Clothing myths dispelled for Europe…dress like home!

Totally agree with you. I have been here a month from Poland, Hungry, Austria, Slovakia, now Germany. Got one more month which includes Paris. We’re looking. You couldn’t pick an American out if you tried. All you got to do is watch a YouTube video and realize most stuff on travel websites are put there by people with little travel experience or just agreeing with fellow posters.

We are in Florence now and noticed the same.
I did comment to my husband that I was surprised so many well dressed young Italian men were wearing sneakers. Okay, designer ones, but still sneakers, exclusively white. They are still wearing the skinny pants and linen shirts, just with white sneakers.

Maybe because I come from a touristy European city and have lived in the USA, but I can spot an American with 90% accuracy in Europe. Usually it's the colorful Nike running shoes, oversized day bags, and also college sports team clothing (Europeans don't really care about American college sports). Also Americans have a certain expression of awe and wonder. Europeans, even when on holiday tend to have a jaded expression.

Yes, it’s frequently brought up on here that Europeans don’t wear shorts. Well, when it’s 80 degrees with 80% percent humidity as it was last month in the parts of Switzerland, France and Amsterdam we visited, even the older gentlemen and women were sitting on park benches in the shade with shorts on. A lot of the shop ladies had on tank tops and silky flowy longer pants or sleeveless dresses. The lines have blurred….

Also Americans have a certain expression of awe and wonder. Europeans, even when on holiday tend to have a jaded expression.

I see you haven't met my American husband, whose resting face suggests he'll murder you (although he's the most placid person ever). We joke that waiters (in the US and abroad) tend to turn to me to deal with because he intimidates them.

I also read somewhere, maybe here, that Americans stand out because they're the ones holding water bottles as if they're 5 seconds away from dehydration at any given moment.

I'm with Carlos on this one I'm afraid. I can tell an American at 20 paces.

It definitely gets more blurred if you're talking about young people. Many will wear a cap or a logo shirt as part of a "look". Black America and hip hop culture are big influences. Most who might be wearing a Yankees cap with that iconic NY logo have no clue about baseball. It's a style item like their favourite rapper might wear. It would be quite unusual for an adult "normie" to dress in college football or an NBA shirt, or wear a baseball cap outside of walking the dog on a chilly evening. My take on it anyway.

That said, I have to admit I have several used John Deere trucker caps in my eBay watch list at the moment. I thought it might be fun to combine with my Carhartt jacket and old OshKosh overalls to cosplay a Midwest farmer around town.

I also read somewhere, maybe here, that Americans stand out because
they're the ones holding water bottles as if they're 5 seconds away
from dehydration at any given moment.

The difference is obvious. Europeans carry water bottles, Americans carry hydration devices (still just a water bottle)

GerryM and Carlos are special. Or maybe I am too close to the subject, being an American, to be able to tell. I can tell if the odds are greater that they “might” be an American but to make that call with an certainty is impossible for me. Having spent 6 years in Europe over the last 20 years hasn’t helped me any on this one. After all, Americans make up maybe 10% of all of the tourism, so spotting one at all is a challenge. We just don’t count that much in the big picture of tourism.

I can spot tourists vs locals more often than not. The young tourists are a bit better dressed and the old tourists a bit worse dressed. But that is still just an odds game. Odds are they are …. But no certainty.

I wonder if travellers from other parts of the world coming to North America are advised to dress like a local while here? I'm betting not. I live close to Banff, Alberta and see tourists all year round, and they dress like where they're from. Germans, Australians, Norwegians, I can usually tell when they're not locals by their clothing and mannerisms.

I will admit that Americans are really easy to pick out in Banff due to the college or Nascar hats and shirts. Other notable signs of an American are the accents, and at times, the utter confusion in a bar or restaurant when the Server brings the debit machine to the table and holds it in front of then to tap. Likely the same shock I got in Florida in March at that first restaurant when the server took my credit card away and out of my sight to process.

The difference is obvious. Europeans carry water bottles, Americans carry hydration devices (still just a water bottle)

Everyone drinks water, but Americans hydrate!

