6 LITTLE THINGS THE FRENCH DO DIFFERENTLY THAN AMERICANS
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- Опубликовано: 18 июн 2024
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Let's talk about France vs. USA cultural differences. In this video, I'm talking about 6 things French people do differently than Americans. I'm covering things I haven't talked about at length in other videos to keep it fresh. Some caught me by surprise, so if you're thinking about living in France or visiting Paris or elsewhere in France, learn about these little differences to be more prepared. If you like learning about culture shock in France and French culture differences, this video is for you.
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Salut! I'm Diane, an American who has lived in France since 2012 and started the living abroad lifestyle blog Oui In France. My channel's focus is "Everyday French life and beyond." I make videos on French culture topics, food, travel, language, and give you my thoughts about what it's like living in France as an American in the Loire Valley. Thanks for being here and if you enjoy this sort of thing, please share with friends and subscribe!
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Bonjour Diane,
Since you asked, I'm an American man and I never wore an undershirt under another shirt.
I like staying cool, so I keep my AC at 62° (that would be about 16° to you, I think), and so I dress as lightly as possible.
@@fredashay Ah 62!! You're like my brother. Always keeps his house cool. But he's in S.Florida so it gets really hot. Thank you for letting me know about the undershirt.
French citizen here.
Yeah I do wear things that are meant to be under shirts , under a shirt indeed...
But I'm a Baudelairian goth ... so my style is kinda "old timey" , men around me here in Northern France did wear them as kids , but kinda dropped the habit once 16 year old and buying your own clothes rolled around.
But hey given the options I have for types of under shirts and that the prices ranges from super fancy pricy, to very basic under done and price accessible , I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one out there ^^.
It's just you know going in or out of fashion.
well the bottom part of the nine is quite expected but it should be more like a curve (unless it's an LCD display in which case all angles are 90 or 180 degrees ofc) because 6 and 9 are supposed to be symetrical like a 69 ;)
I’m reminded of the advertising slogan, “La chicorée, c’est la santé”.
Hi Diane,
A note about Chicory. While the plant does have blue flowers, as you showed, the drink is made from the root, which is roasted and ground.
My French husband was born in 1930 and always wore a ´maillot de corp´, even in summer!
Hi Diane,
Just FYI, chicorée became quite popular during and in the aftermath of WWII, where coffee was scarce in a torn down France, and people used replacements for such goods, such a chicorée for coffee, topinambour for potatoes, etc.
We used the word "ersatz" (and still do so nowadays) to designate a cheaper, not-that-good replacement for something that is out of financial reach or out of stock.
Thank you, very interesting!
Guillaume, you’re very right. Not sure Diane ever tried it, so I should add that chicorée is also eaten as a very tasty salad. Same bitter taste range as the drink, but as a salad. It goes very nicely with some goat cheese roasted on a toast, as a tartine, as it softens a bit the bitter taste. Delicious and healthy;-)
"Un maillot de corps" is also called "Un marcel" in familiar language (it's not really slang, more a casual word for "Maillot de Corps"). It's a working garment invented in the XIXth century for people doing heavy duty work and needing the freedom to move their arms and shoulders without being hindered by sleeves. It's not just a sleeveless t-shirt (which are just, well, t-shirt without sleeves): The shoulders are not covered at all. Apparently, the name "marcel" comes from a brand, the factory Marcel, which was located at Roanne in the Loire. It becomes the first factory to make this garment industrially.
Super interesting, makes sense. Thank you!
@@MichaelTheophilus906 , they exist for women, but are called "débardeur". Actually, I never realised that until this discussion, but "débardeur" can be used for a men or women apparel, but I don't think "marcel" can be used for a women garment. Amazing how you don't realise some subtleties of your own language sometime...
@@VdFCatLord And the Brits call it a vest top . . .
French here. We called also "un tricot de peau" in familiar language during the 50's and 60's.Not anymore.
I wear the 'marcel' in the warmer months. For some reason I don't like the 'nude' feeling of a shirt directly on my back or chest area. Also, I think it looks good under a plain button down white shirt. I've seen quite a few men wear them in Buenos Aires.....
