Traveling Trends: February Adventures
Written by Mia Quigley
This month I traveled to London, Lisbon, and Amsterdam; three adored cities among many tourists. Throughout my weekend adventures, I immersed myself in the diverse cultures and took in the heterogeneity of styles in each location. As I have traveled to popular tourist destinations, I was not expecting to find such a contrast in styles. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the abundance of distinct observations I was able to add to my journal. Exploring the world with my attention focused on fashion has allowed me to allocate places with styles, making each place so much more memorable.
Location 2: London, United Kingdom
London, the largest city in the United Kingdom, is known for its renaissance-style architecture, historically renowned monuments, and fascinating transportation systems. The London Bridge, Big Ben, Borough Market, and Buckingham Palace are some of the most popular tourist attractions that I was able to finally see for myself. The infamous red double-decker buses, Hackney taxis driving on opposite sides of the road, and horse drawn carriages, are all elements found throughout the streets of London that exhibit its English history. In addition to its beautiful attractions, the local British population heavily contributed to the city's pleasant environment. Everywhere I looked people were found laughing in joyous conversations and I was often greeted with smiles and generous compliments from locals I encountered along the way. I can attest that British people truly are some of the most friendly and respectful people I have ever met…especially for being a tourist.
I visited in early February, so the weather was quite frigid and windy from the large rivers that run through the city. However, this cold climate is a huge factor influencing the clothing style found in this city.
The number one conclusion I developed among the majority population styles, is that trench coats are their primary winter coat. On almost every street, there’s destined to be multiple people in trench coats. This commodity fits the proper and sophisticated aesthetic that the city upholds. If you are like me and don’t own a trench coat, it's okay! Others still dress in typical nylon winter jackets and even puffer coats. To accompany the proper style, mostly everyone dresses in business casual clothing. Ripped jeans were rarely seen, even less so than in Barcelona. Oppositely though, khakis were very popular amongst the men. The pants attire overall consisted of solid-color slacks, dress pants, and straight-leg jeans.
I found tops were a hard category to note, as people were dressed in layers with coats that were zipped up. Although, there was no specific top trend, I inferred that any sweater or comfy long sleeve is acceptable, just make sure it is warm!
Since the cold weather covers the outfit bases themselves, individuals rely on accessories to be the star of the show. Everywhere I looked, accessories were always the one element that stood out. Scarfs, being the most prevalent, were found in all colors and patterns and styled in many different ways- draped, knotted, or babushka. I noticed prevently that black was the most popular base color for the majority of outfits; so the scarfs are a great way to add an element of contrast and warmth to an otherwise minimalistic look. Whether it's black pants, a black hat, or a black trench coat, this staple color acts as a primary contrast to the light-colored architecture surrounding the busy streets.
Location 3: Lisbon, Portugal
Lisbon is a raved-about city; characterized by colorful clay buildings divided by scenic vistas of the Atlantic Ocean, trolley lines, and ecstatic city-dwellers flooding the cobblestone streets. From my first step out of my taxi, I was instantly greeted with a feeling of comfort and ease. Although I visited in mid-February, this was the warmest city I have been to thus far. The sun was beaming down on the turquoise waves, friends were found chatting over drinks on pier decks, and street performers energized the streets. Being my first warm-tempered location, I was left with significantly more attire differences than similarities, in relation to my previous places. The overlying theme I found among the clothing trends in Lisbon was comfortability. Although Barcelona similarly emphasizes comfortability, it differed due its strong emphasis on business casual-ness.
In Lisbon, mostly all people were dressed in beach-attire clothing to fit the vacation-like aesthetic; for example, long dresses, cotton shirts, and button ups. For bottoms, wide leg jeans, linen pants, and loose-flowing maxi skirts were the most prevalent choices. Tops consisted mostly of loose-fitting cotton tees and light-weight sweaters. Furthermore, I noticed that button-down dress shirts and blouses were one of the most popular clothing pieces for both women and men. Whether worn buttoned as a shirt or open as a jacket to layer over a tee, this is a very fitting piece for both the aesthetic and climate of this city. Conversely to London’s essential color-black- Lisbon’s was white. White, in addition to light blue, were the most universal colors, not only amongst outfits, but in the cityscape as well. Whether it’s light blue jeans, white linen pants, or a blue and white striped blouse, these colors were overwhelmingly extensive among the streets. For shoes, brand name sneakers, such as Nike, Converse, and Adidas were the most commonly seen shoes, as most of the population in this area were tourists. The last shocking outfit factor, which we had to find out the hard way, was that the going out attire here is not what we had been used to. Walking down the jam-packed strip of “Pink Street” in mini skirts, high black boots and going out tops, we were overwhelmed with confused looks and snarky comments, as everyone around us was dressed casually in jeans and blouses. So, pro tip when packing for Lisbon, leave your clubbing, mini-skirt outfits at home!
Location 4: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Amsterdam is an extravagant city known for its intricate canal systems, historical museums, and their highly-appreciated societal freedom. Out of all my travels thus far, Amsterdam was by far the most unique location. The scenery, community, nightlife, and styles all influence the city’s vibrant, yet lax aesthetic. My friends and I stayed in De-Wallen, the largest city in Amsterdam, known for its infamous Red-Light district. The streets were filled with coffee shops, intimacy stores, and neon-lit bars and restaurants. Amsterdam is also known for its two infamous shopping streets- Kalverstraat and Leidsestraat- which are concentrated with popular chain retail shops, luxury stores, and exclusive clothing stores, i.e., All Saints. Thrift stores, european-vintage boutiques, and luxury streetwear shops were found scattered among many streets. These features create an attractive environment for fashion-lovers, party people and overall evoke individualism and personal expression for all.
I visited in the first week of March, so the weather was still cold and windy. Similarly to London, many people were cuddled in scarfs, trench coats, and sweaters to reciprocate the brisk weather. However, the outfits were visibly more fashionably-centered, rather than temperature-centered.
Edited by Lauren Veum
