Believe it or not, this seemingly innocent fashion blunder can be credited for the birth of this blog. Having lived in the lowlands only a short amount of time, I just couldn’t wrap my head around the sight of red-pant-wearing-folk marching around. They were everywhere: riding bikes, sitting on terraces eating lunch and parading down the streets. It seemed to me I was observing a true cultural oddity; Dutch people were making a powerful statement and expressing their unadulterated love and support for… red/yellow pants colour-blindness??

Sure there is nothing technically wrong with red pants, its just…well, odd ( and a truly unique Dutch offense)! The first time I saw a well-groomed older gent proudly sporting a bright yellow sweater and crimson red trousers (à la Ronald McDonald variety), I couldn’t help but marvel at his boldness – “Wow, he certainly wants to make a statement”! But my naivety was to be forever lost; I looked around and noticed the ubiquity of this serious fashion faux-pas; red-pants-wearing-men were everywhere! (and no, we’re not talking about the “hipster-red-pant” kind).

Not too long after my epiphany my father came to visit me in Amsterdam. One afternoon, after his various city-strolling exploits he casually remarked “Seems like red jeans are in fashion over here, maybe I should get a pair”. Say it wasn’t so!! The illness appeared to be contagious! He certainly was in the right target demographic (45 +, white, and male) but seemed to have caught the bug with only a meager few days of exposure! I hadn’t realized the virus was so strong!! How irresponsible of me to let him out unsupervised and so exposed!

It is important to note, that this phenomena is not strictly limited to the sanguine variety. Dutchies have been know to like love all citrus flavoured pants; you will catch long-legged men taking their orange, yellow, peach (or even pink!) counterparts for a stroll in the lowlands.

Truth be told folks, I have to love the red pants. In fact, I have to down-right revere them. For without them and their bold colour-blind owners, this humble little blog would not exist. They were indeed the inspiration behind all things SDPL. They were the first Dutch curiosity that made me scratch my head (and scratch it some more) and wonder “what the heck, is going on in this country?!”

Dutchies: do you have a pair of citrus-coloured pants hanging proudly in your closet?  Don’t take these judgments to heart: if you love your red pants, wear your red pants proud! After all, how else will we foreigners be able to tell you apart from the Germans? 😉

At least you don't have to worry about spilling it on your pants!

At least you don’t have to worry about spilling it on your pants!