I was raised in a boarding school for girls in France in the sixties. The white cotton undershirt was part of the uniform and it was called "petite chemise".
Maillots de corps weren't just for men. As a little girl in France in the 70s I also wore an undershirt for added warmth in the winter. Great video ad always!
I’m an American who thought the same thing about shoe sizes, apparently women’s shoes are narrower then men’s shoes. So even if you get the “same size” through a size conversion chart, they’ll fit differently.
La chicorée was used during the war as a substitute for coffee and also used by women to tan their legs because there was a lack of tights.
Fun video!! Im 50 and have always worn tshirts under my dress shirts. It is completely necessary here in Houston where the heat and humidity causes you to sweat through your dress shirt. This way you can wear your shirt more than once. A dress shirt drenched in sweat clinging to your back is a nasty feeling.
and I think we all know why there are two separate sizing systems for men and women in the US. 😣
About the writing: I am French but i lived in Canada for a while, and I definitely write numbers like you, especially the 1, 4 and 9 because it looks so much clearer. That said I always put a bar on the 7 ! I guess when you live in different countries you end up mixing up things a lot more. About undershirts, I've seen them worn in Eastern Europe mostly. I don't really wear dress shirts so I don't have this issue, but I suppose in France these types of undershirts are generally seen as "grandpa" clothing and thus are not really fashionable.
I had a bf years ago from UK. He wore what I called "wife beater"undershirts. I thought it was funny and unusual, he however took very seriously and necessary for being properly dressed. Love these cultural comparisons, very interesting to learn.
@Sue Crumley When I was growing up in the US they were called tank tops.
“Under shirts” are known as vests, mainly worn by men but also women might wear a specific designed vest for women in cold weather usually women of a certain age.
French guy here (69 years old) ... and i have been wearing and undershirt since i am a child and i still do !
But, i agree that, younger, it was only what we call "Un Marcel", that is the one which does not cover the shoulder.
This one is sometimes called , mainly by former generations, "Une liquette" ...
It's only just since a few years and only in Summer that i don't wear some.
I even did not know that today, it was not common anymore !!!!
blinkers: leaving them on as at 2:18 is an unwritten way to ask people (cars) ahead to free the left most lane ASAP so that you don't have to slow down behind a slow car, it is a way to say "go back to middle lane as soon as you've passed that car coz i'm faster and i'll stay on this lane for many cars". this way of using the blinkers is normally not legal and i know in Belgium you can get a fine for doing it, yet some still do.
Oooh, interesting about the fine in Belgium!
About wearing undershirts... I'm in my sixties and my father used to wear them on a regular basis underneath his formal attire - shirt, tie and jacket. As a kid, I wore them too, and before the arrival of the now ubiquitous t-shirts, my mom used to call them "tricots de peau"... "Maillot de corps" was also used, but it was more upper class I guess.
AU: I wear a t-shirt under a dress shirt in colder parts of the year. It means I can be in the office without a cardigan/jumper/jacket.
61 year old American here. I have been an office worker since 1980 and wore a suit and tie from 1980 to 2001, and business casual since. But I have always worn a dress shirt. I think it was around 1990 when I discovered just how much more comfortable it was to go without an undershirt and have done so since. I am also one of those lucky people who do not sweat much. No one has ever mentioned it to me, and I don't recall it ever being a topic of conversation.
Tremendous video! That was really a lot of fun, going into all the differences, the little things that make our cultures unique! The sizing segment was especially fun!
Tell me if I'm wrong but, in the US, I'm "not a set"size, depending on where I shop, my size can drastically be different from 5 to 6.5. I also heard some other women confirm this too.
Yup, It's a struggle sometimes picking out shoes, boats and heels.
Hi, a couple of things to complement here from my experience:
Keeping your blinker on when you overpass is mandatory in France only on 2-way roads. On 1way roads, such as motorways, you are required to signal with your bllinker that you are changing lane, but not supposed to keep it on all the time. Either you go back to the right-most lane when there are no more cars in front of you, or you stay on your lane because of the dense traffic. Keeping your blinker on is a sign of bad driving, or that you are tired by a long trip... In any case, it is a warning sign for other drivers!
