Collection of dress codes in Poland - what to wear?

I just received my travel information from my Polish travel agent. The information she gave me said shorts are not recommended. Also that they are not allowed to be worn in churches. So...what should we wear in the summer? Will knee legth pants/jeans be okay? How about spagetti strap tops/sundresses? Are there any other fashion related issues I should be aware of? Are jeans allowed in churches? Thanks in advance for the help.

Yes...

knee legth pants.... sure why not? something dressy for church yet summery. im not sure but at my polish church we cant wear the spaghetti straps unless we have something over our shoulders or something like that... other than that... iunno... matters what church. does anyone know if theyd like... kick you out if you were wearing something wrong?

No... but they will think bad things about you. You just have to know that you can wear almost everything, just without things like short skirt etc.

I would say something modest for church but when I was in Poland last year there were women (well girls) in short skirs and such like, I wore shorts and so did lots of other people...

Its nice that people respect places of workship, respect and modesty are improtant for people to appreciate things.. when people are dressed modestly they are not looked at in a intimidating way.. its more about ones character

Any catholic will know that you should cover your shoulders and dress modestly in church...But everywhere else anything goes even short skirts, I saw plenty of them when I was there last summer...mainly worn by girls under the age of 20...dress your age - mutton dressed as lamb isnt attractive in any country..

well said!

Generally speaking, Poles dress better than the Germans, British and Americans. But then that's not particularly difficult.

I think i'll take that comment out to the garbage in a minute along with the rubbish in the black bag!!! Why is it hte polish think they dress so well, goodness me and i'm sorry here Poles but your colour co-ordination is awful and as for some of those clothes, need i say anymore :)

I agree with Tornado on this one... Osiol please explain why you think Poles dress better than British people? (I dont care about the Germans and Yanks) I agree that Polish women definitely like to take a pride in their appearance, but as far as fashions go I guess its all a question of taste as personally I find most of their clothes to be cheap looking, tarty and old fashioned ( I am basing this on Polish women in the UK) and most Polish men do not strike me as style setters.. not that Im saying that all British people are either, but since we are generalising about whole nations here, what the heck.. sorry if Ive offended anyone, but honestly thats my opinion. Sometimes I just want to take them shopping or point them in the direction of the nearest stylist!

That's because we are men, not any metrosexual crap.

yes but some men are interested in nice clothes Greg. My bf is a painter, but he still manages to make the effort to wear nice clothes every day... and yes he is Polish, which kind of contradicts what I was saying earlier.. however, he has had some assistance from me. Now some of his friends say he has an English look, but he is happy with that :)

I look nice too.

you do have a beautiful coat, but I dont like to wear fur myself (unless its fox fur of course)

Once a donkey always a donkey,
In all my trips to Poland ,and this is always to the cities, i have never seen a Polish male wearing designer clothing.In the Uk the majority of Polish males that i know or have met have indicated visually a preference for Matalan.

Can't comment for those nations but its true compared to Irish.

Not a major difference in fashion between the Irish and Polish men. If we're being fair here the bottom of the rung on either side will slum it with their shellsuits/track suits wheter Irish knackers or Polish blockers.

But there is quite a big difference between the Irish and Polish women.
I'm not sure if the Poles have better clothes, more a case of their clothes looking better on them as they tend to smoke more and drink less and generally keep themselves in better shape.

The one thing Polish women don't have a clue about though is make up.
They plaster it on, often using all the wrong colours, something from the 80s I'd imagine.
I've seen a lot of Polish women who look far prettier without make up.
Occasionally some girls overdo it and end up looking like prostitutes without realising it.

Interesting to read that :)

i always feel when it comes to womens clothes that less is more :)

Dress code when visiting Roman Catholic, Orthodox or Formal churches

The biblical principle is that flesh should be covered, that is why priests, monks and nuns cover as much up as possible. This is also why devout women wear head coverings or hats, to cover their beautiful hair so as not to draw attention to themselves.

In these surroundings, short skirts, shorts, bare arms, bare shoulders, cleavage etc scream out Look at Me! And show a great disrespect to the feelings and beliefs of the worshippers, just like strolling through a mosque in a swimsuit and eating a pork pie.

There is often no law governing these things, but it reflects badly on you and determines the type of reception that you can expect if you want something from them - like a photo or directions to some other place.

And yes, you could be barred from entering a church for any reason, as they are not public rights of way.

can you quote please.

1 corinthians 1:29 is direct NT church quote.

Principle: Adam & Eve, Levitical priestly garments, etc etc

Im not sure about drinking, did you mean smoke more or less? The Polish women that Ive met smoke like troopers, but Im not sure how that makes your clothes look better? I totally agree about the make up. Generally a lot of Polish women are good looking and have nice figures, but the style of clothes and the make up that they wear can make them look tarty. But obviously fashions are different in different countries, so I think I only notice it because they look different when in the UK.. this goes for Russians and other Central/Eastern European countries too. You can tell where they come from by their dress and make up choices. Ive noticed a lot of Polish women like to wear white or pastel colours in particular.

I wish I would have gone to mass on Sunday while in Poland. In the US, the dress code seems to be more lenient. I've seen girls wearing skirts slightly above their knees, and guys wearing an outfit that is meant for the gym.

From my short stay, I had to wear a sweater and jeans while in Zakopane; shorts and a t-shirt while in the Tri-City area (Gdansk, Gydnia, Sopot). However, when I went to the beaches in Stegna, I marveled at how some people can go swimming and walking around in their speedos at 65 degree F weather.

I think it's the way they hold their handbags. :D ;)

You dont have to be Catholic to know you need to dress modestly and respectful. I'm Church of England, irronically my other half is Catholic as well as my Father but they never forced their religion and restraints of it on me, I respect myself.

Its unfortuate that the younger generation, especially Brits, I can say that as i am one, have very little self-respect and show as much flesh as possible. Saturday nights are Meat Feasts in town. Its not very attractive and leaves little or nothing to the imagination. Not so strange that so many teenagers get pregnant too soon or worse get raped. Enough preaching from me.

My Polish lover said he was attracted to me because of my respect for myself and not flauniting my assests. I take this as a great compliment, although when we first met it was at work and our uniforms are NOT flattering at all.

Merged: Set of dress codes in Poland

I'm going to Poland (Krakow to be exact) in a month or so, and I wanted, while I'm there, to attend Mass. I would appreciate any recommendations on what church I should attend. Also, what's the dress code (I was planning on wearing dress slacks)? Any hints would be appreciated!

Smart casual. Some wear suits

Don't forget it will be cold and you might have to dress accordingly.

your sunday's best... for sure.. pick a church, any church.. they are all old and cool. :) then the following sunday pick a different one.. you probably ought to start on Wawel and work from there.

2 churches on Rynek are very cool too.. even if you don't go to mass, go and check them out.. the artwork is awe inspiring.

Krakow has some of the most beautiful churches. Many are open to the public - though some charge a small fee to go inside...its well worth it though to see the inside of them.

I also loved how the the priests and nuns actually dressed in the more traditional getup of their orders. Where I am its getting harder and harder to tell who is of the clergy and who isn't.