Duke vs. Central Europe Day:
Dukies love to wear workout clothes for just about every occasion short of a black- tie event. Any excuse to wear workout clothes will do at Duke, think about how many mathletes and athletes themed parties and mixers there are. Nike tempo shorts or lulu lemon leggings with a north face fleece seems to be almost a uniform for the women of Duke campus. While this may be a good, comfy, option at Duke, I quickly learned in Prague that if I want to avoid weird looks that this is only appropriate attire when actually working out. Luckily, Prague is no fashion conscious Paris, so I usually keep things pretty simple in a pair of jeans, boots, and a warm sweater.
Duke vs. Central Europe Night:
While Duke nightlife doesn’t quite have a uniform like duke daytime, there are a few Duke classics. A failsafe Shooters outfit consists of some combination of a bandage skirt and a cute sleeveless top (one of which is probably very brightly colored) paired with sandals or heels. There are so many American students in Prague, who all seem to end up at the same places when going out, that this typical Duke look hardly looks out of the ordinary here. However, I recently took a trip to Berlin where I discovered that this outfit screams “I am an American tourist.” Here is what I discovered about going out outfits when I attempted to go out to a club in Berlin:
Bright colors (or any color really) = rejection
Styled/done up hair = rejection
Heels = rejection
Black jeans with a black top and black flats (the neon trend clearly has not reached Berlin) = entry… possibly (talking in line was strongly advised against if I wanted to get in)
Now, Berlin is an extreme case (I was also told prime hours for going out were between 4 am and 9 am… guess people don’t have that thing called work to go to in the morning), but the general nightlife culture in Central Europe is definitely a dressed down one. Pretty much nowhere has a dress code, unlike in the USA, so pretty much anything goes.