s/o How not to look like a tourist in the US?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure if this is a travel question or a fashion question...

My European family is coming to the US on vacation this summer. They are really worried about "fitting in" style-wise.
I have explained to them that it really, truly doesn't matter what they wear in the States. But they are convinced if they look like foreign tourists, they will get pickpocketed, overcharged in lyfts, etc. Also they are quite proud of their English skills and think if they look "foreign" everyone will try to speak to them in their native language. They don't mind looking like tourists but they want to look like American tourists, if that makes sense.

Any advice for how foreign tourists can "blend in" to American fashion?

Tell them pickpocketing is much worse In Europe than it is here.

Also- how many Americans know the language your relatives speak? Unless they are from Spain I wouldn't worry.

[Anonymous]

Jeans, tshirt, leather jacket, Converse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Really? My French family would never dream of trying to look like Americans!!

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That’s really mean. A massive eye roll emoji would be kinder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure if this is a travel question or a fashion question...

My European family is coming to the US on vacation this summer. They are really worried about "fitting in" style-wise.
I have explained to them that it really, truly doesn't matter what they wear in the States. But they are convinced if they look like foreign tourists, they will get pickpocketed, overcharged in lyfts, etc. Also they are quite proud of their English skills and think if they look "foreign" everyone will try to speak to them in their native language. They don't mind looking like tourists but they want to look like American tourists, if that makes sense.

Any advice for how foreign tourists can "blend in" to American fashion?

Tell them pickpocketing is much worse In Europe than it is here.

I was trying to think of a non-snarky way to say this, but the US doesn’t have the “target the tourists” mentality that they have in many other countries with lots of tourists. Generally, Americans won’t care that you’re from abroad (NY, Las Vegas) or be interested and intrigued & want to be helpful (smaller towns). I mean, you could definitely get mugged in NY, but it’s not going to be any more likely if you’re from another country. I think they must not understand what a diverse melting pot the US is, in every way. There isn’t one American “look.”

[Anonymous]

Wow, this really flew over everyone's heads.

[Anonymous]

What does that mean?
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[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure if this is a travel question or a fashion question...

My European family is coming to the US on vacation this summer. They are really worried about "fitting in" style-wise.
I have explained to them that it really, truly doesn't matter what they wear in the States. But they are convinced if they look like foreign tourists, they will get pickpocketed, overcharged in lyfts, etc. Also they are quite proud of their English skills and think if they look "foreign" everyone will try to speak to them in their native language. They don't mind looking like tourists but they want to look like American tourists, if that makes sense.

Any advice for how foreign tourists can "blend in" to American fashion?

Tell them pickpocketing is much worse In Europe than it is here.

Also- how many Americans know the language your relatives speak? Unless they are from Spain I wouldn't worry.

+1
Spanish is the only language I could see someone flipping to if they realize your family speaks that. Anything else at all will not see this

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jeans, tshirt, leather jacket, Converse.

Leather jacket in summer?

[Anonymous]

Just have them watch a US tv show and dress like that. This isn’t hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What does that mean?
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How long has it been since you took a world history class? Robin Williams demonstrates the joke perfectly here.

https://youtu.be/Tc78yPv_ztM

[Anonymous]

Cutoff jean shorts and lululemon shorts if you have teen girls, along with some sort of t-shirt/tank-top. For boys, athletic shorts and a t-shirt. Don't wear jeans -- it's summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Really? My French family would never dream of trying to look like Americans!!

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American
Revolution

Lafayette

Look it up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What does that mean?
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How long has it been since you took a world history class? Robin Williams demonstrates the joke perfectly here.

https://youtu.be/Tc78yPv_ztM

That was awesome! Thanks for sharing the video. So true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure if this is a travel question or a fashion question...

My European family is coming to the US on vacation this summer. They are really worried about "fitting in" style-wise.
I have explained to them that it really, truly doesn't matter what they wear in the States. But they are convinced if they look like foreign tourists, they will get pickpocketed, overcharged in lyfts, etc. Also they are quite proud of their English skills and think if they look "foreign" everyone will try to speak to them in their native language. They don't mind looking like tourists but they want to look like American tourists, if that makes sense.

Any advice for how foreign tourists can "blend in" to American fashion?

Tell them pickpocketing is much worse In Europe than it is here.

Also- how many Americans know the language your relatives speak? Unless they are from Spain I wouldn't worry.

Pickpocketing is worse in Europe but it’s not common here. I’m curious why would it be worse if the family is from Spain?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure if this is a travel question or a fashion question...

My European family is coming to the US on vacation this summer. They are really worried about "fitting in" style-wise.
I have explained to them that it really, truly doesn't matter what they wear in the States. But they are convinced if they look like foreign tourists, they will get pickpocketed, overcharged in lyfts, etc. Also they are quite proud of their English skills and think if they look "foreign" everyone will try to speak to them in their native language. They don't mind looking like tourists but they want to look like American tourists, if that makes sense.

Any advice for how foreign tourists can "blend in" to American fashion?

Tell them pickpocketing is much worse In Europe than it is here.

Also- how many Americans know the language your relatives speak? Unless they are from Spain I wouldn't worry.

Pickpocketing is worse in Europe but it’s not common here. I’m curious why would it be worse if the family is from Spain?

PP's point is that Americans are hopelessly monolingual, so unless they are from Spain (ie Spanish-speakers), ain't no one in the US gonna bust out speaking their language.