Frankly ... integrated  Germany, Your Fashion

Are Germans fashionable? Far from it. Germans dress practically and comfortably, observes Sineb el Masrar in this column on sweatpants and why it makes sense to wear white socks with sandals.
 

The days are getting longer, the sun’s coming out more often, and it’s the time of year when we quasi collectively start wearing sweatpants. Sweatpants are simply ideal in the privacy of our own four walls. But look at people in the streets of Berlin or Frankfurt, Offenbach or Rostock and you’ll see sweatpants all over the place, even on freezing cold days when you’d think they can’t possibly keep you warm. Then again, fashion isn’t about keeping warm, as we all know. How many times did our mothers tell us back in the day to put on a long jumper or jacket over our low-slung hip-hugging jeans? “You’ll get kidney problems when you’re older!” they warned us. Our armchair-doctor parents are experts in the art of remote diagnosis.

Practicality comes first

When it comes to Germany and fashion, the one and only golden rule is: practicality comes first. This is doubtless the reason for white socks with sandals, for which Germans are notorious abroad. The socks absorb sweat, and you can see at a glance when it’s time to throw your white socks in the washing machine. Plus no risk of getting sunburnt feet. If you wear sandals in midsummer, you probably know how fast that can happen and how much it hurts.

Is Germany fashionable? Not quite

Fashion seems to go hand in hand with pain – and even damage to your health. Maybe Germans are less willing to “suffer to be beautiful” than the so-called fashionable nations. The fashion capitals of Italy, Spain and France produce the most beautiful outfits, which are sometimes more, and sometimes less, practical. “We must suffer to be beautiful” is a saying that has always seemed silly to me because I just can’t bear to torture myself, especially when it comes to footwear. I’m adamant on this point: if the shoes aren’t comfortable, they don’t stand a chance with me.

Trending: The scruffy look

I may go in for practical wear, like many Germans, but I have to admit I don’t like the scruffy look. I see lots of people in the streets of Germany who’ve really let themselves go. In Spain, on the other hand, I’m often struck by the fashionable attire and hairdos of even old women and men stooped by age, using a cane, walker or rollator to get around. Which makes me feel rather unkempt in comparison when walking down the streets of Bilbao, Granada or Madrid. Here in Germany, I’ve only ever felt this way back when I was a teenager in Düsseldorf, which is still the nation’s fashion capital. Though lately Berlin has been trying to one-up Düsseldorf with its Fashion Week and its many fashion start-ups. Berlin is simply the place where you can still experiment with fashion and really let your hair down.

Sweatpants and losing control

Düsseldorfers follow the rules of international fashion. They look like they’ve just stepped out of a fashion magazine. When I told a friend of mine I felt like going shopping in sweatpants, she said I was in good company in Berlin and wouldn’t stand out because almost everyone around here lets themselves go. Even at the opera I’ve looked around and wondered whether, fashion-wise, I couldn’t just as well have been sitting at a bus stop. Anyway, I’ve resisted the temptation to walk around outside in sweatpants all the time and I’m glad I did. Because as the inimitable Karl Lagerfeld, a German devotee of the Paris fashion circus, once said, “Sweatpants are a sign of defeat. You lost control of your life, so you bought some sweatpants.” So it’s bad enough if I lose control in the privacy of my own home. I can wear leggings outside instead. But that’s another story…

 

February 2023