Originally Posted by
Cloudship
Maybe this is why Americans don't travel overseas much. Reading threads like this they get the idea that Europeans are hyper judgemental, retaliatory fashionistas just waiting to attack any perceived American they come across. Forget the religious terrorists - Americans are far more scared of what they think locals are going to do to them!
Let me ask you this - how much of this is really what happens and what you have perceived, and how much of this is just stereotypes and resentment trying to be codified into "customs"? Do people in Europe really never wear shorts or sandals? Are they really all skinny as a beanpole and all Americans three times their size? Don't let resentment towards being an American overwhelm your judgement.
You know what really makes my European friends laugh about Americans' clothes? No, it's not the clothes we wear, but the fact that some Americans seem so obsessed and cowed by a bunch of often mythical European fashion "rules." For the most part, as long as you're not wearing shorts in an upscale restaurant or a tank top at a wedding, they simply don't get all hot and bothered about things like the color of our trousers or the style of our shoes. But then, many of those Europeans actually do wear shorts in the summer (though not to work, of course) or jeans in the city, so maybe they're unqualified to speak.
Furthermore, based on my last few trips to Britain, no they're definitely not all skinny as a beanpole!