Do Russian guys really more often wear dark clothes?

[Jack]

Their were some recent discussions on another board about if guys really wore dark clothes or not. Some posters had said they did not see so many people wearing black or dark clothes, others said they saw more guys wearing dark clothes than not.

Here is my opinion. In the early, mid-90's you saw a LOT of people wearing black. Their are still a lot of people who wear black today, mostly men, but not as high a percentage as in the past. As Western influence has effected a lot of areas of the old FSU, more colorful clothes as emerged. First with the fashion
minded Russian lady and over the past few years more so with the men.

However, if you do not want to stand out, if you want to blend in today, wear dark colored clothes. More guys will wear dark colored clothes more often. I tend to want to blend in. I would say most my clients will tend to want to blend in as well, as opposed to wearing colorful clothing. Now if one is going out to the disco, maybe that's a different story, but walking about town during the day, trying to blend in, wearing dark clothes is seen everywhere.

I like to take a lot of photos when I travel, in a way it's a small part of my business. I have taken a lot of photos over the years and after looking at many of these photos when I return home, I then realize just how many guys are wearing dark colored clothes. A few months ago one morning, about 8am, I was standing outside the balcony of my flat in Dnepropetrovsk overlooking the Dnipper river and I was taking some photos. Here is a typical photo taken on a typical morning in mid-September.

For those who say that guys in general do not wear dark colored clothes anymore, I beg to differ. Has the percentage of guys wearing black or dark clothes dropped? Yes, but their is still a high percentage of guys who do.

If the photo does not come out clear on the board here is a link to the same photo.

http://www.firstdream.com/guys.htm

[anono]

hi jack, thanks for the link bringing me to this site. i'll read it and see if i can contribute. as you know, almost all of my clothes are black, dark or earth colors with few exceptions, if any.

i do take two pairs of good ol' american bluejeans, but i also take a pair of black denims. with my black sports jacket, you can wear bluejeans, black jeans, black slacks, almost any color shirt and look well dressed but not stand out.

i've seen a few guys look like total slobs and i told them so. saw one long hair (i used to wear my hair long) wearing his baseball cab backwards. at the TGIF in kiev he wasn't as out of place but obviously an american.

ever since i went on my first trip abroad when i was 18, i always wanted to blend in.

i think you're right, darks clothes has always been the norm but it is slowly changing like everything else.

robert

[anono]

ps..is that photo out front of the hotel in dneper?

[Jack]

Roberto, I must say you always look good when you are out and about in the FSU and as I recall, your almost always wearing a dark sports coat and pants.

I remember that one photo I took of you while you are at an outside cafe, beer in one hand, cigeratte in the other, talking on your cell phone and in your dark sports coat and pants.

This photo was taken from the buildings of flats just about 50 yards west of the Hotel you are thinking about.

[anono]

dang..i'll have to figure out how to post a pic   duh

[Bruce]

Dark conservative clothes is the way for a smart visitor to interact properly in the FSU.  Unless of course, you want to draw extra attention to yourself / embarass yourself and your country.

[wsbill]

First post of many to come....

Why do they wear Black, because it's fashionable.   Look at the French and Italians, or for that matter any fat lady.

Black actually tends to hide your weight problem.  Pay attention to the TV celebrities, they wear an awful lot of black clothing.

I have found Black Levi and a black jacket blends well, also walk around with a frown on your face... like everybody else... 

[Cold Warrior]

Most men in Europe wear dark in winter and go pale in summer. Personally, I never wear black, the only black I have is 2 leather jackets.   

[Jack]

"I have is 2 leather jackets."

Cold Warrior, are they camo?  :cool:

Glad to hear you are doing well.

[Cold Warrior]

"I have is 2 leather jackets."

Cold Warrior, are they camo?  :cool:

Glad to hear you are doing well.

 actually they are Iraqi freedom jackets. get yourself one ( with the 101st Airborne patch) My favorite is the sheepskin bomber B3.

