Clothes That Shriek American Tourist
 

I have long known that baseball style caps, cameras and related equipment, jogging shoes, and other clothing usually shriek "tourist" of not "American tourist."

But what about khaki trousers. I have never observed them much in Europe, but I would assume that they are an American trademark.

What is the consensus of opinion on this assumption?

I ask because my favorite trousers are khaki. To date they have stayed at home except for my hiking trousers that have big pockets and dry quickly when wet.

Hi B,

The very fact that you are an American tourist shrieks "American Tourist".

Nobody cares.

((I))

Shorts scream "tourist."

I don't know about khaki pants because the only time I wore anything like khaki/Dockers, they would get dirty too quickly, and I'd have to wash them. So I don't wear them any more. I always wear black or navy pants in Europe. Usually black.

Khakis, jeans, cargos, all ok. Khaki or very nice jeans for dinners, some kind of jacket is nice but not required. Your voice and accent will be a dead giveaway, so just dress comfortably but not sloppily and that will be great.

Actually if my husband wore khakis, it would be a step up. : )

Your clothes may scream, but few people in Europe will listen.

Cowboy....Your post sums it up perfectly!

Why do you care as long as you're appropriately dressed for the sites you'll be visiting (i.e. no cut-offs or wife-beaters in cathedrals, etc.)

Most people in Europe are too busy with their daily lives to notice what the Americans are wearing.

The people in the tourist industries you come in contact with will not care either. They are in business to make money.

If you look tacky at home, you will probably look tacky in Europe.

If you dress appropriately for the occasion, are polite and don't talk too loudly (as Americans usually do), you will leave a good impression.

Even if you were nekid, everyone would still recognize a North American tourist. Posture, hair, nail "art", acrylic nails, bottle tans - you name it . . . . . .

Well said Betty.

Do not forget to smile---that will be noticed.

Sorry, Bob, I forgot! You are right. A smile will win over most people if you are sincere!

Janisj....and if you are "nekid" as a male, the customized, hmmmm, "unit" will give you away too.....

I have decided to use my dark microfiber trousers, a pair of dark gray trousers, and keep the hiking pair ready for the Alps.

I had not considered that khaki shows dirt readily and our laundry - ironing facilities will be limited.

At any rate, this is going to be a good trip. I decided long ago that it would be. Go positive and positive results happen.

longboatkey: I was going to mention that - but wanted to keep it clean :D

Yes, you should be just fine with those choices. I would mention that when we lived in Madrid we noticed that obvious tourists (jogging/leisure suits, white tennis shoes, big cameras hanging around their necks) were bait for the very skillful local pickpockets. We encouraged our visitors to wear dark colored shoes...

Janiaj....Anything I can do to help!!!

Everybody wears the same brands of mass merchandised clothing all the world over...I was in France and Italy in May and it was more difficult than ever to guess what country folks were from.

Agree that no one cares...

Why is this so freakin' important to some of you people? Geez. This must be the 1000th post about somebody's fear of being mistaken for a tourist. Best way not to be taken for a tourist? Stay home.

Someone above stimulated a thought.
The mere act of a smile in some countries marks you as a tourist.

Zeus, I agree with you. :):)

I don't give any special thought to what I'm wearing when I'm traveling generally, except when I know I'll be in places (like Italy, visiting churches, or Africa on safari) where I might need to alter my normal approach, but that's because I think I have my own somewhat unique style of dressing that's kind of pan-continental and always has been. It's comfortable, it's reasonably stylish, and it doesn't peg me as any particular nationality, particularly as 90 percent of my footwear was purchased in countries other than the USA, along with about half my clothing.

BUT, I find it funny that everyone automatically says "They'll know you're American no matter what!" I'm almost never taken for an American (the whole "voice and accent will always give you away" is such a generalization and not true for lots of people), even in America, and I do have some sixth sense about certain things that Americans wear that make them look godawful as tourists (the same could easily be said for Germans, Japanese, or many other cultures). I do think it's gauche to wander around a major metropolitan area, whether it be Chicago or Prague or New York or Paris, with trainers and a jogging suit with a baseball cap on your head and a large camera bag swinging from your Hawaiian shirt or T-shirt with some gag-inducing logo.

You don't have to make a special effort not to look like a tourist, but for God's sake, if your normal attire when you go to the supermarket or mall is a pair of elastic band baggy shorts and a mismatched T-shirt with a backwards baseball cap, try to step it up a notch when you visit another country. I don't care how many people tell me Europeans don't care what you're wearing - I'm sure they don't, but don't YOU? There is no huge tradeoff between comfort and style. It's sooooo easy to attain both...what is the issue?

To Brookwood: This rant isn't aimed at you. I personally don't wear khakis, ever, but I can't imagine they'd be offensive in any way. There are SO many worse items.

