CoolTRVLR

If I had to choose one post from this thread to best summarize what "looking American" means, it would be this one.

There have been multiple instances where I have been outright embarassed to be classified under the category of American. An individual wearing a t-shirt with "Major League Infidel" printed on it in Dubai, for example. Another example that Proudelitist gave, is the uber tribalistic sub-category. Traveling through the Middle East and Europe, these individuals stand out like a flashlight in the night.

And then there is...best way I can describe it is the obnoxious American sub-category. One of the best examples I have of this is when Mrs. CoolTRVLR and I were waiting for our departure gate to open in FRA. There was an individual meandering around the terminal, and as if his over-sized white t-shirt and basketball shorts weren't already a give away, he was rapping quite loudly with his Beats by Dre headphones on (I could hear him pretty clearly from approximately 25-26 meters away). I do my enjoy my fair share of rap, but I don't expect everyone in my vicinity to want to listen to me rap as well.

I agree with the mindset that the whole "Don't be a terrorist target" with respect to fashion is ridiculous. If a bad actor is intent to do harm, he/she is going to find a target, regardless of what the target is wearing.

Cloudship

Isn't Germany the ones who came up with lederhosen in the first place?

moondog

I see people who fit the stereotype you describe on a daily basis here in Shanghai (often riding around on the subways). I had never pegged them to be Americans previously, but they must be because it's inconceivable that Chinese youths could be influenced by Western culture.

Sant

I agree. By appearing like a local, you have a less likelihood being targeted by thieves.

pinniped

And I'd argue that most thieves in most places can pick out the tourists easily enough regardless of attire.

I'm a 6'4" white guy. In most places I've traveled, there's absolutely nothing I can do to look like a local. The best I can possibly do is try to look like an experienced traveler instead of a clueless tourist, although this is more about awareness and purpose than what brands of clothing you wear.

carlosdca

[The above are French couples, btw ]


Feel free to believe what you want about shorts. Shorts seem to have a place and an AGE in other cultures.

(Personally, I couldn't care less, having lived in Southern California for almost 20 years, I wear shorts all the time but at work, and I look just like one of the French people in the picture above, pretty much, darker skin and hair though).

Like I said before, it's not all about clothes. If one is seeking to not look American.

I was in Canada a few week ago (Toronto). And a couple of women were trying to buy soda from a vending machine and they kept trying and trying to use a US dollar bill. I told them that the machine only accepts Canadian Dollars but they insisted to try with a US dollar bill one more time.

YVR Cockroach

That was a case of terrorism targetting the home country of an immigrant group (a certain faction of Sikhs against the Indian government), not at Canadians specifically. FWIW, that ethnic group comprises over 10% of the federal government cabinet including Minister of Defence.

In the last decade, I do believe Canadians travelling try to be less conspicuous (implicitly or explicitly) of being Canadians than they have in previous decades.

YVR Cockroach

BMI has long been criticised as not accounting for physique. In casual observation, I do notice the average male in France and Italy are not as muscular and/or bulky on average compared to North American (U.S. and Canada) males. Then again, a lot o males my age in North America how sign of being the aged athlete (bulk from youth + excess weight of middle age)

ProleOnParole

Executive summary: avoid baggy, oversize clothing and "fanny" packs.

YVR Cockroach

Add: baseball cap, white sneakers

daKav

Funny. I wasn't born here in US and do not look American (Indian sub contnent). Some of the undeliberate faux pas from my last month's trip to central and eastern europe that led people to ask me "you American?".

- I asked for a "Moscow Mule" in a bar in Moscow. Ok, that may have been deliberate.
- Tried to pay with Starbucks app in Prague
- B!t(#ed about the long "line" (not queue) for check-in in Zagreb.

heraclitus

People often bring that up, but I would go out on a limb and say that it's not the muscular athletic types who tend to drive up a nation's BMI averages.

CoolTRVLR

Well, in this case the individual was black, spoke with an American Northeastern dialect, and stood at well over 6 ft. I did not fully paint the picture, that was my fault.

If he had appeared to be from East/SE Asia (or anywhere else, for that matter) and/or was speaking in a dialect that was clearly not American (i.e. heavily accented, as is common when English is a second/third/etc. language), then I would have just chalked it up to Western influence.

It is difficult to convey context with electrons

doctall41

wear a soccer jersey

YVR Cockroach

You are right, well I'd say probably 60-80% right that what drives up national average BMI is probably 60-80% explained by excess weight (or even more s observed on a short cruise I took a couple of months ago). I was referring to the potential faults of strictly measuring by BMI measured as mentioned by another poster.

As an example, my BMI is ~ 26.0 currently. My physician who is the same race as me thinks it should be 23.6 or lower. Given my physique, I would be very lean at 25.1 (6 lb loss) and skinny at 23.6 or lower. The average male BMI in the country of my birth, where my race makes up ~ 2/3-3/4 of the citizenry, is a scan 22.7 (I'd have to lose 22 lbs/10 Kg). I'd have to lose ~ 9 lbs to be average in the country of 94%+ of my ancestors


Back to the question of clothing. The cut, pattern and style of clothing also helps distinguish where people are from. My wife and I use that as a guide to guessing when we travel. We were travelling in California a few months back and she was admiring the dress worn by a fellow traveller which was very unique. We asked and turns out she's from Quebec. The styling there is clearly different from the rest of Canada (a.k.a. RoC) and the U.S. which is where the styling of a lot clothing in Canada originates.

The hair cut/style of men is also a give away. I'd say European-ancestry men in North America wear their hair a lot shorter than in Europe in general, except in the U.K. where a lot of men who are balding go with crew cuts or shaved heads.