Paris - Clothing

There are no specific recommendation for Paris, since the temperate climate does not call for "extreme" clothing gears.
It is advisable though to have something light rain- and wind-proof to carry along, since unexpected showers of rain and bouts of cold wind are quite the norm, especially in spring and winter.
A note must be issued regarding Parisian attention to dress codes which are not said out loud but still carry some weight.

Tourist are one thing, in fact it is a given that American tourist are one and all with their shorts, hats and sneakers (and the bottle of water!) or the Japanese tourist by the white shirts and attached group, (making them all an easy targe for the teeming and everpresent population of pickpockets!), but a foreign resident is another and you need to be aware of which dress codes applies where. Living in a country means also understanding how certain behaviour are perceived and dress is important to Parisians (though is not applicable to the rest of France).

For example people normally dress "up" even to go and get a baguette. There is not such a thing as a French women in sweat shirt and gym shoes going shopping.

Although a thing of the past when a suit and the tie for men and a smart dress for women were a must even to eat at the street bistrot, what still applies today is a formal dress code when dining in three star restaurants (Paris has few of them!). Having said that it does not mean that a more relaxed attitude towards the dress code makes acceptable a sloppy attire, like gym clothes, which are frowned upon.

One thing is dress informally and another is sloppiness. Parisians place a lot of value on style, even when dressed casually.