Having worked the front counter at a highly rated museum here in Central Oregon, I can tell you there were numerous times Europeans came thru the door in hiking pants, long sleeve hiking shirts, hiking boots, small backpacks and floppy hiking hats. They looked like they belonged with a RS tour group. I’m sure there’s people worldwide that are influenced by what they read and how they think they should dress to fit in no matter what country they come from.

My husband commented on a young man’s baseball logos last year when we were in England since he’s a big baseball fan. The young man had no clue about baseball or even what team it represented.

I still notice the cut of clothing is different than in the US - a more tailored look in men’s shirts, and the length of a short sleeve isn’t as long & loose as what the norm is in the US. Similar for women. And for the population in general, a big clue is that people from the US (me included) tend to weigh more than the European population which affects how clothing looks on us. These observations are from less touristy cities.

The main difference I noticed in recent trips to France and Switzerland relates to hats. Where I live, a majority of people over 60, and a significant number of younger people, wear a cap (with or without logo), sunhat, or hiking hat when we are outside to protect our skin from sun damage. I never go for a walk on a sunny day without a hat, and my husband's dermatologist told him to wear a cap even when walking the 50 steps from our house to the car in the driveway. This seems to be much less common in the places we visited in Europe this year. I even heard some young people in Beynac comment on my "chapeau" when I had on my broad-brimmed sun hat. Here, I blend in with others my age.

Don't know how to do a blockquote, but the following paragraph from Jean from Idaho struck me as very true.

"I still notice the cut of clothing is different than in the US - a more tailored look in men’s shirts, and the length of a short sleeve isn’t as long & loose as what the norm is in the US. Similar for women. And for the population in general, a big clue is that people from the US (me included) tend to weigh more than the European population which affects how clothing looks on us. These observations are from less touristy cities"

I am glad that Jean made this comment. I am a mature European woman, and overweight. During my most recent US holidays, I bought some clothes (capri-style trousers and dressy chemisiers), mostly at Macy's. They don't really fit me well, specifically the trousers. Even a sleeveless top fits less well than it should. It's all in the cut and the proportions.
The only things that really fit well are the touristic T-shirts I bought in Hawaii!!

My intentions when selecting what clothes to bring is not to not look like an American (as I am appreciative to be one), but to not stand out as an easy mark for pickpockets. I'd rather blend in than wear a favorite shirt/had/bag with a team logo. Will the locals know I'm not one of them? Of course. But will a thief pick the more obvious target? I hope so.

Maybe all the "locals" you are seeing on the street are also tourists, not locals. I do wonder if Chinese tourists are advised not to dress like Chinese.

This argument always goes 'round & 'round without conclusion. My goal is to dress respectfully; not to look like a clueless slob. I wear clothes and shoes that I wear at home. Not because I'm worried about being targeted by pickpockets, but rather that people will assume I'm lost, loud, easily flustered, can't count and easy to shortchange, likely to leave giant tips, and bad mannered. People who interact with you do judge you based on appearance, just like back home. It's human nature. The multi-billion euro fashion industry is based on people wanting to make a good impression. They may not say anything, but everywhere, a better-dressed person will be treated better. My high school Speedos and cropped tank top are very comfortable, but I think Walmart is the only place I wont be judged for wearing that.

I also read somewhere, maybe here, that Americans stand out because they're the ones holding water bottles as if they're 5 seconds away from dehydration at any given moment.

Mary, that made me laugh so hard! My daughter, son-in-law and grandkids wouldn't dream of leaving home to go anyplace without a water bottle. I'd be willing to be there are at least 20-25 water bottles in the house. I do carry one when i drive long distances, but I just don't get that thirsty on a trip to the grocery store. :-)

With regards to travelers, a lot depends on where you are. I have no chance of blending in in places like the Mediterranean, but I have been mistaken for a local occasionally in places like Germany and England. I think that's partly because I travel by myself, though, and don't normally carry much with me when I go out.

Dress like home. Dress like a local. Live like a local.
Does one begat the other?
If you dress like home can you live like a local?
If you dress like a local does it morph more easily into living like a local.
If you live like a local, can you still dress as at home?
Are we all undercover? Can we be?

