Expat Dress Code in Public Places

[gudtymchuk]

I was always taught "dress for success" and "clothes make the man". For daily dress I prefer shorts and polo shirt with sandals, even sometimes a tee-shirt. If going out to dinner to a nice sit down restaurant it's long pants, button down shirt and shoes with socks. If it's to the local BBQ buffet it's shorts unless I think the mossies will attack. I play golf on a regular basis and socialize off the golf course with a retired university teacher and the second in command of the local police. When we are going out I defer my attire to my beautiful, educated and classy lady. Believe me, if she thought what I was wearing was disrespectful or irresponsible to her home or culture she would not hesitate to let me know. But having said that I live in Sakon Nakhon, not Udon so maybe things are just a bit different here in the "boonies".

[fatbob]

So the Thai police are to be held as high upstanding citizens....................................maybe the higher up the more corrupt, what would I know about Thailand?

[trubrit]

. However, having a ponytail and/or facial hair is almost always frowned upon and brings you down at least a couple of notches no matter what you are wearing.

I must speak to a couple of farang in the Udon area to advise them of this

I believe KD was talking about perception . In a strange way Thailand gives the impression of being a permissive society, but in reality it is surprisingly conservative. Great store is put on face, what you see . That's why everyone from the postman upwards has a uniform covered generally with medals and even wings. It commands respect that , whether we like it or not, wearing a football shirt and shorts doesn't .Now when it comes to us Farang. Over the years there has been a general conception that we are all wealthy. Now Thais associate wealth with education. With that comes class. They have a word for it 'purdey or poodey" depending on translation. In fact all Englishmen were referred to as " Poodey Angkrit" High class English .A classification long since disappeared I'm afraid . Whereas in the West social barriers have long since, mainly disappeared, with the ability and expectation of the uneducated to earn the same remuneration as those who attended college .This has been reflected in the way we dress. The wealthy are just as likely , some may say , more so , to dress down as the "working class" are to dress up .This is confusing to the Thai who doesn't understand why that shabbily dressed, long haired guy sitting there, can afford to spend big money to come to their country. They then go on to apply the rest of their"logic". He is of lower class, therefore undesirable .Now I don't think any of us would be happy being thought of as anything but at least, a nice guy, so most of us make an attempt to conform with the standards of our hosts. Some obviously don't, preferring the expression of their own individuality to any one else's perception of them. There is no right or wrong way but as KD implied. If you choose the latter, you will be judged as they see it, not as we in the West do .

[Galee]

I wish more of the older expats in Udon would wear long trousers/pants. Seeing all those bulging varicose veins is enough to put you off your dinner.

[trubrit]

I wish more of the older expats in Udon would wear long trousers/pants. Seeing all those bulging varicose veins is enough to put you off your dinner.

Ah, but then you wouldn't be able to see those ugly tattoos they had done in the recklessness of their youth.

[martynsnowman]

I wish more of the older expats in Udon would wear long trousers/pants. Seeing all those bulging varicose veins is enough to put you off your dinner.

Ah, but then you wouldn't be able to see those ugly tattoos they had done in the recklessness of their youth.

every tattoo tells a story , and makes me smile ................... you must have gone to school everyday in your nice shirt and tie and and a apple for the teacher , wish that was me NO sorry ..

[semperfiguy]

. However, having a ponytail and/or facial hair is almost always frowned upon and brings you down at least a couple of notches no matter what you are wearing.

I must speak to a couple of farang in the Udon area to advise them of this

I believe KD was talking about perception . In a strange way Thailand gives the impression of being a permissive society, but in reality it is surprisingly conservative. Great store is put on face, what you see . That's why everyone from the postman upwards has a uniform covered generally with medals and even wings. It commands respect that , whether we like it or not, wearing a football shirt and shorts doesn't .Now when it comes to us Farang. Over the years there has been a general conception that we are all wealthy. Now Thais associate wealth with education. With that comes class. They have a word for it 'purdey or poodey" depending on translation. In fact all Englishmen were referred to as " Poodey Angkrit" High class English .A classification long since disappeared I'm afraid . Whereas in the West social barriers have long since, mainly disappeared, with the ability and expectation of the uneducated to earn the same remuneration as those who attended college .This has been reflected in the way we dress. The wealthy are just as likely , some may say , more so , to dress down as the "working class" are to dress up .This is confusing to the Thai who doesn't understand why that shabbily dressed, long haired guy sitting there, can afford to spend big money to come to their country. They then go on to apply the rest of their"logic". He is of lower class, therefore undesirable .Now I don't think any of us would be happy being thought of as anything but at least, a nice guy, so most of us make an attempt to conform with the standards of our hosts. Some obviously don't, preferring the expression of their own individuality to any one else's perception of them. There is no right or wrong way but as KD implied. If you choose the latter, you will be judged as they see it, not as we in the West do .

