All of this was because my cousin made himself look like a tourist by wearing beads close to Labor Day. The man looked my cousin up and down and said, “You got them on your feet!” My cousin laughed and tried to walk away, but the man came after him, insisting on being paid for the clever rouse. My cousin scoffed at the proposed bet, confident that this French Quarter hustler would never guess he bought his hand-sewn bluchers from a men’s shop in Eastern Connecticut. Someone will likely approach you-as they did my cousin-and bet they can guess “where you got your shoes.” If you’re wearing a neck full of beads during the summer, you’ll make yourself the target of a tourist scam. Wearing Mardi Gras beads in New Orleans at any time other than the official Carnival season is like wearing a wedding dress on a first date-it sends the wrong message, and it calls negative attention to yourself.
