When you visit a foreign country, there are often situations where paying attention to what you wear is especially important. If you’re traveling somewhere for the first time, it can be easy to unwittingly cause offense to the local population. Bear in mind these five common mistakes tourists often make, so you can avoid committing a fashion faux pas on your next trip abroad.
Dressing Inappropriately To Enter Places of Worship
It’s common to visit places of worship while on vacation, whether to admire their ornate architecture or because of their historical significance. While doing so, however, it’s essential that you adhere to religious etiquette. For example, when entering a Buddhist temple, it’s customary to remove shoes as a mark of respect. In other places, it’s often the case that heads, knees, and shoulders should be covered.
Some places are more specific. For instance, to set foot inside Gergeti Monastery in Georgia, women are asked to wear a long skirt. Plan to dress conservatively on days when you expect to visit a place of worship and check signage on arrival to avoid making an embarrassing faux pas.
Bringing Camouflage Prints Where They’re Banned
Many of us like to embrace bold patterns when on vacation. But be careful which ones you choose: In certain countries, wearing clothing with camouflage print is illegal. Wear such items in Caribbean nations such as Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua, and Jamaica and you’ll be breaking the law. It’s a similar situation in countries such as Zambia, Ghana, the Philippines, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia and Oman, but in some cases it’s only military uniforms that are banned.
Mostly, such laws exist to ensure the identity of military personnel won’t be confused with civilians. Though there have been calls in some nations, such as Barbados, for wearing camouflage to be decriminalized, it’s a smart move to leave at home any items of clothing with camouflage print, just in case.
Dressing Without Taking Into Account Local Norms
In more conservative countries, skintight or revealing clothing is a big fashion faux pas; instead, modest outfits are the norm. For instance, you’re likely to get attention for the wrong reasons if you stroll through a Moroccan souk wearing a crop top.
In general, if you’re keen to blend in while traveling, you’ll want to avoid making fashion choices that scream “tourist.” These might include wearing baseball caps (especially backward or indoors), donning casual flip-flops or sneakers for formal occasions, or opting for clothing that could be considered inappropriately scruffy, such as ripped jeans. Also, T-shirts bearing controversial or political slogans are best left at home.
Wearing the Wrong Color Clothing on Safari
When packing to go on safari, bear in mind that your choice of outfit can have unwanted consequences. Dark colors may attract insects —for instance, tsetse flies, which can inflict a painful bite and have a preference for black and blue.
If you’re hoping to catch a glimpse of creatures that have a tendency to be skittish, you’ll want to avoid any fabrics that make noise when you move, such as nylon windcheaters. It’s also important to avoid highly visible whites or brights and ditch floaty or dangling items that might attract unwanted attention, particularly if you plan to incorporate a walking safari. A neutral palette that mirrors your surroundings — incorporating gray, green, cream, and beige — is most appropriate.
Wearing Beachwear Away From the Beach
When the weather’s hot, it can be tempting to strip away layers to the bare minimum. But while that’s acceptable beside the pool or on the beach, it can be considered a fashion faux pas elsewhere. In some cases, you’ll actually be breaking local rules and could face hefty fines.
In 2023, authorities in the Croatian city of Split threatened to levy a 150-euro fine on anyone wearing a bikini top in the street, following a similar communal order that had been put in place in Dubrovnik. It’s not the only city to take action — in 2011, officials in Barcelona, Spain, declared swimwear was not permitted away from its beaches, and in Venice, Italy, walking around bare-chested or in a swimsuit could land you with a 250-euro fine.
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