Mardee, I feel like I am, well, maybe not mistaken for a local, but not immediately pegged as a tourist because I too often travel alone. If I am passing through some high traffic area - in front of the Duomo say, or at Sacre-Coeur in Paris - with lots of scammy types, the ones that want to engage you in conversation and then put a friendship bracelet on your wrist, or pressure you to sign a petition, I am almost always left alone, because I am alone and I walk as if I know where I'm going. For added insurance, I put my earbuds in my ears. That guarantees I won't be approached. As far as my clothing, I'm pretty neutral, I don't wear a bunch of technical gear or hiking boots or multi-pocketed cargo pants or vests but neither am I colorful or floral, so until I open my mouth you might think I was a local just blending into the background.

This has been hashed so many times, and most of the time I say that I can't tell even though I've been around France for 50 years. That's because of C&A, H&M, Uniglo, Nike, Columbia, etc. A lot of the well-tailored young women around here are from the US, while a lot of the sweatshirt, sporty young women are French. Same for the middle-age people. We have a lot of tourists: France, Europe, Americas. I'm often fooled. But, zip-off pants, strange shoes people here write about Hoka or Hooka?? Unclassifiable, look like little boats.

However, Jean and veerle3 are correct about the cut of clothes, the stitching, the tailoring, gussets, inlays, to fit the woman's body closely. I'm impressed by the quality of the clothes I buy in women's clothing stores. But, I also have cheap dresses from the market; thinner material, fading, shapeless. Those clothes exist here, too.
Men's pants, shirts, jackets are cut slimmer, hug the body. Even inexpensive shorts from Decathlon sporting goods or Carrefour are cut closer. When my husband puts on a LLBean shirt or pants from the US, it's instantly noticeable. Rather than neat and tailored, he looks like he's swimming, hiding his body. LOL

Mardee, I feel like I am, well, maybe not mistaken for a local, but not immediately pegged as a tourist because I too often travel alone.

Kalya, yeah, I probably went too far when I said I was mistaken for a local, lol. But more like what you said, as I sometimes am asked for directions or questions about the area from other tourists.

Like I said in my post, the amount of sports shirts, hats, shorts, tivas, Nike’s etc were everywhere ….perhaps not college teams, but all the pro teams were well represented by Europeans. My wife and I were more staid in our appearance than most of the people around us…..but wholly crap what’s with the CROCS!

strange shoes people here write about Hoka or Hooka?? Unclassifiable, look like little boats.

It's Hoka! Such a coincidence, I saw someone wearing them on London Bridge just last week and I recognised the name from people talking about them here. Immediately identified as an American because of them :) They are horrific imho :)

all the pro teams were well represented by Europeans.

You sure about that? I don't think I've ever encountered a British person that would wear American football merch because they were a fan. American sports are a tiny niche interest here. I think you'd have to be in the depths of second and third level cable TV sports channels in the middle of the night to see a game of football or baseball. Not reported on at all in the press.

Not to worry anyway. If I'm sitting opposite you on a tube train in London I'm silently judging your character based on your sneakers and attire, no matter where you're from :)

I dress exactly the same in Europe as I do here at home.
But….I’ve been mistaken for a local many times, especially in Italy for some reason!
Florence, Bologna, Rome, Cinque Terre, railway stations….
I seem to attract people needing directions everywhere I go, as well as at home and in other countries.
They approach me in halting Italian, asking if I speak English.
Sometimes I let them babble on till I put them out of their misery. ;)
I have silver hair , usually travel solo, and look fairly ordinary, so I guess I’m an “honorary local”! :)

Someone once told me that it is our teeth that more quickly identify us as Americans in many countries. You will begin to notice that just might be true.

Elizabeth (formerly Bets) if you take away our Hoka's, you'll lose 80% of American tourists over the age of 60! On our most recent Rick Steves tour, it was by far the shoe of the majority. Me included! But obviously it's not about style; but comfort and no having to wear them in first! Just put them on and go to Paris!

