AMERICANS!..yikes!
 

WHile in england a few weeks ago, I noticed - when i was on teh tubes - that u can spot americans a mile away while on the subway! THe trend in London seems to be black clothing/classy/conservative. Americans come with their yellow shirts and jeans. I was wondering if Londoners or Britons in general, ever get annoyed by americans? Or if they noticed this too? <BR>(I'm american....just curious)

It seems to me that people who post these kinds of messages are very insecure with themselves. I personally don't give a damn what anyone thinks. If someone is offended by the color of my shirt, then to hell with them. Life is too short to sweat the small stuff. Oh, Ashley, how do you know they were American? I believe jeans and yellow shirts are sold all over the world.

Um... the people dressed conservatively were, more than likely, on their way to work...they were commuters... most companies in the UK sort of frown on people turning up to work in yellow shirts and jeans. <BR> <BR>Tourists will always dress differently from locals - they're tourists ! They are on holiday, they are not going to work so they will dress accordingly. <BR> <BR>I suspect you posted this to provoke some heated responses.

The two that posted before me are extremely immature. I personally dont get annoyed by american when they ride our tubes. I rather love their accents and style. The style is mostly black in London, not other parts of england.

Well put Mr.Hughes! But, I think you should have maybe left off the last sentence, as you are the one to whom the heated responses may be forthcoming. Just a thought.

Ilisa..well said <BR>Iris ...an attempt to rile me? I'm afraid you will have to get up a little bit earlier than that if you wish to annoy stellarossa. <BR> <BR>What immature statemment did I make? huh? <BR> <BR>I actually spat out my diet irn-bru when I read your drivel about black being the trend in London and not any other parts of England. <BR> <BR>Iris, go sharpen that beak on some cuttlefish bone if this is the best you can come up with. <BR> <BR>Dave...I'm used to it now, mate <BR> <BR>regards

I thought the Americans were the ones in the Burberrys T-shirts carrying plaid umbrellas......asking for Totting-ham-court-road.....

Although he throws some hot air <BR>And it's a blow to an ego so faire <BR>If you look at the line <BR>Where they post the time <BR>Iris didn't know you were there. <BR> <BR>(:&gt;

I don't think I would worry about bright clothing, except that dark clothing tends to look better after several wearings and is perhaps easier to match. When I was in Strasbourg four years ago, I saw a woman wearing a short camouflage jacket and silver boots. I suspected she was German because I saw many silver shoes in German store windows, but who knows. That beats a yellow shirt, I think. Now the backwards baseball caps on the other hand... just kidding.

Do you ever watch The Travel Channel? They have this charming little guy, a real guttersnipe, named Ian Wright. Raggedy clothes, baseball hat on backwards, crookedy teeth, accent right out of Norwich (he says so), pants that come half way up his shins. But I tell you, he is a charmer -- has a canny sense of humor -- and no matter how he dresses or talks or acts -- he knows his way around. I'd like to meet him! He has done more to make travel enjoyable than all the setting-sun travelogs I've ever watched. And he's sure no American.

Al - Ditto on Ian Wright! I love that guy and his wacky ways. I'm addicted to The Travel Channel/Lonely Planet. Justine Shapiro is great, too. While I've never been outside of the States except for a 2 hour border crossing into Canada, I feel like I've traveled the world watching those 2. I'm of the same mind as a previous poster.....after spending hard earned cash-ola, I wouldn't get a hoot what others think about how I dress! To hell with them is right!

!

<BR> some of those "americans" walking around, maily the ones with gray hair, <BR>are responsible for your not having to learn how to conjugate german verbs <BR> try a yellow shirt sometimes. it feels good.

Question: is ANYONE out there as SICK TO DEATH of black as I am??? I was sick of it years ago, have never worn much of it because it doesn't look good on me, and I'm tired of all these self-proclaimed "sophisticated" and "elegant" people designing, wearing, and preaching BLACK! Basta! They all look like they're on their way to a funeral. (now you can blast me....)