 

http://www.flightjacket.com/detail.aspx?ID=282

 

[anono]

sounds like a great jacket but i would strongly advise wearing anything with american military patches on it (in the FSU). outside of the 59 million people who voted for bush, there are not many people anywhere else  in the rest of the world that like him and it is based largely on the military invasion of iraq.

regardless of how proud you are to be an american or a patriot, i would NOT bring ANY attention to you with displays of american flags and particulary military patches.

they will know you are an american without broadcasting it.

[anono]

you mean this pic?

[Scott Jay]

I was in Moscow and Voronezh earlier this month.  Because of what I had read on another Board, which shall otherwise remain nameless, I bought a new dark blue overcoat and brought dark clothes.  I also brought some nice khaki pants and wore them one day.  For whatever reason I felt out of place when I did wear the khakis.  I didn't see anybody looking at me but when I looked around 99.9% of the people around me were in very dark clothes.

I wear what I'm comfortable in, but I also didn't want to stand out.  I would say from my experience that most people in those two cities wear dark clothes -- during the winter at least.

I also wore ties a lot and dark suits.  My girlfriend (jb - she's 25 years younger than me, please blast away) loved the suits and ties.

I fell into this whole thing by accident and was not prepared when I made my first trip.  I didn't know the language - and I still don't.  One day near the end of my trip I was crossing the street near the town center in Voronezh.  The "walk" light didn't come on when I expected it to, and I withdrew my foot from the street.  A guy next to me, not well dressed as I was, but dressed in dark clothes, starts talking to me in Russian.  From where he's staring and his gesticulations I can see he's saying the damn "walk" sign is delayed.  Then finally it changes.  He keeps chattering away and smiles and we both laugh as we walk into the intersection.  I keep nodding my head and saying "da, da."  Finally (thank God) he turns to go in a different direction.  We waved "good bye" to each other.  My first conversation in Russian with a stranger.  Didn't understand a word.  I hope the guy didn't think I was a dope.  But he didn't spot me for being a foreigner, either.  I was dressed dark.

[Maxx]

Here is the B-3 jacket that Coldwarrior was talking about. The best manufacturer of flight jackets is a company called "Lost Worlds" they make leather jackets with the original materials and with the original styles. Not the cheap imitations with modified tayloring and slash pockets and a bunch of nonsense. Anyway here is their address.

http://www.lostworldsinc.com/
 
The Jacket ColdWarrior showed in an attachment is called a "G-1" and the originals were made out of goat leather which is very tough but plyable.
 
http://www.lostworldsinc.com/images/G-1-8.jpg
 
I have the B-2 jacket that is made out of horse hide (not so plyable). It was worn by the US Army Air Force in the 1930's in their open cockpit planes.
 
http://www.lostworldsinc.com/B-2HorsehideLeatherFlightJacket.htm 
 
Maxx

[Cold Warrior]

Thanks for the link Maxx. I just love the b-3 Sheepskin. Bit pricey but these jackets last a lifetime. Hey, great photo there of McQueen and Wagner.

[Maxx]

I usually don't post photos unless they are low KB's. This one is in B&W and i didn't think it would take up too much bandwidth or allot of time to download. I noticed your post about providing links. Good idea.

The jackets that this company makes are super durable. Especially the ones made out of horsehide. That is a leather that is almost impossible to get in anymore. Their jackets can and usually do last a lifetime. The cheap leather jackets I have bought before seem to last but a few years before they start looking shabby. These jackets need to be broken in like the originals because they have thicker leather. They are not artificially aged and cheaply stitched together by 25 cent foreign labor. Flight Jackets are one of my passions. RW for a wife is the other. I will be wearing a "Lost Worlds" flight jacket when I get married  LOL (joking)

Maxx

 

[jb]

I hadn't thought too much about this, but I picked up my step-son (19 y.o.) at Houston IAH last week. Guess what he was wearing on the flight from Moscow?  Black knit shirt, black leather sports coat, black trousers, and black "elf shoes".

Yes, dark colors are very much still in style for men and boys in Russia.