It's Hoka! Such a coincidence, I saw someone wearing them on London
Bridge just last week and I recognised the name from people talking
about them here. Immediately identified as an American because of them
:) They are horrific imho :)

American or maybe Hungarian or possibly from one of 194 other countries. A quick check of the Hoka website says that 18 stores in Budapest are authorized dealiers. Their headquarters is in California ... thats not really part of the US is it?

For American team jerseys and hats and etc. If you forget the two large on-line sources with ".hu" webpages and just look for brick and mortar stores there are two in town that specialize in almost nothing but American team gear and a dozen more that have some quantity in stock.

Most every shopping mall has a Levi's store, and the 501's are the same as the 501's I have been wearing in the states for every bit of 60 years.

Typical dress here for under 30 might be a NY or Chicago Bulls cap, NorthFace branded shirt, Levi's jeans and Nike or even Hoka shoes,

Yeah... well... since you want to make a point of contention out of it... :)

If you want my credentials for making such bold statements, I've been a sneakerhead since my teens, growing up in the 80's on the fringes of the football casual movement and b-boy'ing where your sneaker choice (trainers as we call them here) is everything. I'd never seen, or at least noticed, Hoka in the wild until last week. Maybe in the past I had just subconsciously averted my eyes to spare them the horror, but I just had to look because I'd read about them on RSE. I Googled the brand recently too and I'm well aware of their roots in France and subsequent buyout by an American corporation. They have a flagship store in Covent Garden. I'd still be willing to lay down hard cash that who I saw was American, though impossible to confirm without a time machine to ask that individual. At least when Balenciaga make truly awful ugly sneakers in a similar vein they do it deliberately with a sense of irony.

My assertions about US sports gear are only based on London and the UK. I'm not sure where the OP's experience occurred. The OP's statement that there were lots of NBA and NFL team shirts and that people love baseball didn't correlate with my experience whatsoever. Things are obviously different in Budapest. It would be extremely rude of me to say that eastern Europe as a whole is a bit of a style backwater, hamstrung by decades of communism that left it lacking in the rich history of street fashion that you'd find in London. So I won't say that :P Eastern Europe has embraced the flood of fake designer items coming out of Turkey in a big way because of the more direct trade routes and slacker copyright laws, I will concede that.

As far as Levis goes, yes they are ubiquitous. People were clamouring for them even before the wall came down. 501s are a little on the slim side for me right now in pure style terms. I've owned many pairs of 501s in the past, sometimes wearing them until the arse fell out of them. When I change out of the sweatpants I was wearing as pyjamas to go out this afternoon I'll be pulling on a pair of Japanese selvedge 505s, a wider, straighter cut, combined with Adidas Stan Smith, sporting fat laces as a nod to my b-boy past.

I have to add the disclaimer that I'm "on the wind up" here, as the other posts I've made in this thread are too. Don't take me too seriously or take it personally.

GerryM, it's all in fun. No problem. The problem with the post is that it is about "Europe" which is the same as saying that Texans dress like Beverly Hills. Budapest is incredibly poor. Germany, quite wealthy. You would expect differences.

Sitting now at a favorite, mostly locals, wine bar in Buda. Maybe 20 men here speaking Hungarian. Every single one wearing a TShirt. About a third with English language writing on it (mostly ficticious locations and events or mindless stuff like "jucy" or art prints with English titles). Maybe a third with logos available in the US (North Face real popular for some reason). On the fat old farts like me, they are tight fitting, on the skinny kids, loose. Everyone wearing tennis shoes, mostly Nike. One NY cap. All but one in shorts.

In Paris I would expect differences. As for the bootleg products, never seen an obvious example. I presume the EU has some leverage on that. Poverty doesn't equal breaking the law. I suspect that if I could identify 5 Americans here, that 3 of them would be traveling in violation of Hungarian law (4 counting me).

You would spot me as an American but only because of the Aggie cap.

What GerryM said:

Not to worry anyway. If I'm sitting opposite you on a tube train in London I'm silently judging your character based on your sneakers and attire, no matter where you're from :)

That's it. Part of being an adult is judging people based on your life experience. It's how we survive. We just don't always act on it.

