dressing nice while hitchhiking

[THE REAL SCAVENGER]

I have noticed that the nicer I look, the faster I get hitches. For a while, I only had one white shirt that quite quickly became a dirty brown shirt. The longer I traveled, the dirtier it got, and the longer it seemed to take to find a ride. I eventually ended up losing the shirt somehow (sadly I've taken it a lot of places) and quickly I found a polyester blue golf shirt in a laundry Matt. I looked like a college kid on a vacation, instead idea homeless traveler. I quickly started getting rides in as much as half the time as before.

 

[Mankini]

yep. i travel in a variety of outfits: cowboy; this old scroungy purple leotard i stole from a yoga studio in CPW; gold silk tie and faux diamond cufflinks (I won't wear real diamonds due to the scourge of African blood diamond/De Beers cartel); suede; a fleece onesie with cat ears; etc etc.
The main thing you want to avoid is the typical 'Joey Ramone' look.
Lycra will get you where you need to go in style and comfort.

 

[SophiaII]

The nicer you dress, the more likely people are to do just about anything you ask. Food/money/rides. Even more likely to answer questions, be nice, etc

 

[Tony Pro]

The main thing you want to avoid is the typical 'Joey Ramone' look.

I laughed at this because I've got a buddy who dresses like the kind of guy who would get kicked out of the Ramones for being too grungy. He hitchhikes to work every day, or tries to. I've held my tongue when he complains about long waits.

I hitch around my home area with a briefcase and thermos of coffee. Looks like I just got out of a board meeting.

 

[Mankini]

this was me in north dakota awhile back. no problems whatsoever.

also, i'm a minimalist, so i only carry what i can run with.

 

[Matt Derrick]

updated the title of this thread to be a bit more relevant.

 

[nivoldoog]

Dressed well seems to help me. Even flying signs. cleaned up, dressed alright. People would be less offended to talk to you.

 

[Durp]

To be honest, this really fucking bugs me, but it seems to be 100% true from my experience. Especially in busking or street performance, get some snazzy outfits and refine your act and now you have performance art, not dirty beggars. You will be amazed how much more you pull down, and will actually start being offered paid gigs! This whole election cycle has seemed to really polarize the country, and both sides are against our sort of people. This scares me. So, I decided that I need to try and blend better since my living situation is sort of grey area. Shaving, clean shoes, and going the extra mile to make sure my boat looks neat and tidy has transformed my acceptance by the boating community. With scraggly beard dirty pants and sandles I am a transient, but with decent shoes, shaved, and cleanish pants, slap some cheap paint on the boat now people call me a "yachtsman" and solicit work for me to repair their boats, which I begrudgingly decline do to health issues. My situation is that of if the community I am in atm dispels me, I am shit out of my last luck. The thing is though, my life has actually transformed. Financially I am tapped out, and morally I am a vagrant. Put on a clean shirt and touch up your varnish, next thing you know you are being invited aboard some really nice vessel for awesome food and free drinks! Also, I really really really do not want to piss off the coast guard in my area. If my boat looks decent they ignore me completely even if someone calls to bitch. Then I know the spot is no good cause they just give me a couple flashes with the strobe to signal to move on in the morning, instead of boarding me to tell me to leave right now. Also I have started to develop a sense of pride for my boat. It works right, it looks nice, and it is because I put the time to make it that way, which makes me feel good.

 

[marmar]

Yep. That's how I hitched from NYC to Seattle in 6 days. If you need to get somewhere fast, make sure you don't look like a bum you are lol

 

[ev wood]

Those fancy patterned button downs and "prairie dresses" take a lot more dirt before they look totally wasted, especially if you take them off and put them next to you when you sleep so they don't get wrinkled. They're easily found on the cheap at thrift stores and are usually 100% cotton which will make you sweat a lot less than man made fabrics (polyester, rayon, etc). I get more compliments on my dress when hitching than I ever did living somewhere, lol.

 

[Supposed Mocha]

I think dressing with your surroundings and the whole of society goes without saying to some degree, hell in rural areas people have responded to me wearing those Carhartt jackets much better than if I was wearing any of my beloved hoodies. Gives you this gritty working man look, little do they know they're fools!

Only thing I wish I could give up is my long red hair, I love it too much to snip it. People get so weird about it all the way to calling me a devil.

 

[WanderLost Radical]

Idk, I never tried to hitch with real nice clothes, but I kinda had the opposite experience. I get rides more easily with my punk tanktop full of holes than with my clean Bob Marley shirt.

I guess its because it identifies me as a traveller, vs the weed-smoking lazy teenager image that comes with Bob Marley... idk.

In my experience, people are way more friendly to travellers than homebums, so if you cant dress up nice, try looking like a traveller as much as possible. Place your bag in view etc.

 

[otch0z]

(Not for guys) Wear a dress ! You can't look dangerous in a dress
Also, put your thumb really up in the air, smile, look like it's a great experience to wait for hours on the side of the road
Also my father (who hitched a LOT when he was younger) told me that apparently the brighter the color you're wearing, the more likely people will stop to take you. Like wearing an yellow coat is the best, but orange works too. Important : even if it's sunny af, don't wear sunglasses
I wore a yellow dress and got to my destination as fast as I would have if I had a car, no kidding. The first car to pass by stopped and the lady told me she didn't normally took hitchikers but "i didn't look dangerous so..."

 

[Shwillam]

Ya know for me, I completely understand this but in my own experience I had just about the exact same amount of luck no matter how I dressed. As long as I looked like a traveler (bags out, dog close by, ect.) people were fascinated by me and wanted to pick me up just to find out what the fuck I was up to, or were already familiar with the lifestyle and just wanted to help me out. I've tried dressing nice before and never had any better luck than otherwise. Different "types" would pick me up depending, but never more or less success.

 

[paterdot]

Ya know for me, I completely understand this but in my own experience I had just about the exact same amount of luck no matter how I dressed. As long as I looked like a traveler (bags out, dog close by, ect.) people were fascinated by me and wanted to pick me up just to find out what the fuck I was up to, or were already familiar with the lifestyle and just wanted to help me out. I've tried dressing nice before and never had any better luck than otherwise. Different "types" would pick me up depending, but never more or less success.

I've had the same expierwncem rather punked out or summer babe, I think a lot of it is your facial expressions and body language

 

[Shwillam]

I've had the same expierwncem rather punked out or summer babe, I think a lot of it is your facial expressions and body language

Completely agreed. When I'm smiling and waving and looking like I'm having a good time I get picked up really fast. But as soon as I start getting pissed or thirsty/tired I can't get rides worth a shit

 

[nivoldoog]

I have been hitch hiking in a suit. Been a very good trip.