Tourists visiting Paris have been urged to check their suitcases for one item of clothing after a woman was banned from entering several clubs because of what she was wearing
If you’re planning a trip to Paris this summer, you might want to double-check your luggage to make sure the clothes you’re taking adhere to a little-known rule about fashion in the French capital. The balmy summer weather we’ve been experiencing means most of us have been living in shorts, T-shirts, and sandals for the past few weeks.
Anyone heading off to parts of Europe, such as Spain, France, and Italy this summer will probably also be packing very similar clothes into their suitcases, as the warm weather is set to continue. But if your summer holiday includes Paris, one woman who recently visited the city has a stark warning about what outfits you should pack.
Laney Tucker, from the US, recently spent time in Paris with some friends, and took to Instagram after her trip to tell other women to make sure they’ve packed the right footwear in their suitcase before they fly out to the city.
She claimed she was turned away from multiple nightclubs while trying to enjoy a Parisian night out because she was wearing sandals, and the dress code for the clubs stated she needed to be wearing heels.
The woman claimed she eventually got into a club by claiming that her sandals were a designer brand, but she wished she had packed a pair of heels to save herself the hassle.
She said: “Important note to all the girlies coming to Paris: We didn’t get into a couple of clubs last night because we were wearing sandals. Almost everywhere requires heels.
“I did get us into one club by telling the bouncer my sandals were Valentino, and to be honest, I hate myself for that. Take me straight to jail.”
In the caption, she wrote: “The self-loathing I feel right now … but a girl’s gotta do what she’s gotta do to get into the club.”
Commenters on the post were split. Some people believed Laney lacked “common sense” for trying to get into a club with sandals on, while others argued that the heels-only rule is “outdated” and “nonsense”.
One French national wrote: “As a French [person], I hoped this nonsense heels in clubs [rule] was over. Seriously. Men enter clubs wearing sports gear, and we have to break our feet on the dancefloor.”
But someone else argued: “What kind of adult wears sandals to a club in Paris, or anywhere that’s not on a beach?”
Others pointed out that the rule likely doesn’t require women to wear heels, but instead simply requires all people to wear closed-toed shoes for health and safety reasons.
Dress codes in Paris
For the most part, you can wear whatever you want when travelling around the city of Paris itself. However, some evening restaurants and nightclubs have far stricter rules about what you can and can’t wear.
According to Clubbable, women should look to wear “elegant” short dresses, leather jackets and trousers, or “fashionable” jeans. Women should not wear big jumpers, trainers, sportswear, or beachwear.
Clubbable claims men should always wear a shirt on a night out in Paris, whether it’s a casual floral number or a proper dress shirt. This can be paired with casual jeans or trousers.