Your husband knows nobody in France wearing any undershirt... Have you chosen him just for comforting stereotypes about French hygiene??? 😜 The thing is that for sure you will find very few people with an open shirt and a round neck undershirt. The undershirt is very important, but must stay invisible, above all if you're dressed formally. We must see your shirt, but not what is underneath. It may be challenging when you wear a white cotton undershirt under a thin white dress shirt. In this case you might want to look for skin tone undershirts to keep them in stealth mode.
Yes, I was also puzzled by same-different shoe sizings in the US. How am I supposed to find the high heels I want to buy for the party?
Hope this helps 😉
I think there is a case on motorway, you need to keep your blinker on when you're in the fast lane until you go back to the right. then there's people that use that way to signal they want to go faster than you :D
Personally, I may or may not wear an undershirt under my shirt at work depending on the season and the temperature. As I am chilly, in winter, I wear an undershirt under my shirt and a sweater over my shirt. If it's very cold, I can even wear a short-sleeved undershirt + a long-sleeved undershirt + a shirt + a sweater + a jacket + a coat and even long johns under my pants.
In the summer, I only wear a shirt, often with short sleeves.
On the French highway you're (in theory) not allowed to stay on the left side. It's originally supposed to be used only to pass the car in front of you.
So the rules are the same than overtaking on a normal road.
And because it's a dangerous situation keeping blinkers help other user of the road understanding the situation (particularly on the night...), and allow to anticipate. Remember French 'straight lines' on the road are not like in the US. Most of the time they are quite short...
Now the circulation is 10 times more on the highway, so this rules/habits it could seem strange.
Lots of Americans still use cheque books. I get stuck behind them all the time at grocery stores. It's quite common here still. The younger generation tends to stick to cards or digital pay though. Americans also use cheques and money orders to pay their rent and deposits. It's very common here in the U.S.... (I am from Europe)
left blinker on the 3rd line can signal to the 1rst car : you're slow, get off the way
European here, from Portugal, undershirt rarely used. I personally only use one when it's really cold.
(In the US) My BF never wears t-shirts under dress shirts made of 100% natural fabric (cotton, linen, hemp). However if he has to wear a shirt with some polyester content, he'll wear a t-shirt underneath because even 10% polyester gets stinky faster and it's generally uncomfortable.
Another exception is when it's extremely cold, he'll wear a lightweight silk t-shirt under clothing to keep warm.
I Diane, being French, I still enjoy your videos as I'm interested to know how France and the French are perceived by our visitors or residents from overseas.
About cheques, please note that they are "on the departure". I don't know exactly when but they'll soon no longer be used.
Good to know about checks, thank you. So glad you enjoy my videos ;-)
Same here!! I’m French and love watching your educational videos! Left France 🇫🇷 in 1971 when I was 9 yrs. old, a long long time ago! So, a lot of this is new to me. Love it, Merci!
US resident. Look to France as the ultimate in food and fashion.
I took two years of French in high school. Madame, who was French, wanted us to do as much of our work the French way so I started putting the line in my sevens. Almost 40 years later, I still do it.
My 59 year old American husband wears an undershirt with a dress shirt depending on the occasion. For a formal occasion such as a wedding, he will wear one. If he's at work or going out to dinner, he doesn't.
Thank you, yes the line in the 7 I think helps to make it clear it's not a 1, so I'm Team Cross the 7. P.S. Your giveaway prize is on its way!
Hello Diane. Just wanted to say thanks for the videos and how much we enjoy them, the driving parts are especially helpful.
We have been exploring Europe in our camping car (as it’s called here LOL) since last November and life is now a constant state of learning.
We are in Perpignan right now and will be spend the next 6 weeks working our way towards the EuroTunnel.
Maybe we will cross paths on of these days.
Thank you for another great video - particularly thank you for showing us how the French write numbers by hand - this has caused me a few problems in the past and I am so pleased to have this explained.
