Calling all Germans. (Living in todays Germany if possible)

[rocketeer]

A quick question.

I like black long sleeved shirts. I am visiting Germany next week, probably going to restaurants etc though no wartime sightseeing tours and just wondered are black shirts considered bad taste. No badges or markings of any kind just a plain old black shirt with a collar, probably no tie.

 

[Fastuni]

Of course not a problem at all. Why would it be?
Black shirts are perfectly normal garments worn by countless Germans every day.

Enjoy your stay - where are you going?

 

[rocketeer]

Of course not a problem at all. Why would it be?
Black shirts are perfectly normal garments worn by countless Germans every day.

Enjoy your stay - where are you going?

OK thanks for that, its just in some cultures scars run deep and can be long lasting and I dont know the culture or feelings of the people. Apparentlya similar situation, black and brown does not go down well in Ireland if you get what I mean.
We are off on a mini tour of Europe, France Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. Really wanted to go to the Black Forrest region (Schwarzwald) but not enough time, this time.
Many thanks, J

 

[Rabbit]

Perhaps you were thinking of the Blackshirts, a militia of Mussolini. To my knowledge, there is no German equivalent to that - no black shirts were worn with any uniform of the Third Reich. Or were there?

Aside from that, black shirts in post-war decades were associated with some of the intellectual subcultures in western Europe.

Today, you often see waiters wearing black shirts or tee-shirts plus either blue jeans or black pants. The overall blackish look follows the general idea of creating an outfit that is unlikely to be worn by customers, just so that customers have no trouble identifiying the waiters. The color black is also generally associated with the guild of gastronomy.

Personally, I do think that black shirts are not in the best of taste, but merely for asthetic reasons, not political or societal ones.

 

[Fastuni]

Well in Germany it was the "Brownshirts" (mustard brown Nazi party uniform shirt).
But there isn't a taboo on brown either.

 

[Big J]

You see, when I heard you say blackshirt, I started thing about Kraftwerk and new romantics.

 

[The Good]

You see, when I heard you say blackshirt, I started thing about Kraftwerk and new romantics.

They're my favorite band. I'm a big fan of Kraftwerk, saw them live last spring, and some of the early electronic and New Wave artists as well, like Ultravox, John Foxx, and Gary Numan. When he's not performing on stage, even today the founder Ralf Hütter is often seen wearing black or dark grey shirts. With Kraftwerk, I don't think they had anything to do with embodying fascist beliefs at all, although Kraftwerk were knowingly parodying the fascist (and communist) aesthetics a bit with the uniform nature of their clothes, most famously either grey or black trousers with red shirts and black ties (with LED lights in the music videos), or black shirts and matching trousers during The Man-Machine and Computer World years. Kraftwerk were neither fascists nor communists, but were supposedly anarchists, the sort similar to libertarians in the U.S. Throughout their heyday, they also wore suits and ties, mainly in the mid and late 1970s, which were also not like the more extreme fashions of the time, but more restrained and classically inspired. I think they've generally kept a very tasteful image for the 1970s and early '80s, and they were inspired by the Fritz Lang film Metropolis, the Weimar German Bauhaus movement, and the Russian Constructivist and Suprematist art movements of the 1920s. Sometimes, even I wear their uniform of a red shirt with a black tie.

Blackshirts were an Italian fascist movement, but I doubt wearing a black shirt in Italy today is likely to lead to problems. You're clear to wear whatever color shirt you want, in my opinion, but try to avoid emulating the actual Blackshirts!

 

[rocketeer]

Just got back from one of my best holidays ever. Did a mini Rhine tour from Bacharach, Loreley then down to Rudesheim am Rhein, then on to Trier to visit relatives.
No problems with the black shirt and yes waiters and all sorts were wearing them.
Amazed to hear Kraftwerk singing 'The Model' fully in German, never heard that before. Tried to find some classic German dvd's but non with English language subtitles Yes I bought a Stein though it will probably end up with spare keys in it and though I dont really hike I may collect some of those walking stick 'stocknagal' but mount them on a cutlery box.(are these emblems particular to Germany / Austria?)
Cannot wait to visit again, fantastic country and history.
John