I am working on acquiring that Resting Murder Face that Mary mentions above.

Re: Crocs, I think they have taken on some kind of ironic/celebrity status. There was some rapper/singer a couple of years ago - Post Malone maybe? No millenials are home at the moment to confirm - who was famous for wearing Crocs and had some limited edition Crocs for sale that cost in the hundreds of dollars. They seem to be part of the thrifty/vintage aesthetic that is so popular, at least around here. I have to admit, I love my Crocs, but I only wear them in my garden.

When my kids were in high school they each participated in an exchange program with a Gymnasium in the suburbs of Munich. When they came to visit us, one of the most anticipated outings was going to Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Atlanta to buy Hard Rock merch, going to the World of Coca-Cola for Coca-Cola merch and - hilariously - going to Costco for armloads of discounted Nike/Adidas gear. Some kids got to go to professional or college sporting events with their host family and proudly sported team swag afterward.

Now we will need to keep an eye out in Europe and see if those with Resting Murder Faces are North Americans.
Perhaps only those wearing Hokas…. ;))

You would spot me as an American but only because of the Aggie cap

I had to Google to see what an "Aggie" is but now I know :) Go Aggies!

Now we will need to keep an eye out in Europe and see if those with Resting Murder Faces are North Americans.

Sorry but I doubt Americans can compete with Europeans for the best "Resting Murder Face" lol. Especially Eastern Europeans, they've got it down to an art. Today I was eating with some friends in Barcelona at a Galician steakhouse and the Russian family sitting next to us look like they just walked out of the battle of Stalingrad!

Crocs are back. It’s been 20 years, so it’s time. Keep up Boomers ;).

I am American but have lived over here for 17 years. I can spot an American with 99% accuracy by the clothing. College/HS gear, athletic shorts, the cut of the pants, the Talbots look, the young women in tennis outfits. A entire family wearing bright purple Furman University Track and Field gear - dead giveaway. The whole world wears Yankees hats and wear tennis shoes. The difference is subtle (sometimes not).

But the bottom line - who the heck cares what you wear?

"Permanent Murder Face" is not an art in my Detroit environment. It's survival. You will not live long and prosper without it and it becomes one's permanent visage in sleep or in crossfire.

To Gerry. We just got back from a trip to Europe including a couple of days in London.
We had a taxi driver who was a big fan on NFL football. His favorite team is the Steelers because he thought they were more working class. He knew more about the players and the latest quarterback controversy than I did. He knew about all the teams and told us it was easy to get the games on television. This was a traditional taxi not an uber.

I forgot to add he had a Steelers hat.

We had a taxi driver who was a big fan on NFL football.

Hey great! There's always an exception that proves the rule, right? :)

Go Steelers!

This is interesting and I'm going to start looking around more, but I don't know anyone who wears sports labelled clothing, other than at a sporting event...except some baseball hats. I wore a college T-shirt that had the name of the school in small letters for a windjammer trip when I was 23...my first real solo vacation all by myself. I'm heading out for a walk through town in a few minutes so I will pay attention.

As for shoes...maybe I'm not as old as I thought or am I older? I tried Hokas on at REI a couple of years ago for my Camino walk. Not comfortable at all for me. I'm a Brooks girl, for my trekkers and my regular walking shoes. I don't recall the name of my Trekkers specifically, but they were embarrassing to wear in Madrid before my walk as they were pink and orange, WTH? For my walking shoes, my Brooks Adrenalines, I pick the dark colors. I just picked up a new pair and the colors were listed as black/black/ebony (silly me for thinking ebony was black), but they are subtle, other than being ugly. My feet love them so I don't care what anyone else thinks.

This all being said, in Sweden I'm mistaken for Swedish, in The Netherlands they couldn't guess, and in France I'm guessed to be German (not sure what that means), all very surprised when I say American...but I always try to learn as much of the language as possible. But, basically, I don't care whether I am perceived as a tourist or not as I am a tourist, and I'm having a grand old time!

So now I'm off to see who here on the island is wearing labeled clothing...

