Not long ago, we wrote a piece about how you can spot an American tourist from a mile away. We stand by every word because the personality types we mentioned are all 100% true (and I’m saying this as an American). However, there’s one thing we touched upon in that post that needs more attention.
In the post, I mentioned our shoes. Whether you call them sneakers, trainers, athletic shoes, running shoes or something else, Americans have a love affair with them. So, for better or for worse, yes, you can often tell an American tourist by their shoes.
But it’s not just our shoes
It would be nice if only our shoes gave us away. It’s not. There are plenty more clothing choices we make that sort of makes us sort of scream, “I’M AN AMERICAN!,” but without the noise. It’s sort of a silent scream. Because we Americans, as a society, tend to wear a lot of:
Very casual clothing
If there’s one thing you can say about us, it’s that we like to dress comfortably. Casually. So whether we’re wearing sweatpants, sweatshirts, lounge pants, leggings, yoga pants or hoodies, if someone from another country sees us, they know chances are that we’re American. The same goes for cotton socks, the aforementioned sneakers, and baseball caps. And really, when was the last time you saw anyone but an American go to the supermarket in their pajama bottoms? (I’m not talking about kids. I mean, 20- and 30-somethings and sometimes older-somethings!)
Being too dressy
And yet, as casually dressed as we tend to be during the day, Americans also tend to overdress at night. For women, a slightly more-than-casual restaurant doesn’t require one of your better dresses with heels, or even “just” a fancy skirt, blouse and wedges. But for American women, it does. 😉 (except in places where we KNOW it’s casual. Florida is a good example. The dress code in Florida is almost always casual)
For American men, it’s a different situation. Going out to eat means:
- Polo shirt
- Chinos (Dockers and the like)
- Sneakers
And I may or may not have a husband who proves that theory almost every time we “go out to eat” somewhere 😉 (Excuse me, I don’t always wear sneakers.)
Saggy pants
It started in the U.S. and traveled around the world. But whereas young men in Europe stopped showing their underwear via saggy pants by 2010 or so, it’s still popular with American men (albeit not AS popular as it was in the earliest part of the century).
Wearing logos
It could be a Buc-ee’s T-shirt (guilty as charged) or a sweatshirt that says Walt Disney World on it. Maybe you’re holding a bag with the (high-end) store logo on it. Whatever the case, it’s “very American.”
That patriotic look
According to World Population Review, the U.S. is, by far, the most patriotic country in the world (spoilers: India comes in at #2 and Australia at #3). But while that means some patriotic people might fly a flag in front of their house, it means that others WEAR American flags.
Caveat
Of course, this isn’t to say that other countries don’t have the things that make them stand out in a crowd as uniquely [name that nationality]. Living so close to the Central Florida theme parks, my husband and I can usually point out the Europeans and usually people from the UK.
But just as we can point them out, they can point us out, too. The way most Americans dress is, for better or for worse, uniquely American.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
