It really depends on where you’re going. In most of the cosmopolitan Western European cities you are okay to wear tank tops during the summertime. Outside of the cities, though, tastes can be slightly more conservative. If you’re spending much time in rural or semi-rural places then I’d say go with the t-shirt rule. I’ve heard that Spain is somewhat more conservative about what they consider appropriate dress… you’ll wanna ask around about that. I also can’t really comment on Eastern Europe.

when u go into churches they will ask that u cover ur shoulders
mind u our italian local guide sported the tightest weeniest tube top that barely contained her but she cheekily waltzed in with a tiny crocheted shawl over her tanned shoulders..some official eyed her and apparently admonished her but she snapped at him and proceeded with confidence
that was in stpeters basilica

now in greece in some churches we had to wear skirts ( so always pack one) ..u could hire some beaut numbers lol from the foyer ( and didnt they look a treat in the photos!)

i always pack a light lace shawl…can dress up a top or wear it round my jeans ..whatever …keep it in my day pack just in case

elsewhere i wore sleevless teeshirts with no problem ..i really didnt notice what the locals were wearing…when ur touring the touristy spots u can only observe the tourists

i lived in jeans and runners ,,khakis and flip flops…i wasnt a traffic stopper round the paris sights but i was comfortable!
dont sweat it! enjoy the summer!

quote:now in greece in some churches we had to wear skirts ( so always pack one) ..u could hire some beaut numbers lol from the foyer ( and didnt they look a treat in the photos!)

I didn’t have any problem in Greek (or other Orthodox) churches wearing slacks. However, it was clearly "no shorts" for everyone. They made the guys put on wraparound skirts over their shorts.

misskaylee, sorry, I am not a female, but as an astutue observer of European women while I was there, I would say tank tops should be fine Like others have stated though, I wouldn’t wear one to a church.

hi, old lady !
i went to greece last year
zipped up to kalambaka to see the monasteries of meteora
i was going to leave my bigger luggage in athens
thinking that id just take a day pack for the three nights in the interior but changed my mind
in the monasteries they were very strict.. wear a skirt or no admission …thats where they had the floral numbers with the elasticised waist ( one size fits all) up for mandatory hire
i did have a skirt with me but lots of the girls had to adopt the monastery skirts..poor young things lol!
it was kinda mildly annoying that noone forwarned us …
no big deal, but still good to know about this rule if u wanna look purty in ur pics and not like the queen of the outback dairy! lol ( hey ,have nothing against queens, dairy maids or people living in the outback)

quote:
I read that someplaces you want to be as covered up as possible, does this mean that girls shouldnt wear any tank tops in europe and stick to tshirts pretty much ?

After living in Spain, I can safely say that the spanish women (especially in the metro areas) are some of the most stylish women in Europe. Because of the heat there, sleeveless/tank top shirts are ok, but you may find that the women prefer more to do light layers. That said, the cover-up is often required for churches or religious areas. The best investment I ever made was buying a 3 Euro scarf (called a "bufanda" in Spain)at the Rastro street market (I’m sure they’d be available at a street market in any country). It folded up tiny to carry around in a purse or day pack and was easy to pull out and wrap around the shoulders when entering into a more conservative place. It also worked well as a head covering in Muslim areas and a scarf in the colder climates (yay for multi-fuctionalism!)

If you are backpacking in a tank top, watch out!

I wore a tank top once and after carrying my backpack for a while, I had horrible "rub marks" near my armpits. It was painful to wear the pack after that!

Trying to quote mse924, I ended up editing your post, and writing my ideas through your nickname, I am so very sorry. It’s fixed now, again, I apologize.

As I was saying,

Multifunctionalism is beautiful. I had one of those thingies to put around yur waist on the beach, and it was good for the beach; cover myself for church; hot but windy days when I wasn’t carrying a heavy jacket; pillow for the train; as a towel when the real towel was dirty or wet; good to wrap and carry your dirty laundry; or on days when I was too tired to go sightseeing, I would wrap myself in that and do ALL my laundry and just read a book; heck, if I had a baby, I’d probably carry it in this thingy (pareo in spanish, can’t think of the word in english), it was almost good enough for a hammock!!! And it was so light and folded real tiny…

Multifunctionalism may not look pretty, but it can save up so much space…

Outside of religious places, it’s obviously fine…although, the less you wear, the more attention you bring to yourself…it’s just the way it is…whether you’re in the US or Europe…if you want to minimize that, then things that don’t quite reveal your shape to that extent would be better reccommended.

I’m curious why posts like this one ALLWAYS attract that much attention.
Can’t wait till someone starts "Traveling around Europe in a bikini swimsuit" thread!

quote:
I’m curious why posts like this one ALLWAYS attract that much attention.
Can’t wait till someone starts "Traveling around Europe in a bikini swimsuit" thread!

That’s funny..but at the same time, it’s amazing how certain things like this are so surprising to some….obviously, there is a group of well travelled savvy women that participate in this forum for the most part…however, when I backpacked…it was remarkable regarding how many girls/women I’d see at the hostels…who I heard complaining regarding being appoached by strangers during their day…or looked at by locals…and as they are complaining, they are wearing the skimpiest shit as possible….dudes will look at girls who wear practically nothing…it’s the way the world usually works….I get that they want to be comfortable…and if they don’t care about the negative repercussions…then by all means, go for it….but don’t be surprised when you are gawked at or what have you…and this isn’t just about backpackers…it’s about living your normal life too…you simply get attention when you dress a certain way.