General Information » Culture & Lifestyle » National Dress

No, Parisian men do not all wear berets, and the women aren’t all wearing fishnet stockings and stiletto heels. In fact, the only people wearing berets are the tourists. There really isn’t a national dress in France, especially not in cosmopolitan Paris. While clichéd visions of stripe-shirted mimes stick in the heads of many people who have never visited Paris, new arrivals may be disappointed to discover that Parisians dress more or less like people in London or New York. In the summertime men prefer three-quarter Capri pants to shorts. Suits are de rigueur for men in a business setting, though an increasing number of men currently choose to go tie-less. A la mode for businesswomen are jacket-skirt combinations. In general, Parisians prefer sober, dignified shades to garish colours.