothes plastered with the U.S. flag or other patriotic logos.
• Pay attention to your speech and mannerisms while overseas. It’s possible to dress well, but still offend someone of another culture with your expressions and gestures.