Given the right, or perhaps the wrong, set of circumstances, one can say Yikes about any population subset. Ask the French police after last year's World Cup Soccer matches who were worst!! <BR>They might offer in nomination the English hooligans as the most disruptive, but the French <BR>can undoubtedly speak for themselves. <BR>

I'm glad to hear there are other Ian Wright fans out there. I can't believe they don't give him a weekly show. <BR>

Ian Wright is the best! He goes everywhere in the world and eats everything! He is the true traveler! <BR> As for the color black. It is mainly a big city color not just left to the European cities but New York as well wears a lot of black even in the summer. I sometimes wear Khaki colored clothes but find that with the inner city smog and dirt from the subways, trains, brushing up against building walls, walking the streets, etc. The light colors are filthy by the end of the day. When I travel to a city I wear dark clothes as well, so perhaps I am not easily spotted as an American.

You are right about Ian Wright eating anything. And I thought I would try just about anything. The show he did on Mongolia was hilarious.

I too am hooked on Lonely Planet on the Travel Channel. And Ian is SO much more enjoyable than that other girl. <BR> <BR>Anyone ever notice the cheesy commercials they have on that channel? They're all for Time-Life oldies collections and cheap Japanese massagers. I don't think those kind of ads pay much. I sure hope that the Travel Channel is profitable, because I'd hate to see it go away . . .

I live in downtown Washington, DC, and we get inundated with more than our fair share of American tourists year-round. I've got to say that I've never seen a more poorly dressed bunch! <BR> <BR>A friend of mine with a wicked sense of humor had me rolling on the floor a while ago with this line about the fashion sense of American tourists in Washington. "It's not fair," he said, "I don't go to their cities and dress poorly!" <BR> <BR>Sad, but true. <BR> <BR>Michael

well, who cares what everyone else is wearing.? if they are comfortable what does it matter? look around, not everyone in london is wearing black.

I currently work in London. At the moment I am at work - looking down yeap - I'm wearing black and grey. But I think thats more for practicality than enough else. When you catch the dirty underground to work every day (crammed in, sweating people) then you want to wear a colour that looks cleaner longer. Not to mention its business like. Come the weekends and evenings (or annual leave) I (like most Londoners) can be seen outside wearing a colourful summer dress, or baggy shorts and bright tee shirt, etc. Its not just the way Americans dress (although some can be quite tacky) its the way people on holiday generally dress. Happy, casual clothes. Why "fit in" by wearing dark somber clothes when you don't have a business meeting to attend like we do? Wear whatever you're comfortable and happy in as long as its respectible and courteous to culture - damn what anyone else thinks! <BR>

Speaking as an American who can recount her meals by looking at her shirt "oh this dribble is salad dressing, and this schmutz is strawberry yoghurt", I do love dark clothes for traveling. I live in the desert, and for most of the year we wear white/light-colored cottons, so a chance to wear navy blue chino is a pleasure. Weird, though, the teenagers here in the Southwest like to wear black EVERYTHING. Damn you, you English fashion fascists, forcing us to wear that. <BR>And, yes, we Americans do carry plaid umbrellas and pronounce it Tott ing ham and Sall iz berry, but we do pronounce Mogollan, Oaxaca, Wilkes-Barre, Arkansas and Arkansas River without flinching. We ARE good for something....

Speaking about the Travel Channel, we agree that Ian Wright is like a breath of fresh air. Some others I can do without. That porky know-it-all with the beard. Bernstein? Ucko. Then there's that stylish British woman, Anna Walker, who is about as snobbish and condescending as they come. I'd like to rub some mud on her pretty face. Agreed: black belongs on Halloween, not as one's total wardrobe. Combined with oh-so-pale makeup, silver fingernails, green spikey hair, bits and pieces pierced through the body, and Doc Marten boots -- well, if that is a "fashion statement," please leave it unsaid. Don't you wonder what their breath smells like?

The day Elvira, Al and a few others stop posting replies, is the day I quit coming to this forum! Love your wit, you two! :-) I think reading some of these posts is better than taking an actual trip to Europe!!!!!

The day Elvira, Al and a few others stop posting replies, is the day I quit coming to this forum! Love your wit, you two! :-) I think reading some of these posts is better than taking an actual trip to Europe!!!!!

