How does somebody "look American"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I recently went to the UK and our tour guide told my family that we easily blended in and it wasn't obvious we were American. We wear tailored clothes and not athletic wear like shorts and leggings. We do have white straight teeth though.

Working class Brits practically live in athletic wear and trainers and track suits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recently went to the UK and our tour guide told my family that we easily blended in and it wasn't obvious we were American. We wear tailored clothes and not athletic wear like shorts and leggings. We do have white straight teeth though.

You fell for the oldest line in the book. Lolz.

Want to know if you blend in? People speak to you in another language because they assume you speak the language. Happens to my DH all the time. He’s a Jewish guy from Jersey, but he’s a chameleon with curly black hair and olive skin. He is routinely assumed to speak Spanish, Italian, and Greek when we travel. He’s also been asked if he’s French or Russian.

And he dresses like all American guys/dads. FTR: he wears sneakers when traveling unless we are going to dinner or a wedding, in which case he wears leather loafers.

Have same experience except this time it's Germany and Austria. For some reason I look very German. Shopkeepers automatically address me in German and I've had strangers ask me questions in German, including other Americans looking for directions and practicing their college German. I find it funny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Amount of FAT they carry on their body.

I’ve lived in Europe a few different times and places and I could spot an American from far away because they were just bigger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recently went to the UK and our tour guide told my family that we easily blended in and it wasn't obvious we were American. We wear tailored clothes and not athletic wear like shorts and leggings. We do have white straight teeth though.

You fell for the oldest line in the book. Lolz.

Want to know if you blend in? People speak to you in another language because they assume you speak the language. Happens to my DH all the time. He’s a Jewish guy from Jersey, but he’s a chameleon with curly black hair and olive skin. He is routinely assumed to speak Spanish, Italian, and Greek when we travel. He’s also been asked if he’s French or Russian.

And he dresses like all American guys/dads. FTR: he wears sneakers when traveling unless we are going to dinner or a wedding, in which case he wears leather loafers.

Have same experience except this time it's Germany and Austria. For some reason I look very German. Shopkeepers automatically address me in German and I've had strangers ask me questions in German, including other Americans looking for directions and practicing their college German. I find it funny.

When we were in Europe recently we kept thinking Germans were American. We asked several Germans to take photos of us thinking they American. They just had a look about them and were all super friendly. Which was surprising because it was actually not my experience with Germans in the past (I went to school with a few kids whose parents emigrated from Germany).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As several have pointed out, Americans are not the loud travelers. That stereotype needs to stop. American travelers are overly self conscious about being loud. Families across the globe have embraced the sneakers and shirts with tourist destinations they've been to. American teens are the most obviously American due to dressing with trends.

I was just abroad and the (well to do) girls dressed like American teens! Sweatpants/cargos, tank tops and Nikes, lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Europe isn't even the fashion capital of the world anymore.

Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, and Bangkok have way, wayyyyy more fashion forward people who push the envelope with interesting styles. They have much more interesting smaller designers in Tokyo and Bangkok, and the clothes often fit supremely better in Tokyo as long as you aren't obese.

If you want to see very attractive people and ma y people who, on average dress better, try going to Tokyo or Seoul. Europe as a fashion capital is sooo 1970s, 80s, and 90s. Their fashions are either obnoxiously gaudy or staid. Stale and has beens. Actually, the styles in NYC and LA/California are even way more interesting than most of what you see in Europe.

Good People of DCUM aren't interested in interesting street style. They want to be appropriate and invisible, but in that invisibility to pass for rich.

They are terrified of being noticed, because in their heads the only thing that happens when you're noticed is that someone will judge you as less-than - usually for not being wealthy enough, or having the right class status.

It's a very small, reactionary approach to life. I don't think it accounts for most people - and probably not even most people on this board - but it does account for most posts about what to wear and how to behave in various situations.

We aren't just talking about street style. Seoul, Bangkok,.Shanghai, and Tokyo have tons of people who dress conservatively but do it well.

I don't understand why people think Europe and the west are the fashion, food, future, and architectural wonders of the world. It's so ethnocentric. I justove how snooty Europeans love to crap on Americans for their style and fashion, as if they're still fashionable. Lol, try going to cities like Bangkok, Seoul, Tokyo or Bangkok. The people there are often way better dressed and good looking than people in Milan, Paris, or Barcelona. Europeans call Americans fat, but Europeans are fat as heck if you compare them to people from places like Asia.

