Steps
1. Look at what others are wearing. Are they wearing sneakers? boots? heels/dress shoes? Take a look around and notice trends. Most Europeans do not wear sneakers, so wear boots, flats, or anything that suits your fancy. Make sure that they are comfortable as well.
2. Carry a coat. Get one that's not too bulky, but warm. A lot of European countries get a considerable amount of rain and some are very cold. Make sure your jacket keeps you warm and dry.
3. Dress casually. Don't wear shirts with American brands or slogans on them. "American Eagle", "Hollister", or "Abercrombie & Fitch" are probably not a good idea.
4. Try to blend in. Speak quietly and don't draw attention to yourself. Don't behave like a tourist, and be polite and courteous. You probably won't fool people thinking that you're European for long, but you can leave them with a good impression of yourself.
5. Don't assume that everyone speaks English. Even if they do, they might not answer. Remember that those who do would still greatly appreciate a word or two in their native tongue. If they have great vocabulary and pronunciation, tell them. They'll appreciate it and treat you better.
6. Make sure you know at least a little of the language. Attempting to speak the language is showing respect towards the nation and its peoples. Good words or phrases to know include are "hello", "please", "goodbye", "do you have...?", and "do you speak English?"
7. Don't wear any clothing that screams "American"! examples: shirts with American flag on it, "I Love NY" shirts, shorts with any thing written on the butt, etc. At the same time, don't pretend to be of a different nationality; it might get you in trouble and put you in the position where you either have to lie or make a strange excuse.
8. Dress fashionably. You don't have to sport all the latest trends, but try to put effort into your appearance. Clothing articles like hoodies and sweatpants probably won't make you very European looking, so try to stay away from the outdated and sloppy look.
9. Speak quietly in public. In America a 'notice me' approach to public volume is acceptable, but in Europe, your accent and loud talk will be unappreciated. You don't have to whisper, but try to act civilized and polite.

Wow…so glad I'm not an American in Europe :unsure:

You guys don't wear sneakers? Seriously? I knew that flats were really cheap and come by the barrell in Europe, but I didn't know it was because you guys aren't fans of sneakers.

Yep, 'hello' and 'do you speak english?' are my top phrases to know in any language if I ever go to Europe. That and 'where the hell am I?' :lol: ;)

Sneakers are made to wear in the gym :P

I guess here we wear them because of the all terrain weather. I do own flats, but I only wear them in the summer. I don't even wanna think about what it would be like if I wore flats to school now, with all the ice.... :(

I *very European, half Spanish, half Dutch* loves wearing sneakers ;)

yeah...i went to Italy some time ago and i made the mistake of wearing sneakers. They kept staring at my feet! i thought i stepped in something funny and was releasing an odd stench! :lol:

Why is it such a bad thing to look like a tourist? :huh:

I don´t know. Where I live, we´re very used to tourism, and I particularly love tourists, above all if they are foreigners :D I think I wouldn´t be able to tell de difference between american American and English tourists...

Anyway, we always recognize foreigners from the North (or "guiris") when they wear sandals with socks :P

Because we like to make fun of Americans XD

:lol: I just have a feeling I would look like an American anyway... although I think really the only thing I would do on the above list is wear the sneakers (I would be planning on doing a lot of walking and would want to wear comfortable shoes!) But I would be polite and try to know a little of the language etc.

Haha. Well, I wouldnt say that it is possible to say how you should act in Europe to blend in easier. Europe is a continet, and every country has its cultures and trends.. :rolleyes:

Ew! I'm from the north, and I hate when people do that. It actually makes me cringe.

I do agree though, it's nice sometimes to see a tourist, it kinda makes you proud of your city; people wanna come visit it.

Haha, yeah, but local people NEVER wear sandals with socks :P (I mean Spanish people)

My crush on foreigner tourists has nothing to do with proud :P It´s just that I like them xD For example, I really like people from the Erasmus program too. I love to meet them on the bus to College and to hear them talking in their own language, even if I don´t understand a word (and I feel terrible about that xD) I don´t know, I´m very interested in people from other countries. :D

Wearing socks in sandles…so wrong!

I will never understand the socks with sandals thing! :lol:

I could never leave the house in trainers, or sneakers as you guys call them! They are for the gym only! I love my flats :D

I love my sneakers! (I call them tennis shoes) They aren't very fashionable but they are comfortable! :)

I love my flats and flip flops. Even though I'm American I really only wear tennnis shoes in the gym and when i'm hiking otherwise it's flip flops, flats, or boots.

