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C'est mal vu de porter des vêtements blancs.

C'est mal vu de porter des vêtements blancs.
It is frowned upon to wear white clothes.
From Lesson 369:Expectations and obligations (être censé)·French

Questions & Answers about C'est mal vu de porter des vêtements blancs.

How does C'est mal vu fit into a lesson about expectations and être censé?
While être censé means "to be supposed to," c'est mal vu means "it is frowned upon." Both deal with social rules and expectations. You could express the exact same idea using this lesson's grammar by saying On n'est pas censé porter des vêtements blancs (One isn't supposed to wear white clothes).
Why do we need the word de before porter?
When you use an impersonal phrase structured as C'est + [adjective or past participle], you must use the preposition de to connect it to the infinitive verb that follows. Just like you say C'est difficile de parler (It's hard to speak), you say C'est mal vu de porter (It's frowned upon to wear).
Why doesn't vu have an -s at the end to agree with the plural vêtements?
vu does not describe the clothes; it describes the action of wearing them. Grammatically, it agrees with the impersonal subject ce (the C' in C'est). In these impersonal constructions, the adjective or past participle is always fixed in the masculine singular form.
Could I say Il est mal vu de instead of C'est mal vu de?
Yes, and it means the exact same thing! C'est mal vu de is what you will hear in everyday spoken French, while Il est mal vu de is slightly more formal and is often preferred in writing.

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