Regarding the maillots de corps - I'm a Brit in my early 60s who moved to France a couple of years ago. I have worn a maillot de corps for most of my life - except for a period when I was younger and it seemed un-cool to wear one - in the UK we would call these vests (what you call vests we call waistcoats). Bear in mind, also that if a man is wearing a maillot de corps under his shirt it won't be very visible, perhaps more men wear these in France than it first appears.
Regarding shoe sizes, Nicole Rudolph who is a fashion historian has published a really interesting video explaining the whole story about shoe sizing on her RUclips channel - look for "The History of Standardized Sizes in Womens Fashion and Why They FAILED" .
Thanks again.
I am french, 57 and Always Wear a vneck t-shirt under my shirts. For rings my wife says the right size is One carat.
French here, never wore an undershirt under my button up , I'm 36, and this seems like a super old old old fashion habit. My grandpa used to do that. Much more sensual to feel the nice fabric of the shirt on the skin hahaha
Love these videos:)
So glad, Natalee. Thank you!
My take on the blinker as a French person: for lots of drivers, it's a way to tell the cars in front of them on the left lane "get out of my way, I want to overtake you too" quite often driving a couple of inches behind you rear bumper, even if you are already at the speed limit and busy overtaking.
The blinker is just the level of aggressiveness below flashing your lights, in other words.
My comment is usually, "Yeah, I get it, you want to overtake, no need to signal it and no need to drive right up my a**!!"
I had to laugh when you talked about the sizing differences in the US and France. I bought a bra on one of my trips and I wear size 100 C in France which over here sounds really huge!
YESSS, great reminder, Sandra, that bra band sizing is different in France too!
Very informative, thank you. The written numbers are similar if not the same as in Germany and I believe the shoe sizes as well. Love these videos. 👍💐
About the blinker, for me it indicate that I'm passing the cars on my right and then I expect to mobe back in the right lane. I will not use it if I am cruising at high speed on the left lane. It serve 2 purposes:
- if a car come behind on the same left lane , he knows I'm here only temporarily, so he can adjust the speed according to the estmated moment I will leave the left lane.
- it inform the car on the right lane, specially trucks, that I'm planning to pass them and so they must not change lane.
I hate the term "wife beater". I've heard the term 'athletic shirt". The British use the term "vest". This is not to be confuse with what the British call "waistcoat", which is the third part of a 3-peice suit.
Hope you are well. Another great video. Thanks.
My 1-9 compared to my husband's are exactly the same, right down to the bar that I now ALWAYS put on my 7.
i wear an undershirt depending on the temperature. if it's too cold, i wear one. But in summer, i usually wear light cotton or line shirt, and no undershirt.
I'm from Quebec and both of my grandfathers (born in 1930's) were wearing a "camisole" (a maillot de corps) underneath their shirt or their work uniforms (one of them was a mechanic) and it was pretty common back then. Most of the men I know don't wear one or a t-shirt underneath their shirt but I've been told it's not uncommon.
Help keeps me warm ,in the winter I use two undershirts
This was especially interesting!
So glad you enjoyed it!
I'm a German in my fourties and own, and have owned several undershirts - literally translated from Unterhemd - They look like the french "maillot de corps".
But I also own a few thin t-shirts to wear under other stuff. I Just use both when it's cold.
It was very common to wear an "Unterhemd" under every top garment - or just work in one of them when it's hot.
This was more interesting than I thought
Bonjour Diane! Je suis français, mais je ne porte JAMAIS de chemise directement sur la peau. J'ai horreur de ça! Je n'aime pas cette sensation, et je n'aime pas transpirer directement dans ma chemise. D'ailleurs, j'ai l'impression de transpirer davantage si je ne porte qu'une chemise sans rien dessous. Petite précision, en France, on appelle souvent un tricot de corps un "marcel". ;-) Je te salue bien bas!
Interesting video Diane! We all struggle with sizes in different countries. 1 perk of the US shoe sizes is that you find the wide width more commonly available than in France. Now, I agree with Serge Blanc about the undershirt. In my experience, it is considered mandatory to wear it, invisible, under a dress shirt. Now, French men wear shirts casually in summer (whereas it is almost always tees or polos in the US) and in that case, no undershirt.
