Artpen100

Good point. If one really wanted to look like a local anywhere, even Paris, wearing old dirty clothes would be the way.

lhrsfo

And don't wear hats, particularly baseball caps, inside.

emma69

I will add to the above, that as a rule, the US is pretty laid back regarding clothing, but there are many parts of the world where people don't wear jeans / t-shirts, sneakers to a restaurant etc. so dressing a little smarter in those places will make you stand out a little less.Other places may dress more modestly, so bare midriffs, shorts, tank type tops etc. may be a little too relaxed to comfortably fit in. Cameras around necks, fanny packs, baseball caps, and slogan / sports team shirts are also dead give-aways that you are likely to be from N. America. But ultimately I think behaviour matters a heck of a lot more than what you wear when it comes to making a good impression. But it won't matter a jot when it comes to being a terrorist target.

Ber2dca

It's a dumb premise, the modern jihadi doesn't give a **** what Western nationality you have. Being French didn't save anyone in the Bataclan.

And some of the stuff listed here as being very American is hilarious. Maybe if the only Europeans you interact with are 50 something businessmen on the job or 'the rich and famous'. Jeans, sneakers, even American sports apparel, all pretty common sights on European streets. There is an American 'look' but it's more a combination of things than any one particular item. It's also a myth that all Europeans dress better than Americans, in fact, I'd say the only European nationality who based on my observations dresses pretty well habitually are Italians. And I know an Italian guy who regularly wears a Yankees hat (guess what European hipsters try to dress very much like American hipsters and vice versa).

gglave

A thousand times this.

It's cruise ship season here in Vancouver, and the number of men in white sneakers on the streets of our city has skyrocketed.

pinniped

The ironic thing is that I've walked through a lot of European street markets where all sorts of baseball caps are on sale, as are all sorts of American sports team shirts and hats. NBA gear seems especially popular. Some NFL too, although not much MLB/NHL/NCAA.

This stuff is mostly cheap knockoffs, often logos or styles that are years out of date: the market for it is locals, not tourists.

Last summer in Vienna, we went to one outdoor market that was full of Bulls and Knicks gear. No Lebron/Curry stuff, even though we were about a month removed from the NBA Finals. Kind of timewarpy, but obviously people buy it and wear it...

danielonn

I travel the World and have also never been treated as a Stereotypical American. When I travel I try and not take a backpack and just have my Cellphone/Wallet and that is all. I use my Cellphone as my camera, phone and web browser just like everyone else in the world. Wearing Jeans does not make you American as everyone else wears them but I prefer the darker color Denim,

I wear shirts without a logo the best that I can and I will eat where locals go and try to speak some of the local language.

I have been treated very well in France and other countries as I know not to act like an entitled American. If there is a problem i try to be as gentile as possible and speak in a subdue tone.

Kagehitokiri

hats and sneakers similarly depend on context

hard to argue 'only x country ever wears y'

Maluku_Flyer

And lose about 50 lbs. Although Europeans are also getting fatter at an alarming rate. Ten years from now they'll have caught up with the transpondians.

Proudelitist

Certainly in the area around Brazilian favelas..

deniah

ive lived and worked in milan. the italians are a bit overrated and overgeneralized when it comes to perception of 'dressing well'.

i give it more to the western european and scandinavians. the dutch, danes, norwegians, etc. its due in equal parts to many things: their being generally slim; climate and thus necessity/opportunity to layer; and not to overlook the economics side of thing, too....

Fredrik74

^

This is the truth. A certain type of American traveller is immediately recognized due to this(and their hair). I can't really describe it other than to say "complete lack of fashion sense". It's not like this type of traveller is unique to Americans but this variety is, like I said, easy to recognize by its nationality.

User Name

Without wanting to turn this into one of those threads, here's another things that can make an American stand out like a sore thumb - flinging money around with no attention or respect of local customs. In its worst instances it just looks crass and ugly, and over long periods of time messes things up for other travelers and locals alike.

Maluku_Flyer

Don't try that in Italy. Unless you want to be taken for an Albanian.

Kagehitokiri

other countries have equivalents, but different unfashionable 'offenders'