Brilliant post Trubrit! Information like this can only come from within a man who has a deep reservoir of wisdom, knowledge, understanding and keen perception and observation. Keep it up Trubrit! Well...you know what I'm talkin' about.

[pienmash]

Have to agree TB , the Thai liking of the uniform is about respect , i have a little titbit ith ref to this as well - at my mam in laws recent funeral there were quite a lot of digitaries including school directors , politicians , police and the major All decked out in their respective uniforms as one would expect , i turned up in the usual black shirt trouses etc and imediately i noticed one s my missu family in her school directors all white uniform with a skirt waty to short for a lady in her 50s I NOTICED BUT FOR ONCE KEPT MY GOB SHUT , however she was politly asked to go change the said item by an older siste of my missus , she returned looking more suitable for the occasion . My point being everyone has their own thoughts on clothing wether casual , formal or uniform for some it matters greatly for others they care not one jot if they wal around like a bag of sh*t tied up loose .IMO theres a time and aplace for all attires and a little common sense goes along way when getting dressed in the morning .

I personally dont give amonkies wha other people wear , some times look n shake my head at some things i see but each to thier own , so long as the person showers and is clean wo gives a toss if they want to walk around looking stupid or in the opposite genders clothing , we live in a country where thats the norm and barely turns a head.

mash.........only wears womens clothes on Sundays !!!!! ... and bank holidays , and christmas , Easter , my birthday

[old-timer]

wear a button down shirt quote]

, button down shirt

Not entirely true. OT's got a few button down shirts but in OT's opinion they are very old fashioned and generally look better on the older guy so I can see why KD and gudtymchuk think it's got to be a button down. I was just flicking through my wardrobe and noticed none of my Lacoste long or short sleve shirts are button down, nor are the Reiss, Maine, Rockport, Van Hausen, Chaps, Garbang, John Henry or the Pierre Cardins I bought from Robinsons when Trubit gave us the advise, on this forum, that they had a sale on. My British Home Stores, Marks and Spencer and Thomas Burberry shirts as well as one short sleeve Pierre Cardin are Button down collar. The worst shirts are the ones with a button down collar in three places, if I put one of these on I am normaly reminded that I've left the back one undone after I've left the door.
So that puts OT's summary on button down collars to rest.
Levis and Nike make up the most of OT's leisure dress code unless I'm going sunbathing, fishing, swimming, gym, running, house and gardening or a game of Rugby. I have been known to rarely where shorts outside these occasions.
Trousers, shirts, jackets, ties, and polished shoes are for work and special occasions so I'm glad to get that stuff off.

OT................

[hangsaboot]

So the Thai police are to be held as high upstanding citizens..

I have often seen a farang tourist police man complete with his gray pony tail doing his rounds in Nutty Park, and a very cordial gent he is.

Regarding the farang uniform/dress code of conformity and respectability (ha ha) there are many people who hide their dark character under their uniform of respectability.

It's not what you wear, it's what you spend that you are measured by in Thailand.

Stiff upper lips chaps. LOL

[semperfiguy]

wear a button down shirt quote]

, button down shirt

Not entirely true. OT's got a few button down shirts but in OT's opinion they are very old fashioned and generally look better on the older guy so I can see why KD and gudtymchuk think it's got to be a button down. I was just flicking through my wardrobe and noticed none of my Lacoste long or short sleve shirts are button down, nor are the Reiss, Maine, Rockport, Van Hausen, Chaps, Garbang, John Henry or the Pierre Cardins I bought from Robinsons when Trubit gave us the advise, on this forum, that they had a sale on. My British Home Stores, Marks and Spencer and Thomas Burberry shirts as well as one short sleeve Pierre Cardin are Button down collar. The worst shirts are the ones with a button down collar in three places, if I put one of these on I am normaly reminded that I've left the back one undone after I've left the door.
So that puts OT's summary on button down collars to rest.
Levis and Nike make up the most of OT's leisure dress code unless I'm going sunbathing, fishing, swimming, gym, running, house and gardening or a game of Rugby. I have been known to rarely where shorts outside these occasions.
Trousers, shirts, jackets, ties, and polished shoes are for work and special occasions so I'm glad to get that stuff off.

OT................

OT...this button down shirt thing caught my eye as well, but I really think KD and gydtymchuk were simply referring to a shirt that buttoned down the front, and not necessarily a buttoned down collar shirt, as apposed to a t-shirt or polo shirt which one simply pulls over the head. Perhaps we should ask them to clarify! Everytime I ASSUME, I wind up making an ASS out of U and ME!