Checks are still widely used in the US! As a matter of fact, I had to order a check book some time ago because some services do not accept credit or debit cards. However, I must say that I use my cards or electronic payments daily and much more frequently in the US than I used to when living in France.
Bowls are used by old generation of french, young french use mugs a lot.
Thanks. About half of these were new to me.
Hello fellow Jersey girl! Lol and so true with the blinkers
Interesting point about the blinker being left on the entire time you are passing someone. If you see a car in the left lane in Germany that has the left blinker on, it usually means the driver wants the car in front of him TO GET OUT OF THE WAY! But it’s also possible that the driver has just forgotten.
That's a very discrete way of saying to GET OUT OF THE WAY, uusally in France they use bacon calls (switching on and off their beacons)... while being VERY close behind you.
In a more general way, I find that safety distances are among the least respected rules on the French motorways and that is quite dangerous.
@@noefillon1749 Oh, well, that’s very common in Germany as well and is probably the most commonly used “request” to move over into the right lane where slowpokes belong! And if there’s anything German drivers hate, it’s stepping on the brake; they will come up behind you at a tremendous speed and not brake until the very last second, expecting you to move over immediately as soon as you have passed the car/truck by at least 2 millimeters!
Fortunately, I have a car that allows me to speed up quickly if I see someone like that coming up behind me (I generally drive about 130-140 km/h, although my car is quite capable of doing over 200).
My father wore a vest in the winter especially latterly when he was on a blood thinner
Tom’s 4 is weird. I’m a French and always write down 4 like you do. And people around me do the same 4. Tom must be an exception in France
He does it like that to save time, he said. I've seen it like that before on missed package notices too from the mail carriers.
I think ours is more one single line than those 2 split crossing ones. I have only seen that in young children's writings. When we grow up we tend to grow out of that and just make it in one go.
That said might vary depending on regions and social classes.
American of European parents who wears a light grey v neck t shirt under dress shirts (it doesn’t show through white/light colored shirts) and I wear ties too so there’s that.
For information, checkbooks are free in France. Bank will sent you for free at your home and you dont have "use tax" when you use checks. A french credit card cost in France at least 30€/year and you have a lot of "littles taxes" like if your take money at a ATM who don't belong to your bank etc..... So vive les chèques :p
(Also the "maillot de corps" is mainly called "a marcel" ;))
Some remarks:
Blinkers: because the french drivers are too lazy to remove it once they have switched the lanes. Some cars have a "comfort" blinker: it blinks 3 ou 4 times and stop, just the needed time ;)
Undershirts: (I'm French, 68 years old) and I never had any (maybe when I was child). My father/grandfather had... the famous "maillot de corps".
Rings: it is easy, it is the circumference of your finger in mm.
Shoes: 40 for female and male are a bit different, the width is different.
I'm from l'Ouest of France and when i was a little girl (in the 90s), i used to wear an undershirt called "petite chemise" under my shirts. My father used to as well under his. But they seem to have disapeared in this part of France. I dont know anyone at work wearing undershirts now and even my dad don't wear them anymore.
I am French and my also French dad always wears a t-shirt under his shirt but it seems to be a military habit because I don't know about any civil men of any age wearing it in France
It has been 32 years since I last lived in France, but "back in the day," I usually saw French people hook their index finger over the rim of their "bol," and support the outside with thumb and middle finger. Maybe that technique is out of fashion now?
In the South of France, blinkers are optional as well, unfortunately...
Ah yes, I've noticed that...
I concur !
Chicorée is also great for digestion, well, let's say it: if you needs a bit of help to poop regulary ;) But it's not as strong as pill or something so you can get out safely after ;)
An unrelated shoe story....
Years ago I read that Ireland sued in EU court about standardization of shoes.
Their contention was the dominant recreational show maker (Adidas) was geared toward flat, wide 'Germanic' feet while the Irish had narrow 'Celtic' feet.
I don't recall any final ruling.
P.S. I have no 'dog in this fight'. Neither German or Irish.
