A Question of Etiquette?

Normally I could give a crap about clothes. I'm definitely not a fashionista. I buy as little as possible and try to stick to a few basics - otherwise I'm highly likely to screw something up. What I DO care about, however, is fitting in when I'm in a new place. Not that I'm going to fool anyone who looks twice, but if there's any chance I can not stick out like a sore thumb, and thereby avoid some street hustlers and other pain-in-the-arse tourist-leeches, I want to do it. If I can slink by while the Hawaiian-shirt-wearing couple from Salt Lake City gets suckered by a hustler selling "VIP Club Passes", I'm psyched.



So while reading this article, "How to Avoid Looking Like an American Tourist" (which could have easily been titled, "How to Avoid Looking Like a Dorky White Guy in a Memphis Blues Club"), I'm pondering packing a pair of jeans for the night out in Memphis and maybe even Asheville. Because the shorts and athletic socks I plan on using for the plane and the drive are just NOT "night on the town" gear, and probably considered offensive in some circles. Obviously we have to try and look at what the locals are wearing (and I'll ask my friend Stacy, who has been to Beale St. a few times), but my first guess is that a pair of jeans is a good idea to pack. Of course, the "Dress Code" sections in this listing are no freakin' road map.

You might not have such a worries with access to more clothes - it's your car - but me, I'll be packing it as light as possible.