Not bad weather, just bad clothing

I quoted this before. Apparently it is a common saying in Norway referring to the winter. They like to get out no matter the weather. You just have to have the right clothing for the weather. It seems though that Norwegians are not quite sure what to do with warm weather. And by warm, I mean 77 degrees which is quite cool to all of you in Texas right now.

The past few days the weather has been sunny and in the 70's. To me that is perfect weather for shorts and short sleeves. I see people wearing tank tops and I see people wearing scarves. Today I actually saw someone wearing both a spaghetti strap tank AND a wool scarf. I am amazed at how many I see with jeans and a jacket. Granted we always pack a jacket in case it gets cold, but we usually don't need to wear them. At the park I saw people laying out in a string bikini and someone walking past the sunbathers in a coat and jeans. You would think that being the one from Texas and use to 100 degree weather I would be the one bundled up for the chilly weather but I was one of the few women over the age of 20 that I have seen wearing shorts. I see capri pants and skirts, but not really shorts.

I think I have mentioned before that the kids are often bundled up as well. They have these heavy lambswool pads in their strollers, are often covered in blankets and wear sweatsuits or tights. I am sure that the Norwegians see me with Katherine in her short sleeves and shorts and think I am being neglectful.

There are some other interesting fashion trends that I have noticed here as well. The oddest is that often (and on purpose I might add) young girls underwear and outerwear do not line up right so that about 1-2 inches of their underwear or bra show. What is up with that? Yesterday I saw a women in her 40's with a very sheer white dress on. The slit went to about 3 inches below her crotch on both sides. I was walking behind her across the street and you could see straight through her dress. The funny thing was that her lacey underwear was kind of granny underwear in style. Because of the length of the slit, you could not wear a slip so I guess the dress was designed to show of the underwear.

Just some interesting cultural observations.