Hey, friends, it's Angela.

Today's topic is something I definitely did a lot of research on before we took our first trip to Europe.

Number one, because I love fashion and I wanted to really plan what it was gonna be that I would wear on our trip.

But also it's because we heard so many stories about all the scammers and literally all the different creative ways that they have of distracting you so that they can take your money and your valuables.

And the easiest way for them to pick you out of the bunch is to go by what you're wearing.

There are things that they just don't wear in Europe.

And if you take these with you, you're gonna be an easier target.

So let's get into this list of items you should definitely be leaving at home.

Number one, let's start with the hats.

We love our baseball hats, don't we?

And our golf visors.

Both of those things should be left at home.

They don't wear those kind of hats in general in Europe.

That alone right there, it's like bingo.

They're from America.

So don't make yourself stand out.

If you're a woman and you wanna take a nice hat, think about a straw hat, a bigger brimmed hat.

And as a man, you wanna take something that looks a little bit more classy looking.

But definitely, baseball hats, golf visors are a no.

Number two, as far as shirts go, they don't wear logo shirts with team names on them, school names on them.

We wear that stuff because we're proud of our team, we're proud of the school that we went to, but you won't see that going on over in Europe.

And there's a lot of times we get into wearing souvenir shirts here or from a city that we went to visit or a big city that we admire, but they don't do that there.

So if you have a shirt with an Eiffel Tower on it, or you have a shirt that says Paris or London or whatever, they won't be wearing that if they live over there.

It's just us that we think, "Hey, we're going to Paris or we're going to London, let's take the shirt that goes along with that."

Don't do it, don't do it.

It will make you stand out as a tourist.

Number three, backpacks or backpack purses.

These are really convenient, aren't they?

We love to take those places, we travel with them on airplanes and shove them under the seat.

We walk around with them on campuses and we even have these cute little backpack purses.

Here's why they're not good in Europe.

You want all your valuables on you to be in the front, somewhere where you can have eyeballs going on to make sure you're seeing what's going on here.

If you're walking around with a backpack, chances are these people are good, okay?

They can unzip any pocket, reach in there and get something out before you even know what hit you.

Another thing that they're doing is they're cutting, they're taking knives and just cutting a slit right in the bottom of one of your pockets of the backpack and just letting whatever's in there fall out and they're gone.

They're gone with your stuff before you even know it.

So please don't take something where you're going to have it in the back of you, you always want it in the front.

Number four, if you're going to take some kind of bigger bag or a bigger purse with you, please make sure it's got a zipper.

There are a lot of different type of beach bags, let's say, or purses even that might have a little snap at the top, but you could still reach hands right into the bottom of that purse, right?

You wanna make sure there's definitely a zipper on it and think of this, if it's an over the shoulder purse, make sure that the zipper is turned to the front.

So the zipper end of the purse is right here, not on the other end facing behind you.

It just makes it easier for you to keep an eye on it and a zipper is gonna make it a little harder for anybody to be getting in there.

Number five is fanny packs.

Fanny packs are pretty convenient, right?

That used to be a huge thing back in the '80s and maybe even the '90s.

And today, it might not be the fanny pack as much, especially with the younger crowd, but they're going with those belt bags that we're carrying kind of cross body in the front on our chest.

Now, that's a pretty nice bag to be taking because everything is in front of you, but as we learned, they don't wear those in Europe.

They go with much more classier looking, smaller purses or something that's like a cross body, but it's leather, it's much nicer than what we would take as a casual, athletic looking belt bag.

If you're like me and you love your Lululemon belt bag, I mean, I take that sucker everywhere with me just about when I'm here,

but believe me, don't do it, leave it at home if you're going to Europe.

Opt for something much more classy, even if it's just a smaller cross body purse.

It's gonna have you stand out way less than carrying some kind of fanny pack or a belt bag.

Number six, don't be bringing your hoodies or your sweatpants.

In Europe, they don't walk around wearing lounge wear all over the place.

I've heard over and over again that your gym wear, your leisure wear and your workout wear is only for the gym there.

They don't take that to the streets.

So think about that when you're packing, leave the sweatpants, leave the athletic shorts, leave the athletic tees and your hoodies at home.

While we're on that topic, you're not gonna see women in general wearing leggings on the streets in Europe.

To them in their mind, that is gym wear.

That is what you wear when you're going to work out, but you do not wear that kind of thing walking around on the streets, going out to any kind of meal with your friends.