It’s interesting to hear you talk about checks. I worked in Pairs ( au noir( in the the late 60s after college. I had traveler’s checks and the suspicion was equal to the National Security Council’s. Many places never heard of taveler’s checks. And credit cards? Forget it. Later the French got debit cards and am I correct that even today most french don’t use credit cards, just debit cards? For me seeing the changes in my lifetime is really fascinating. I even remember when there weren’t supermarkets and I saw a group of businessmen having gone to the US to see our supermarkets came back to try the same thing with Monoprix. Not France has Hypermarché s which far surpass ours!
I'm 60 from the US and always wear an athletic t-shirt under my dress shirt.
Here in Sweden men upto 90 %docent use undershirt, that was before when indoor heating was not the best. Today its almost 22 C or more inside so the extra layer is not needed
Regarding shoe sizes we have centimeters equal for all. .
For the numbers, I am French, I learned to write them in a French school and I write nearly all of them your way, not your husband way. The only ones I write your husband way are the 1 and the 9 (and the 7 if you consider your old way).
The mugs are rather recent. But bowls were not the only thing we used. When I was a child I had a big cup (the size of a bowl), which was more easy to grab with the handle.
For the undershirt, I am rather surprised. I never saw my father without one of them under his shirts. And most of the men I know wear one.
I’m Franco-British in my 50s I never wear anything under a dress shirt!
Hi Diane, my father and all my uncles always wore undershirts under their dress shirts, but I (an American) did not and none of the other people my age did either, so it may be generational. However, I eventually started doing so because (as you said) it does protect your dress shirt from sweat stains. Also, I think blinkers are optional in Massachusetts, too. Finally, my mother told me that chicory was added to coffee or drunk instead of coffee because of rationing during world war II.
Are blinkers optional or , with all the new automotive electronics and Fastpass monitoring, is the driver being charged per use and trying to save a bit of money?
Men wearing undershirts in the Netherlands is even more common than in the US, as they wear them under all shirts, including polo shirts, not just dress shirts. I think they wear them in Belgium too. The term "wife beater" for an undershirt has been around since 1951 and I think even the Brits use it. My French professor, from France, explained how shaking hands between men and women is different in America than in France and also men passing women on sidewalks differently. In France everybody has to be ready to shake hand and keep their right hand as free as possible, including women, In America a man doesn't stick a hand out to a women, unless she offers her hand first. In France women, can expect men to offer to shake hands with them. On the sidewalk, in America men pass women on the street side of the sidewalk, regardless of direction. In France everybody, men and women, keep right and pass on the left, regardless of which side the street is on. This is how it was explained to me by a professor from France. An older French man told me that the handshake custom used to be like America in France, during earlier times. I think the UK has the sidewalk customs that America has, as a friend from Spain told me that British women would often give him an look if he went to pass them on the non-street side of the sidewalk in London, because they would try to move to the non-street side on his right as he tried to move his right, as they do in Spain.
I like the 7 with a bar and use it. It looks more intentional. Having bought shoes from England and Germany, I never gave the shoe difference a thought. It is kind of confusing to have men and women sizes if you didn't grow up with it.
My landlord doesn't accept electronic payment for rent, only checks or money orders. However, most people in my complex are poor senior citizens.
Good insights, Diane. I'm a 74 year old Old School American and have been to France a few times. Never knew men there didn't normally wear undershirts under dress shirts. I would still feel naked.
Ha, my French partner always wears a t-shirt under his dress shirts (a regular t-shirt, not necessarily an undershirt), and if the dress shirt is white he'll wear a white t-shirt. He does sweat a lot though and is very conscious of it. He does have a few sleeveless t-shirts (he calls them débardeurs) that I have to convince him not to wear out in public in the U.S. 😛
Vous parliez du nord de la France avec une photo de Honfleur, en Normandie !-) Comme beaucoup, j'aime vos vidéos.
They are called singlets in Australia.
Husband wears them in winter
Sometimes my son 33 wears one too
Funny, getting older I switched to French finger counting because it is not easy anymore to stick out middle fingers :)
I'm a man, and I wear undershirts in winter only. That's actually about wearing an extra layer to keep warm, no link with sweat.