To the ones that are replying with hostile messages, I dont think Ashley meant to offend with her question. I agree that in some cases, you can spot Americans. Especially as mentioned above, in Washington DC. Really, i think you can spot Americans in most any city - with their fanny packs and plaid umbrellas.

Elvira, OK, no problem with Oaxaca, Wilkes-Barre or Arkansas but what or where is Mogollan? Where I'm from you knew an auslander by the pronunciation of Valatie and Claverack. Here in Texas the litmus test is Mexia and Refugio. Put me in the Ian Wright column, that guy will do and/or eat ANYthing.

Mogollan Rim is an area of the Grand Canyon, and it's very entertaining to hear newcomers/visitors try it out. Ok so I'm a luddite, and don't have cable, but was visiting this weekend where they did...is Ian Wright a Brit, the Tom Conte sort of looking guy? I saw a travel show from Northern Ireland, and the host ate oysters and...ahem...eels. <BR>

I'm glad to hear from other Ian Wright fans, I thought I was just weird and alone:). Justine Shapiro is also good. But the other hosts they have are boring and not very street smart. I saw one get his bum bag ripped off in a mini-riot in Africa, and guess what he had in it, his passport and all his money..Duh. <BR>Regards, Walter <BR>

Al ..I can sympathise with you regarding Anna Walker. She used to host a show on satellite tv all about football (soccer) and she knew absolutely NOTHING about the sport. Always pronouncing well known players names wrong, making really lame comments etc .. She also did a holiday show here and I , for one, was never that impressed. I dont think she did her homework on the place. Either that or her observations were purely superficial. <BR> <BR>regards

As one who stares out at the Mogollon Rim all day long, let me be of some help. It is pronounced: moe-gah-YONE and was named after a Spanish explorer. It is not in the Grand Canyon but is, instead, an escarpment that tranverses Arizona from northwest toward the southeast, and can be as much as 2,500 ft. in height.

I am a docent at the most visited museum in the world, the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC; I spend my spare time with tourists. And while yes, Americans are often tackily dressed, so are the foreigners (who also wear fanny packs). I personally can't tell who's who until they speak. But, after my tours, I can never tell you about the poorly dressed people and whether or not they were Americans, because I can't remember. I just doesn't make that much of an impression. I can tell you, however, about all the people with poor attitudes, the people who can't believe a woman likes being at the Air and Space Museum all the time, and all the people who don't know how to conduct themselves properly (both American and foreign). That is what's important. Dress isn't.

Thank you, Ilisa. <BR> <BR>

Sorry, Al, I shorthanded by explanation of Mogollan; having had Europeans say "oh Grand Canyon!" when I mention Arizona, it seemed easier to post that than the actual description.

Mogollon? I always though it was an Island in the Chattahoochie River. Could it be that the pople wearing black were aliens such as the men in black. I agree Ian Wright is the best on Lonely Planet. I though I'd enter the fray. alan

Mogollon? I always though it was an Island in the Chattahoochie River. Could it be that the pople wearing black were aliens such as the men in black. I agree Ian Wright is the best on Lonely Planet. I though I'd enter the fray. alan

Just a bit of background on my Tottingham Court Road Comment earlier. When I was going from relatives home in Edgeware, Mdsx. into London porper via tube, I have to ask directions of one friendly appearing local. The directions had to do with getting of at Tottingham Court Road (Tot nim Court Road) and something about Easton Station (Hous ton is what I heard). None of the relatives mentioned I'd need an interpreter for the Queen's English.....I had to be very careful to listen....something I didn't do well at age 19!

Well...we are all in agreement..we need to start an Ian Wright fan club!!! And since I will be travelling to Paris and London the end of the month...and wearing my Thai patterned wrap skirts and funky tie pants with my hiking boots or hiking sandals...guess I will be the next topic of conversation. But I am really to mature (didn't want to say old!!) to really give a hoot! Individuality makes the world go round..and my sense of style is what I love and feel comfortable in!!

No one will confuse you with Sophie.