by Marlin Bressi

Created on: April 24, 2009

In America it is a common fallacy that European women are more stylish. The reason for this misconception is that most Americans, many of which have never set foot in Europe, have only ever seen images of European women in magazines, or in television or movies. The images we are presented depict European women as sensual, exotic, and sophisticated, with a keen sense of fashion and style. This is simply not true.

We often forget the dichotomy that exists when it comes to physical impressions. Surely the European notion of American appearance is just as flawed. After all, don't you think that a European whose only knowledge of America comes from popular culture might be under the impression that all American women look like Paris Hilton? Any trip to your local Wal-Mart will quickly dispel that notion.

Likewise, we have been led to believe that European women are stylish because of the images we see through the media. The idea that European women are more stylish than their American counterparts can also be based on the fact that Europe has traditionally been the home of many of the world's great fashion designers and clothing companies. In other words, we are holding European women to a stereotype. America has traditionally been the home of country music, so does that mean that all Americans dress like cowboys and ride around in pick-up trucks?

We can easily see the absurdity of our assessment of European style by looking at a map. Europe is a pretty big place, and while there may be fashionable crowds in Paris, Milan, or Berlin, the rest of Europe is full of small towns and villages where fashion is the least of someone's worries. Take Bosnia, for instance. Bosnia is a war-torn nation chock full of European women, yet it is hard to believe that the average woman from Visegrad, Bosnia who earns less in one year what most Americans earn in a month is walking around town in a $5000.00 Versace dress. Or that the 50-year old housewife from Poland is sashaying around Bialystok in a pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes.

Any American who sets foot in Europe and explores the continent beyond the major financial and cultural districts will come to only one conclusion: European women are no more stylish than women anywhere else.

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