Is fancy an offensive word?

I was in a group of school mums and one told she used to be a backpacker. I surprised as she looks in style all the time not chilled and casual like backpackers!
I told her you are too fancy to be a backpacker and she got offended! What was to right word in this context?
Please don’t mind me. I am an ESL and the hardest thig for me is using the words in the correct context now!

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Hello and welcome to the forum. To answer your question, it would be good if you could explain what exactly you wanted to say :wink: If I understand you correctly, you think that these moms are too fancy or even too snobby to go on a backpacking trip. If that’s the case, I would agree that they have reason to be offended because you obviously judged them on their looks instead of talking to them to find out what they’re really like.

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Hi Torsten,

Thank you for your answer. I totally agree wit you. I think it comes more from cultural differences! I actually intended to compliment same as back home and mention that how nice and good looking she always is, however, I actually judged her interest in backpacking life style!!
Apart from my problem in the context that I learned now, is fancy a good word in the sentence?

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I think the adjective fancy is primarily used to describe things and not people. A restaurant can be fancy, or a dress, but normally you wouldn’t call a person fancy. By the way, this is an interesting article:

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Thank you so much for your time.

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There is a common schoolyard insult of calling someone “Miss fancy pants”. I think it means you think you’re too good for us.

Referring to people, I think it means they’ve gone over the top, ostentatious, well beyond what is required for normal style.

I think there’s also a difference between calling someone a name and describing someone.

You are fancy.
You dress fancy.
The second sentence is better, though the still not a great use of the word.

You might consider something like this:

I wouldn’t have taken you for a backpacker.
Oh, why not?
Well, you’re always dressed so stylishly, not outdoorsy like most backpackers.

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Hi Arinker,

Thank you so much. Very well explained!

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