[arjay]

In my experience this sums it up perfectly:

I believe KD was talking about perception . In a strange way Thailand gives the impression of being a permissive society, but in reality it is surprisingly conservative. Great store is put on face, what you see . That's why everyone from the postman upwards has a uniform covered generally with medals and even wings. It commands respect that , whether we like it or not, wearing a football shirt and shorts doesn't .Now when it comes to us Farang. Over the years there has been a general conception that we are all wealthy. Now Thais associate wealth with education. With that comes class. They have a word for it 'purdey or poodey" depending on translation. In fact all Englishmen were referred to as " Poodey Angkrit" High class English .A classification long since disappeared I'm afraid . Whereas in the West social barriers have long since, mainly disappeared, with the ability and expectation of the uneducated to earn the same remuneration as those who attended college .This has been reflected in the way we dress. The wealthy are just as likely , some may say , more so , to dress down as the "working class" are to dress up .This is confusing to the Thai who doesn't understand why that shabbily dressed, long haired guy sitting there, can afford to spend big money to come to their country. They then go on to apply the rest of their"logic". He is of lower class, therefore undesirable .Now I don't think any of us would be happy being thought of as anything but at least, a nice guy, so most of us make an attempt to conform with the standards of our hosts. Some obviously don't, preferring the expression of their own individuality to any one else's perception of them. There is no right or wrong way but as KD implied. If you choose the latter, you will be judged as they see it, not as we in the West do .

Don't under-estimate perception and "show". Thais will judge you by your standard of dress. Your behaviour and your partner may well also influence their perception/judgment. Whilst they think all farangs are rich, I doubt though they any longer think we are all high class.

OT, as Semperfiguy said I believe KD was referring to shirts with buttons, not shirts with buttoned collars, - as opposed to tea shirts or vests. ...... By the way, you neglected to mention your Primark shirts.

[old-timer]

OT I believe KD was referring to shirts with buttons, as opposed to tea shirts, - not shirts with buttoned collars.

OT doesn't normally bother clarifying a point he made earlier, however I was referring to KD and gudtymchuk postings. Though it's still possible I got it all wrong as usual.

OT..................

[pienmash]

Mash dress tip ,,,,,,,,, my favourite colour for a shirt is black , makes you look thin n more sleNder hence pleasing on the eye ,,,,,,inturn fat , plump , tubby or obese people should never wear strips that go horizontal ( that means across ways 474 ) as it makes them look like a big fat liquorice allsort on legs .

mash ..... fashion guru to Udons "style" challenged masses

[Shado]

Slobs are slobs whether in their home country or abroad. Foreign women who take up with them can't be completely ignorant of what they are getting themselves into and therefore should be prepared for whatever may develop during the relationship. Nothing they (the women) can do or say is going to change the personal habits of their partners.

Likewise, nothing we write on a fourm is going to make any difference to those who are slobs and they are to be endured as simply a fact of life. Sure, they may make a poor impression on the locals that reflects negatively on all expats but it is their choice and no amount of personal disapproval is going to change things.

There seems to be degrees of slobbishness. Perception by others determines what catagory they fall into. What may offend me may be perfectly acceptable to someone else. Slobs don't care how they look or conduct themselves and they certainly don't care what others may think of them.

[gudtymchuk]

While driving home from a short shopping trip into town I noticed a Thai gent standing in front of his shinny white Honda Accord blocking the entire left hand lane holding his tool and taking a pee.... but he was properly attired in long pants and polo shirt.

[trubrit]

While driving home from a short shopping trip into town I noticed a Thai gent standing in front of his shinny white Honda Accord blocking the entire left hand lane holding his tool and taking a pee.... but he was properly attired in long pants and polo shirt.

I don't understand your point. Was it because he was blocking the carriageway or because he was having a pee that you felt the need to comment ?

[gudtymchuk]

Just an observation how it appears to me a bit ironic that somehow dressing in shorts and tee-shirt is perceived to be bad behavior but blocking the road to take a wizz is perfectly acceptable. Sorry if my comment disturbed you.

[parrot]

"taking a pee.... but he was properly attired in long pants and polo shirt."

I've been to a lot of other countries, but can't think of another where that act is as common as it is here. I can't say I've ever read an ill word about the act in either of the English language newspapers.......so maybe it's okay in their eyes. Along the lines of women cleaning the men's room while you're in there doing your thing.

[trubrit]

"taking a pee.... but he was properly attired in long pants and polo shirt."

I've been to a lot of other countries, but can't think of another where that act is as common as it is here. I can't say I've ever read an ill word about the act in either of the English language newspapers.......so maybe it's okay in their eyes. Along the lines of women cleaning the men's room while you're in there doing your thing.

Or the katoy massaging your back while your desperately trying to keep the flow going .