So many ridiculous stereotypes of Americans when it is like pot meeting kettle when you have relevant 3rd parties, like those in Asia, to compare both to.

[Anonymous]

Why is that a problem? There’s nothing wrong with looking American. It’s usually a decent look, and better than some European looks too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recently went to the UK and our tour guide told my family that we easily blended in and it wasn't obvious we were American. We wear tailored clothes and not athletic wear like shorts and leggings. We do have white straight teeth though.

Most Brits have straight white teeth now too. You're tossing a 1970s and earlier cliche around.

Incorrect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As several have pointed out, Americans are not the loud travelers. That stereotype needs to stop. American travelers are overly self conscious about being loud. Families across the globe have embraced the sneakers and shirts with tourist destinations they've been to. American teens are the most obviously American due to dressing with trends.

I was just abroad and the (well to do) girls dressed like American teens! Sweatpants/cargos, tank tops and Nikes, lol

Oh, definitely. All the teens everywhere are dressing alike due to trends in Instagram, etc.
DP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is that a problem? There’s nothing wrong with looking American. It’s usually a decent look, and better than some European looks too.

+100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Europe isn't even the fashion capital of the world anymore.

Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, and Bangkok have way, wayyyyy more fashion forward people who push the envelope with interesting styles. They have much more interesting smaller designers in Tokyo and Bangkok, and the clothes often fit supremely better in Tokyo as long as you aren't obese.

If you want to see very attractive people and ma y people who, on average dress better, try going to Tokyo or Seoul. Europe as a fashion capital is sooo 1970s, 80s, and 90s. Their fashions are either obnoxiously gaudy or staid. Stale and has beens. Actually, the styles in NYC and LA/California are even way more interesting than most of what you see in Europe.

Good People of DCUM aren't interested in interesting street style. They want to be appropriate and invisible, but in that invisibility to pass for rich.

They are terrified of being noticed, because in their heads the only thing that happens when you're noticed is that someone will judge you as less-than - usually for not being wealthy enough, or having the right class status.

It's a very small, reactionary approach to life. I don't think it accounts for most people - and probably not even most people on this board - but it does account for most posts about what to wear and how to behave in various situations.

We aren't just talking about street style. Seoul, Bangkok,.Shanghai, and Tokyo have tons of people who dress conservatively but do it well.

I don't understand why people think Europe and the west are the fashion, food, future, and architectural wonders of the world. It's so ethnocentric. I justove how snooty Europeans love to crap on Americans for their style and fashion, as if they're still fashionable. Lol, try going to cities like Bangkok, Seoul, Tokyo or Bangkok. The people there are often way better dressed and good looking than people in Milan, Paris, or Barcelona. Europeans call Americans fat, but Europeans are fat as heck if you compare them to people from places like Asia.

So many ridiculous stereotypes of Americans when it is like pot meeting kettle when you have relevant 3rd parties, like those in Asia, to compare both to.

This is true ^^. I find Americans to often be far more stylish and put together than many Europeans, even just dressed casually. I have to laugh whenever a poster claims otherwise.

[Anonymous]

African American woman here- I was in Portugal last May and everyone I engaged with from restaurants to boutique employees thought I was from Lisboa. I think it was because I didn’t put my hair in braids which is very typical for me when I travel- making me look very “American.”

[Anonymous]

It's increasingly difficult to stand out as American, but wearing distinctively US/Mex things can help. For example, cowboy/western themed clothes. This is your chance to be the exotic foreigner-- don't waste it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's increasingly difficult to stand out as American, but wearing distinctively US/Mex things can help. For example, cowboy/western themed clothes. This is your chance to be the exotic foreigner-- don't waste it.

Omg I want to cosplay a cowgirl on my next trip to London. I’ll go fullblown Nashville bachelorette party garb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As several have pointed out, Americans are not the loud travelers. That stereotype needs to stop. American travelers are overly self conscious about being loud. Families across the globe have embraced the sneakers and shirts with tourist destinations they've been to. American teens are the most obviously American due to dressing with trends.

I was just abroad and the (well to do) girls dressed like American teens! Sweatpants/cargos, tank tops and Nikes, lol

How on earth did you know they were “well to do?”