Just don't do it.

It's so comfortable, right?

We wear that a lot here.

We'll wear that out as our casual wear.

We'll go out to the ball in that.

We'll go to lunch in that.

But when you're going to Europe, please leave those things at home.

Another thing that's not gonna work there that a lot of people get into here is looking like a hiker, okay?

You got your cargo pants on, you got your safari shirt on, you've got that one type of hat on that looks like you're going on a hike.

You know what I mean?

I think you know what I mean.

And you've got the hiking boots on.

All of that, okay, especially if you're going to a big city, you're going to Paris or you're going to London or you're going somewhere in Italy, no one's wearing hiking clothes.

So leave all of those items that you might wear to go on a hike, leave them at home.

You will stand out like a sore thumb wearing your hiking clothes on the streets.

Now, in the clothes department, another thing to keep in mind, especially for women, is when you go into any kind of museum or you're going on a tour into a church,

make sure you have your shoulders covered and your knees covered.

It is just something that they do out of respect.

So if you have a spaghetti strap or a tank top style dress on, make sure you take a scarf with you to wrap around your shoulders.

Maybe you're going to take something like a tie front cardigan to throw on that's thin that you won't be hot in, but it's going to cover up your shoulders.

You might even want to take some kind of a thin jacket so that when you go into those places, you can put it on and cover up your shoulders.

Now with the knees, make sure that if you're wearing a dress, it goes down past the knees or think about wearing a pant.

Don't wear shorts.

Even if they're Bermuda, you want to make sure they cover your knees.

Trust me, you don't want to get to the front of the long line that you just waited in to get into a church or a museum and find out that they're not going to let you in because you don't have the appropriate clothing to cover yourself up.

The next thing, let's talk about shoes.

Some shoes that you definitely don't want to be wearing over there.

We wear flip-flops quite a lot over here, don't we?

We wear them to the beach.

We'll wear them out walking somewhere just as a really casual shoe to go with our outfit in the hot weather.

Don't do it over there.

Now I'm not saying don't wear a sandal, just don't wear those cheapy flip-flops over there.

Number one, nobody wears them.

Number two, their streets over there, a lot of the times are different from ours.

You're going to find the cobblestone streets over there.

You're going to find cracks in sidewalks and things like that, uneven pavement.

So don't wear shoes that are going to be uncomfortable walking on those kinds of surfaces.

Let's talk about heels.

If you're going to take a nice shoe to wear with your dresses, let's say, think about a wedge because now a wedge, at least you've got more ground covering.

So you're going to have a little easier time walking in those, let's say, than some kind of stiletto heel or wear something with a chunkier heel.

If I had to do it over again, packing, I would really take two pair of shoes, my tennis shoes and a pair of Birkenstocks.

Those were the two I wore all the time on our last trip.

One, because they were the most comfortable for doing all the walking that we did.

I could wear those shoes and by the end of the day, my feet never hurt me.

And number two, women in Europe, even wearing dresses, will tend to wear tennis shoes with them because in general, they're doing a lot of walking and they're familiar with how their streets are.

So the tennis shoes are a much better option even with a dress or a skirt.

You're going to see that a lot over there.

Now, maybe what you won't see in a tennis shoe with a skirt or a dress is like a gym tennis shoe.

Don't wear those big, bulky tennis shoes with those kinds of things.

Maybe look for something that's still comfortable, but it's more streamlined, it's not as bulky, and it looks kind of classier for a tennis shoe.

Something like a thinner Adidas or the VJs or a KED, something like that, as long as it's comfortable for you and it's not real big and bulky.

The other thing you want to leave at home is any kind of clothing that's really loud and has a lot of bold colors.

Generally over there, they are much more classy looking.

They go with more neutral colors because that goes with a lot.

So think about leaving your shirts that look like you're ready to go to a fancy luau or really bright, bold colors.

You may want to leave those at home because that could make you stand out like a sore thumb.

Some people like that kind of thing here because it just energizes them.

It makes them feel like they're expressing themselves.

But believe me, for over in Europe, leave any kind of clothing item that's got really big, bold, loud prints on it at home.

Now, as to other items you should pack that are not just clothing that will make your trip even better, watch this video next right here.

I talk about 13 things that you should make sure you have on your next trip abroad.

Until I see you next time, my friends, stay beautiful on the inside and out.