Are Khakis heavy?

So what if they"shriek" that you are american??? Just wear what you are comfortable with and you like.

I find it so amusing, every couple of months this kind of thread pops up. I don't think that our counterparts , the European tourists, agonize if what they are wearing when they come to the US looks too "European". Good for them.

StCirq: I am also very often taken for a Brit/European (at least until I open my mouth) but I figure it is mostly because I lived there for several years. Since you also spend so much time in Europe that probably applies to you too.

I don't mean this to say we dress better - but more that we may carry ourselves differently and are maybe more comfortable/used to situations when in our "stomping grounds"

When I'm in London or Edinburgh or Paris, I can usually spot a fellow American - even before they pull out their Rick Steeves :)

Just don't have the outfit on that was on my Athens flight last week-overweight middleaged male from US in short jean shorts,flip flops and a T-shirt that had a naked woman with big boobs fly fishing with the headline "Fly fish naked".And you wonder why some of the Europeans think we are idiots when traveling? You khaki pants will be terrific!

Oh please!!!

This is so condescending!

Janis - Yeah!

Janisj,
re: <<carry ourselves differently and are maybe more comfortable/used to situations when in our "stomping grounds">>
Interesting; I think that explains why tourists frequently stopped me to ask directions-- in NYC before I moved here, in Paris after my second trip, and in Milan as soon as I stepped out of the train station (and no, they weren't pickpockets' assistants trying to create a distraction)-- besides the obvious typical tourists and the locals, there's a third group, the tourists who appear to know where they're going, whom the lost feel most comfortable approaching.

I dont know why Americans are so obsessed of not looking like tourists or what to wear when they travel in Europe.

Just wear what it make you feel comfortable and as long you look decent dont give a hoot..Do you actually think that the Europeans care of how you dress?

Europeans when they travel in the US couldn't care less if the locals take them as tourists and never ask what to wear or worry about it when they come here.

When they go in vacations they dress super comfortable and leave the fancy clothes at home.

Unless of course they are the Waldorf Astoria patrons then they may dress more stylish.

brookwood,
I think the most important thing to
remember is wear very comfortable shoes. Bring an extra pair or 2 with you in you suitcase and you can change 1 pair through the day. if you don't go for comfort you will be miserable and it will put a damper on the trip.
So if tennis shoes feel good, wear them.. When we went to Paris my girlfriend said please wear really stylish shoes so you won't look american and you know I was glad I had my other comfortable Joesph Seibel sandals to change into cause cool isn't so cool when you are not a happy tourist!

Quit worrying! American tourists will soon be welcomed as 'rara avis' in Europe. Merchants will post signs: Ask for our USA Tourist specials. Airlines will be offering 'easy pay plans'. A savvy promoter will offer a prize for the best; I am an American tourist costume. Pick pocketers will return 50% of their take to USAers.

StCirq has said it, really.
I think that we are not talking about the American tourist, but the cartoonists' version.
I live near a town that attracts tourists and 99.9% dress perfectly normally.
I did see one poor soul recently in shorts and those rubber clog things.
All the locals were wearing their winter woollies.

BTW, it's interesting to see those cartoons.
When I was young "American tourists" were depicted as carrying huge cameras and the women had those glasses with rhinestones.
Nowadays, they are depicted as enormously fat with shorts and baseball hats.

No rhinestones, but go to
http://www.cartoonstock.com/director...n_tourists.asp
and see the bottom cartoon.

"When I was young "American tourists" were depicted as carrying huge cameras and the women had those glasses with rhinestones"

I've always loved this sculpture, entitled "Tourists", by Duane Hanson in the Edinburgh Modern Art Gallery:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/4452v6

It's incredibly lifelike and, surprisingly, doesn't look particularly outdated, even though it dates from 1970.

pastels are a dead giveaway

"When I'm in London or Edinburgh or Paris, I can usually spot a fellow American - even before they pull out their Rick Steeves"
Takes one to know one. So you are a former Rick Steeves type of tourist? Not that there is anything wrong with that of course. Not surprising either though.

ellene wrote: "pastels are a dead giveaway"

So I must be an American tourist, then? Whouda thunk that?

Hiking trousers? On the street? in Europe? Right....

hanl, that sculpture is wonderful!!!

I adore Carl Spitzweg's Gemälde, entitled "Der Sonntagsspaziergang", which depicts a family of mid-19th century English tourists going for a Sunday walk in Germany's fields:
http://www.meisterwerke-online.de/ge...aziergang.html

Did locals think they looked strange or funny? Probably. Did they care? I do not think so.

Keep in mind that the term "khakis" no longer refers to just that style of trousers in "khaki" color. The definition has been expanded to "khaki" style trousers in many colors. So "khakis" come in colors that do not show dirt so clearly.