Anonymous wrote:Big athletic shoes when not exercising.

Have you been out of the country lately?

Anonymous wrote:In France...

Leggings
Too much makeup, especially heavy eye makeup
Overly-styled hair, especially where it's clear you used a curling iron or hair spray
Exercise sneakers - fashion sneakers like Vejas are good, your Brooks running shoes are only for exercise
Non-natural hair color like bleached blonde
Heavy Botox or plastic surgery
Wearing skirts or dresses without tights in cooler weather

Now I understand some of why I was frequently mistaken for French when living abroad

When I was in Germany years ago some Black women there said they knew I was American because of my hair, which was relaxed at the time.

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)???

Anonymous wrote:Big athletic shoes when not exercising.

Europeans have long worn fashion sneakers.

I lived in Berlin, Munich, Amsterdam and Barcelona and way back in the early 2000s you would see the retro pumas and Adidas, etc., on women. They were very practical because you walk everywhere over there and lots of cobblestone streets.

I was a very big anti-running shoes/sneakers outside of the gym until I lived there. I adopted the retro sneaker look (they are not bulky) for wear with jeans when my wedges or casual boots/sandals are impractical.

Back then (and pretty much still), people did not wear athletic wear outside of the gym (and gyms were scarce and in Germany had bars and smoking). My husband and I would go in street clothes to the gym and ALWAYS change back into street clothes post workout even if we planned to shower at home.

I am 100% full-blooded American, but I was always asked if I were Spanish or Italian by locals over there. I have olive skin and blue eyes, and a small roman nose. I still can easily pass as European. But, I wear a helluva lot of Lulu working from home and working out mid-day and I don't change out of it to go to the grocery store--so right there is a big tip off.

I have a minimalist, classic style that could pretty much be from anywhere. I don't wear heavy make-up, fake eyelashes or have heavily highlighted hair or beach waves (all very American--think Navarro cheerleader--ha). I get my brunette hair highlighted/low lights very minimally to break up the color only twice a year.

In France...

Leggings
Too much makeup, especially heavy eye makeup
Overly-styled hair, especially where it's clear you used a curling iron or hair spray
Exercise sneakers - fashion sneakers like Vejas are good, your Brooks running shoes are only for exercise
Non-natural hair color like bleached blonde
Heavy Botox or plastic surgery
Wearing skirts or dresses without tights in cooler weather

All these things make me appear wrapped in an American flag while I'm on travel

My shoes
my baseball cap if it's sunny (I'm a woman, I like the sun protection)
my cheap Old Navy hoodie
on occasion, a backpack

I don't wear things with logos but it doesn't matter. The US is obviously my logo.

Sports team wear.

I'm from London and I'd say these are giveaways to me (note that other nationalities might wear these, including British people so it's not totally accurate! And also it has changed so that now it is much more common to see people in London in athleisure, but that used to be not so much a thing so would be typically American):

Fanny packs (or what I call bum-bags)
Combination of khaki shorts, belt, polo shirt, sneakers and socks
Shorts, generally
Baseball hats
Sneakers - but this is complicated because it's now very common to see this in London, though most common fashiony ones would be Stan Smiths, Vejas, Supergas, etc.
College sweatshirts

The size.

Anonymous wrote:Big athletic shoes when not exercising.

This is a good one, and a faux pas I avoid at all costs - even when I had plantar fasciitis!

Little jewelry

I wear athletic sneakers everywhere I go, except weddings and funerals. The only pants I own are jeans or leggings.

Big athletic shoes when not exercising.

I’ve heard Kate Spade is a giveaway but what do you think distinguishes someone in say London or Paris as an American before they even open their mouth to share that information?

What do you wear that you feel makes you appear American?