Dressing Down, Is It Really Necessary?

[Mr Lee]

During our many stays in the Philippines I have seen many foreigners walking around places and looking pretty much like total slobs and I wonder if they and others feel that it is necessary for us to dress down to such a degree to try to fit in, that many of the locals must think what a bunch of slobs many of us are? I can understand dressing down when just walking around or while in the provinces but what is the reason to dress down to that degree while in the malls, churches, government buildings, restaurant and other places that dressing down might not be appropriate and would definitely not be appropriate back home? I see most Filipinos going to those same places wearing nicer clothing for the most part, so is it that some of us want to look poor or are now so relaxed that we think we can just give up all the things that we would normally do while back in our home countries? The whole thing kind of confuses me because Florida is just as hot as most of the Philippines and people dress down when around their homes but in the places I mentioned, you will almost never see anyone dressed as poorly as I have seen many of us dress. Now as for me, I wear shorts or jeans and a workout type shirt or a polo shirt or even a nice tee shirt and shoes or sneakers while most of the places I mentioned and while I have seen many female Filipinos wear flip flops in some of those places, most of the males that I see will most often have on shoes or sneakers. So is it the correct thing to do or is it showing the wrong side of us?What do you guys wear in those places and what do you think is proper attire?

[Mik]

I always wear shorts for comfort and I put on a nice pair of short pants and a shirt with a collar when going out. I noticed that most Filipinos (men) wear long pants at the mall. Personally I don't care to wear jewelry, and would recommend that people don't display it in public for their safety. Don't dress like a millionaire but don't look like a castaway either..

[mike]

I dress for comfort not the need to be seen by others in any way at all. No one would stop me going into a mall at home wearing shorts, vest and flip flops, even in winter with snow on the ground.Shopping is a non event for me, so relax and enjoy

[til]

I wear whatever I feel good in and my Fiancee will allow me to.I feel I don't have to worry about my attire as long as its ok with her.

[Steve]

I just end up wearing shorts and either a t-shirt, henley or polo along with sandals or sneakers. Everything would be clean, not torn or dirty.

Edited December 15, 2009 by Steve

[TheMason]

I wear shorts, polo shirts, and flip-flops almost everywhere I go. I never wear sneakers or closed toe shoes unless I plan on doing a lot of walking or going somewhere that is extremely dirty.When going to church, I'll put on a pair of Dockers pants, tuck in the polo, and wear brown leather casual shoes. That is as dressed up as I get. All my clothes are neat, clean, and undamaged. If something is torn or stained, I don't wear it in public anymore. This is the same style of dress I had in the US so nothing has changed for me.

[Gold Heart]

It is my opinion that foreigners under dress here. Of course you can generally wear anything you want. There is no formal dress code any more. As a consequence of observation, I have adopted and wear long pants much more often. Although accepted today, the historic tradition was that men do not wear shorts in public. That changed some time ago but if you look on the street more than 90% of men and boys wear long pants here in Cebu City. The uniforms requires of schools and businesses probably influence this number significantly because after elementary, they are all long pants.Because I'm in Rome, I wear long pants much more often. This of course depends on the occasion. When I'm at home, visitng friends, and If I'm out to do a lot of things outdoors on a hot day, then I wear shorts. If I'm going to anything related to business, the bank, dinner, with the wife, or expect to be at any indoor occasion indoors for a long periods of time , or if I I

[Travis]

It is my opinion that foreigners under dress here. Of course you can generally wear anything you want. There is no formal dress code any more. As a consequence of observation, I have adopted and wear long pants much more often. Although accepted today, the historic tradition was that men do not wear shorts in public. That changed some time ago but if you look on the street more than 90% of men and boys wear long pants here in Cebu City. The uniforms requires of schools and businesses probably influence this number significantly because after elementary, they are all long pants.Because I'm in Rome, I wear long pants much more often. This of course depends on the occasion. When I'm at home, visitng friends, and If I'm out to do a lot of things outdoors on a hot day, then I wear shorts. If I'm going to anything related to business, the bank, dinner, with the wife, or expect to be at any indoor occasion indoors for a long periods of time , or if I I'm just unsure, I wear long pants. Its the safe bet as it is certain to be appropriate -- except for the beach. My wife was going to the passport office and asked at the last minute for me to accompany her. Without thinking I went as I was, I was not allowed in the building with shorts. I understand this may be true in other government offices and churches. Clearly if I were dating and wanted to impress a lady or her family, long pants would be the way to go.Since most foreigners seem to ignore this tradition, I think they under dress. The percentage of foreigners in shorts is far higher than the rest of the population. There also seem to be a good percent that look disheveled. I fall in this category -- I attribute this to the affect of the heat in long pants.

I could not have said it better myself

[johnb]

Given that so many foreigners come from cooler climates, I'm not surprised that shorts are chosen over long pants for daily ware, I would not be surprised to see people from tropical counties wearing thicker coats and hats and gloves in my home country UK. Personally I only ware shorts when at home and for the vast majority of the time there my working clothes along with a half painted shirt, I never ware shorts outside of my home environment not because of dress code but because of scarring and skin grafts to my legs, the scarring would attract more attention than my white pasty British legs lol John