Not really myths, not really dispelled, the exception does prove the rule for some people who see something once. This conversation could go on for years, in fact it has.

I just returned from a trip with 26 other French people to Catalonia. Three sports shoes, all flat Keds, Sam Smith, Converse style, my black trail-runner Brooks, all the rest were leather shoes, Mary Janes, some low-heels and wedge heels on lots of rocks, not paving stones. No little Hoka boats floating around people’s feet, lifting them heavenward. But we’re all old, so that probably has more influence than anything. No logos, no baseball hats. Yep, men had flat shoes, the grannies in leather heels, sandals, and wedge sandals did just fine. A couple had canes. We walked on a lot of rocks, climbed to the top of a 15th C fort, with canes, heels. Those French grannies didn’t need Hoka; they’re a tough crowd.

Pretty much every time I see this thread title it makes me think, not of dressing like home, but dressing like a homie from The Bronx...
New Era fitted cap and AirForce 1's, like in this seminal video from 2004.

In the words of the inimitable Fat Joe,

I said my - don't dance

We just pull up our pants

And do the Rockaway

Now lean back, lean back

Lean back, lean back (come on)

https://youtu.be/ajmI1P3r1w4?si=Icj4xh3HuigDG-xu

Americans are pretty easy to spot out, although I'll say it is harder now than say 40-50 years ago. In the 1970s and '80s I could spot out Americans in numerous ways with dead accuracy. Clothing styles are only part of it.

These last two trips I see Americans give themselves away in France and Germany quite easily as far as clues go.

When visiting Europe, there is no need to adhere to formal dressing code or change the clothes; dress as comfortable as you would when at home! For instance, most of clothing myths, such as having to turn up smart all the time are actually bogus. Europeans wear all sorts of things, like everyone else, so comfort, as well as individual choice, are important here.

While in Germany last month, I saw a lot of NY and LA baseball caps, and none of these people spoke English. I just assume that these hats were picked up as souvenirs in the States and are worn to show off where they have been. The baseball connection has been lost.

Both my husband and I have been mistaken for locals in various countries - Spain, Italy, France. We don't dress differently in Europe than we do at home. I wear shorts in the summer and jeans in the fall. My husband consistently wears jeans and a button down plaid shirt. We never wear branded T-shirts or hats, but we do wear our sneakers practically everywhere. We both have dark hair and olive complexions, and we're in good physical shape. I think these traits help us fit in more than our attire. For instance, I'm 5'2", so no one is going to mistake me for a Dutchwoman.

I am sure every city is different, so speaking of Budapest, the locals seem to take greater care in how they dress than what was common in San Antonio ... just my perception. The locals seem to dress smartly when the situation is appropriate, more so than in San Antonio .... just my perception.

I was going to ask "Which San Antonio?" but I Googled it and Texas was the top match. That makes sense now.

I am amused by the stereotypes people have of other groups.

I am also amused by social media articles with titles such as "Ten Things an Italian Woman Will Never Do." Or, "Six Things No Frenchman Would Ever Order in a Café." Invariably, I find out neither the Italians nor the French must read these sites as I see them doing the very things they aren't supposed to do. The Horror of It!!!!

Barnstormer, you can always spot Americans because they are the ones that are the most easily amused.

I agree with you completely. Because of the thread I started paying more attention just to see if any of it was valid. Nope. Not. Maybe if you took a goroup of 50 Americans and group of 50 Italians and asked which group was which, many could guess correctly, but on an individual basis, naaaaaaaaa

We just ended a RS tour. The highest percentage of shoes worn were Hokas. I don't have a pair, but I don't understand all the negatively about them on this thread.

Re Hokas: I normally try to dress a bit more classily in Europe but do bring my Hokas from time to time, depending on how my feet have been doing, accepting the fact that they would scream American. It has led to some interesting conversations with locals who are also wearing them. In Spain, a horse carriage driver called out with a smile, pointing at our common footwear. In Italy on a regionale train I noticed a 40-ish Italian man wearing them. He said that they are indeed sold there. So there seems to be a Hoka “community” and it opens some interesting opportunities for connection while traveling.