What distinguishes your attire as American?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you all been to rural UK or France …so many of these are more rural/big city differences than country differences.

+1. You don’t see a lot of overweight Americans in Manhattan either.

[Anonymous]

It’s interesting to note that these snobs miss the point of being a tourist. It means: you are not going to work in a cubicle. You are not grocery shopping with your string bag. You are walking around all day. No tall heels. And yes you are happy and smiling because … you are on vacation.

[Anonymous]

Northern Virginia is second only to Colorado in thinness. And fit people overall. But carry on.

[Anonymous]

My friend got pegged as an American in Spain because of her whitened teeth

[Anonymous]

The friendly thing is real, but that also made it really easy to go to random pubs and have a great time instead of sitting by myself at the end of the bar. Also tipping, which is why waiters love American tourists regardless of what their owners prefer their clientele to be - I may not be fashionable, and I may need help with the menu, but I'm also tipping 30% which the trendy locale clientele certainly isn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised no one has mentioned obesity.

I can pick out the Americans by their morbid obesity.

It is rare that Americans are not overweight.

You will know us by our girth, good teeth and jeans.

One reason Americans in general are overweight is because of our work culture. It's a badge of honor to be a workaholic, chasing after the almighty dollar which by the way affords us the ability to travel to Europe so we can be ridiculed, and also spend our almighty dollars which in turn helps keep their dying economies afloat. Go ahead, come after me.

I disagree - I know a ton of overweight SAHMs. Almighty dolar? lol. The richest tourists are the Chinese. Not only in terms of traveling and using the services, but also buying luxury goods, especially in Italy and France. After Russians, Chinese nationals are the largest group of real estate investors in the UK. There are also tons of Chinese people with properties in Italy. Around 15% of properties sold in the US are to Chinese people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a non-US person living in the US for 20+ years, the chasms between Americans and others grows smaller all the time..... Sure, someone from Ohio visits London or Berlin and is like "everyone dresses so much better here!" But when you go to the crappy suburbs of Berlin, or the rural parts of germany or the chavs of the UK.... lots of fat, ill dressed people wearing sneakers and track suits. Just like if you go to NYC, people dress a lot better than rural North Dakota.

At this point, the only really obvious American marker of clothes is college gear. WHAT is with the college shirts (says every person who moved to the US, ever)???

I agree with this. I'm American but I don't ever get pegged immediately as an American. I attribute that to being a thin, born and bred Manhattanite who wears a lot of black, thinks shorts and sandals in cities are gross, and has kind of a resting b+tch face/ not overly friendly and smiley to strangers.

[Anonymous]

Confederate flag string bikini.

https://www.flagworldinc.com/shop/t-shirts/flag-swimsuit/rebel-flag-string-bikini/

[Anonymous]

Most Americans are distinguished by being fat and their mannerisms, not really by their clothes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gym clothes. When I lived in Europe I couldn't believe the insanity at the gym. People arrived and left in real clothes - NEVER, ever would they leave sweaty to go home to shower. So weird.

I'd also add that people can tell by your kids. European kids always look like they're in magazines. Even on the playgrounds kids would be attired in sweaters and collared shirts (and scarfs at all times). Mine looked like homeless kids.

Not true in some countries. I lived in Northern Europe and noticed many (most) children had untrusted straw like hair and were filthy. These were UMC kids, so it was always strange to me.

[Anonymous]

I think the friendliness thing is misunderstood by a lot of Americans. There's this perception that Americans are friendly and people in other countries are not. This is not exactly right. It's more about how people present.

Americans smile all the time when they are not actually happy. Like if you are an American on vacation in, say, Paris, and you need to ask a local a question, people will walk up with big grins on their faces. Like really, really big smiles. It's not because they are SO happy, it's because Americans are conditioned to smile as a way of being approachable and non-threatening. Americans also smile when nervous, uncomfortable, awkward, etc. As a result, American tourists smile a lot, perhaps even more than Americans do in everyday life.

For the French person, though, think about how they experience it. Some total stranger comes up to you with a huge grin on their face. Likely they speak either hard-to-understand French (it is not common for Americans to nail French pronunciation or accents) or they speak English very quickly. So the French person might look confused for a moment or take a minute to reply as they figure out what is being asked. During this time, the American is smiling at them, which feels strange. Then French person isn't smiling, not because they are mean or hate Americans, but because they are thinking, trying to concentrate, etc.

It's just very confusing from the perspective of the non-American person. Why smile when what you are saying is "I'm lost" or "I need help"? Why not just have a neutral facial expression unless you are having a strong emotion? It feels strange and yes, a little fake.

It's not about friendliness. There are friendly people everywhere. It's specifically about the smiling and how it often feels inappropriate for the situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:highlighted hair and super straight white teeth.

You must be from the 80s. All Europeans straighten teeth these days and many color their hair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:North Face and Patagonia

My European friends who are outdoorsy wear these too. They mix them with their home brands... Deuter, Mammoth, Rab, etc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I typically notice volume before anything else. LOUD voices are my trigger to look. I think just shutting up occasionally will help hide Americanism a good deal.

Why should we "hide". I'm not ashamed of who I am. I'm sorry you are. Seek therapy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised no one has mentioned obesity.

I can pick out the Americans by their morbid obesity.

It is rare that Americans are not overweight.

You will know us by our girth, good teeth and jeans.

One reason Americans in general are overweight is because of our work culture. It's a badge of honor to be a workaholic, chasing after the almighty dollar which by the way affords us the ability to travel to Europe so we can be ridiculed, and also spend our almighty dollars which in turn helps keep their dying economies afloat. Go ahead, come after me.

Eh, they have way way more tourists from Asia. They don’t need Americans