In my fifties from the U.S. and my husband or my dad never wore an undershirt
Interesting that you use both hands to drink from your bowl of coffee. I've always used my thumb and middle finger on the outside balanced by the pointing finger on the inside.
I drink my coffee in a mug!
i live in the us and i try to wear something under a dress shirt for warmth usually (i live in ny).
I thought checks were super common in America aswell. I've seen it lots of times in TV shows. As a Swede it's very old fashioned and doesn't exist here, and like you said, very 90s(or 80s haha) so I was surprised by your comment.
*Most of the time, I use checks for big amounts or deposit.*
Hello, I'm from Mexico. I have been living in France for the last 21 years. I confirm what Tom said. Never seen a French guy with an undershirt. I personally use them and find them more hygienic. Care to say is a real adventure to find one. Most of mine are from Germany. The rare ones you'll find in France are so heavy is almost as if you were wearing a sweatshirt 😩
Why is it more hygienic ? A shirt is worn only once anyway then it goes in the laundry basket.
American here. Yes to undershirts under dress shirts for both hubby in his 50s and son in his 20s. Looks dressier and more professional. It also extends the wearable life of the shirt.
Very true about extending the life of the shirt. Another good reason to wear an undershirt
Bonjour Diane. J'aime bien ce comparatif qui est possible grâce à une expérience des deux cultures. En ce qui concerne le maillot de corps ou tricot de peau aussi appelé "marcel" nos grands pères en portaient et c'est certainement pour cela qu'ils sont jugés démodés en France. Je bois aussi toujours mon chocolat chaud dans un bol.
There is a detail that I noticed on French roads and is specifically French most direction panels are written in italic letters not in block letters which I find very strange.
I am Dutch and so is my husband. He definitely wears an undershirt ☺️
Gotcha, thank you!
My husband wears an undershirt under just about everything he wears. European shoe sizes make so much more sense. I have found that a 39 is a 39 is a 39 whereas in the US I can wear, 8.5. 9 or 9.5.
In the US, at least years ago, guys wore t-shirts because the white dress shirt was a little see through. It wasn't a problem with the jacket on but sometimes like at weddings or other events, they wanted pictures without the jackets, and the see-through thing some guys didn't like in those pictures. One friend forgot to put one on and was embarrassed to see the picture a week later from some formal event. Camera flashes made it worse, when otherwise you wouldn't notice it.
Interesting, I didn't know that!
French 1 and 9 are written just like they are displayed on every keyboard, including QWERTY's ! 🙂
I live in Canada. Shoes here are usually marked in metric and something I assume is the same as US sizes. I always shop based on "42.5" because it is almost always the right size. In US sizes I end up with anything between 8.5 and 10. Metric sizes must be based on some real standard.
I think that Diane's hybrid numbers are not remarkably unusual here. Maybe a third of people cross the seven.
It is interesting that checks are still used in France. Here in Germany checks have almost completely disappeared. Back in the 1980s people sometimes used Eurocheques but they no longer exist.
I think France is the only country in Western Europe that still uses checks!
Re: the undershirts, I totally noticed that when I flew on Air France. The male flight attendants wore white shirts with no undershirts. It looked very "incomplete" to me. I also found it kind of jarring that the shirts were somewhat see through and you could see the complexion of the skin underneath. That is one major reason why I wear undershirts with dress shirts (see through thing).
Puritan you
@@towaritch 😂
The Dutch do it like Tom and sometimes the eight is not close to being closed at the top. I used to work for the American division of a Dutch owned company and got vey used to their way of writing numbers. Checks are common here in America also but usually by the very old people as habits are hard to break. The thing about women's shoe sizing is so ladies have a smaller number for the same size as a man's so they "think" their foot is smaller.
My husband wears a t-shirt under his dress shirts. I’m in the U.S.
My husband is in his mid 50’s and is American…and wears an undershirt under a dress shirt. The number 3 when counting on your fingers in France is the same when counting in ASL-American Sign Language. Finally, another thing with different sizes is a bra!
Bonjour Diane, pourrais-tu nous faire une vidéo sur ton expérience du système métrique (km, kg, cm, litres...) par rapport au système américain. ? merci