The mistake on the list that I would make is wearing a t-shirt that says Abercrombie or Hollister- yes my wardrobe is made up of many of these.

so would i and im not even american! I'd just be caught wearing a lot of sort of grundgy/boarder clothes :lol:

But yeah...i have a lot of hollister and american eagle, so...i probably wouldn't even notice because they just blend in with my regular clothes

But i love it when tourists visit Vancouver! Like you guys have already said, it just makes me so proud of where i live and that i get to see it everyday

We have tourists here all the time! But it is really hard to know who is and who is not, as America is diverse and all.

I do have two questions for you Europeans..
1. Do we Americans/Canadians really talk like we are screaming? I always get told that we talk so loudly lol
2. Do we look just as modern as you guys, or are we a few years behind/ahead? I always thought we were about the same, but I suppose it probably depends on WHO. We all know that there are some tacky Americans! Lol but obviously looks do not matter, it is the personality. But still!

And wow.. You guys do not wear tennis shoes?!! wow!! Haha I suppose that they are not worn all that much here either amongst women, even though many people do wear them! But many guys here wear tennis shoes everywhere, ESPECIALLY us high school students!
(Btw Tennis Shoes = sneakers/trainers!)

Definetely! Lol I wear usually American Eagle and Aerpostale.(Aeropostale has SUCH great prices!) But I have a few Hollister shirts as well!

But for teenage guys, besides Aero,AE, Hollister, Hot Topic, Pack Sun, Abercrombie, we have like nothing. You girls have Anchor Blue, Buckle, Express, Fast Forward, Agaci Too, The Avenue, Fanzz, Melrose, Rave, New York and Company, Wet Seal, plus aero and all have womans department, plus the big department stores like Kohls, Marshalls, Ross, TJ Maxx, Macy's, Steinart, and the list goes on and on! I suppose that some of these places do have mens section. Most of the bigger departments stores like Kohls do. I think The Avenue does and Fast Forward. But still.. Most are exclusively womens. And it makes me jealous! Lol

I have never heard of any of those brands ;)

Yes! Lol, it's funny! We get a lot of American (I don't know about Canadian) tourists here and they are unmissable :D They talk so loud and love drawing attention to themselves. It makes me laugh! I love tourists...

Some American are very stylish but the tourists around here seem to like to stand out so they wear the tackiest things ever :P Most young Americans fit in over here but even I feel a bit outdated when I go to Italy/Spain/France etc because my friends there are so stylish!

Errrr... about sneakers: I call them "tennis shoes" too (or tennis), and I´m not sure if I wear them or not, cause I don´t know what you people consider as "tennis shoes"... I mean, there are tennis shoes to do sport (Nike, Adidas, etc) and there are what I call tennis too, but they´re not to do sport. They´re more like Converse shoes, do you get what I mean? I don´t have Nike-like tennis, but I have seven or so Zara/Pull&Bear tennis :D
In Spain, loads of youg people wear the same kind of tennis that I do wear, but not the other kind.

Ok, images are better xD
Tennis to do sport: http://www.eastbay.com/images/products/zoom/15347141_z.jpg
Tennis... errr... not to do sport xD
http://www.monkeyzen.com/files/pull-and-bear-6325.jpg
http://es.geocities.com/mlgescool/zapasdrunkorama.jpg

P.D. It´s pretty uncommon that people over ...thirty-five? (more or less) wear tennis

Kyle, I think Spanish people talk very loud too :P Crowded places are always very noisy

Yep my Spanish family have some great lungs :lol: And well yes Americans do havea good voice volume, but it also depends on the person and ofcourse the state.

But it is funny that all the people who've ever asked me 'do you know where I can find a coffeeshop?' were…american :lol:

:lol: This whole coversation is making me laugh! If you see a very nice, quiet and polite person walking down the street - but dressed VERY unfashionable with tennis shoes on....it might be me!!! :lol: Yeah....well......I'm more into being comfortable than looking good!

I try to combine the two :lol:
But hey, what's fashion? It changes so fast! Personally fashion really doesn't interest me, I wear that what I think is pretty and hope other people like it too.

i dont have a fashion i wear what i like ...like sometimes get strange looks cause sometimes i wear black...i dont think id blend in like in england or euro.. :lol: :P

Oh! I have an Aeropostale shirt! It's one of the many American chains that isn't actually in Canada, but when I went to the States last summer I made sure to hit all those stores, and yeah. I'm happy with my blue and purple Aero shirt. :D .....I'm also a dork.

About the loudness thing, I'm guilty of that but only because of my sister. I think I've mentioned on here before that she's Autistic, and those people have volume issues. I'm so used to hearing her talk so loudly that I honestly don't notice when I do it too.

