At the first hint of frost in the air, every woman under the age of 40 is suddenly sporting an artfully wrapped cotton scarf around her neck. The longer and more colorful, the better. Some are looped round and round and then loosely tied to tuck the ends under. Others are dashingly draped over the shoulder.
Whenever I try to artfully arrange a scarf, it manages to come loose and is flapping about within minutes. Clearly I am not European. I also walk to work carrying a lunch bag. This is another dead giveaway and major fashion faux pas.
But I was talking about scarves. . . The scarf is usually worn over a skinny jacket, paired with tight jeans and flat shoes (strangely enough, Keds seem to be making a comeback with teenagers here).
European women are chic. They look like they have an expresso for breakfast and no immediate plans for lunch. As pedestrians, they walk aggressively and quickly. There is a daily "on-foot" rush hour in my neighborhood. Keep up or be run over. Despite the rush, they don't seem to be going to work. Perhaps to university, or to a dingy cafe to smoke cigarettes and talk about philosophy.
In any case, I like to watch them as I hurry to my American job, scarf swinging, lunch bag bouncing with each step, unfashionably enjoying life here in the wilds of Eastern Europe.
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