Oh, and sneakers, here we also call them running shoes. I only wear them because they're practical. Actually, right now because it's winter I wear boots, but yeah. I don't really care about fashion much. Like others have said, I'll wear what's comfy. ;)

we've got an aeropostale in our mall now. Ive been trying lately to not wear stuff from Hollister and AE, because EVERYONE wears them and so EVERYONE looks the same! I had a friend who used to live in France and she moved here for school and stuff and she found it so funny that people in North America scream when they're supposed to be talking! She kept asking me why i was talking so loud to her when she was right next to me :D

Oh BTW, people who work at bars and restaurants in Europe love Americans, 'cause you guys tip a lot more then most European people (in most countries there's a minimum wage, which is much higher then in the States, so waiters/waitresses don't live of the tips, who then become smaller, and when people from the US come..they're happy ;) )
Oh and people who work in Cinema's are happy when people from Japan come, because they apperently tip at cinema's (according to my at the cinema working friend)

Well then, those waiters and waitresses would be even happier with Canadians than Americans; our minimum wage is about three bucks more than theirs! :lol: ;)

Actually Anchor Blue has a guys department. My bro buys his clothes there as well as Pacsun and all the department stores have a men's section.

I personally love a guy in Abercrombie (Yes shallow i know but true)

i think i like the guys that model for Abercrombie :lol:

actually, there's a whole bunch of stores here that are just for guys. i can't remember the names right now, but theres at least 7 in our huge mall.

Hmm, guy stores. Randy River comes to mind. And West 49 is unisex, but caters mostly to guys. Er....can't really think of any more. I don't shop for guys a lot. Or ever. :lol:

Yes that's actually what i meant to say.

Okay, I just decided I hate being broke! And that my parents would kill me if I would spend more then twelve bucks on a top :rolleyes:
http://www.abercrombie.com/webapp/wcs/stor..._-1_12270_12203

And these short!
http://www.abercrombie.com/webapp/wcs/stor..._-1_12280_12203

Me is in love! And I realize it doesn't really have anything to do with Americans in Europe, but I was checking out male models from Abercrombie, turns out they don't show many on their site…and then I went checking out clothes, which I also love to do :rolleyes: (yes I'm a very shallow person :D )

Aw, don't worry about it hun. I like the top too, it's just sad it's so expensive!

Okay, how to get back on topic. I have a story that kind of relates. The thing about Canadians is we are NOT like Americans, except in visual appearance. Or so I thought. The other day I was reading a CM fanfic (which was really good, btw), I reviewed it, and in the review I said 'cell phone', and so the author, who was British, assumed I was American, and called me such in her reply (we were discussing the differences between voicemail and the 'out of range' message). For some reason, I had this really urgent desire to set her straight. I guess it's kind of like how you never call an Australian British or a New Zelander Australian....you don't call a Canadian American, but it's hard to tell the differences between them. So I guess if I was in Europe people would mistake me for being American whether I did the things on that list or not. :lol: :rolleyes:

I am a bit late to respond, because I did not realize there were replies to this!

Anyways yeah, we Americans act like we are so different then Canadians, and vice versa, but really, we seem to have a lot in common. In north part of Washington, some people call it "the new Canada" because there are soooo many Canadians there.. But I have been to northern Washington, and it seems just like any other American city to me!

Rach - Yeah, when I see the style of British, it seems that the French at least are a bit ahead in fashion! But I do not see a huge different in Americans.. It just depends who obviously, as America is a lot more diverse, so we have a lot of different styles and such!

AC - Yes, Abercrombie models are soooooo hot. At the stores, they do not even wear clothes lol when they are posing for a clothing store!!

And the employees are all hot too.. I have NEVER come across even one unattractive Abercrombie worker!!

Luna - Yeah, tips are very major here!

I'm gonna have to check these hot guys out! :lol: I have taken to doing lots of shopping online on American sites because everything is so cheap! But I don't want to end up looking too American :P

Kyle - The French have amazing style ;) What I love about British fashion is that people tend to like to be individual. There's nothing worse than seeing lots of clones! I can't speak for everywhere but up here, it's not common to wear clothes from mainstream stores. Well, at least it is not common among people who are actually interested in fashion ;) I'm sure Americans have plenty style but the tourists seem to let it slide :lol:

Krissy - To me Canadians sounds just like Americans but I would try never to call a Canadian an American because I have always been told that would cause offence! I gues it's a bit like when people call Brits European - most people here don't take that very well :lol:

How can you actually wear tennis shoes? :blink:
For me it sounds a bit weird, because I am not used to it. Are we Europeans so different from you American people.
Well, I have got another tip for you: Just go to the next H&M store (there is one in every European town, I guess!) and get some clothes and no-one will notice you are from the US. All Europeans wear H&M clothes (I have only a few things from this store. I am more into P&C, I guess!)