To hate being recognised as a Brit when I'm abroad before I've even spoken?

[Hammy02]

I'm not ashamed to be British but I'm aware of how the typical Brit is often perceived by Europeans (boozers, overweight & un-chic) so I ain't a happy bunny when I'm spotted immediately. I am not overweight, nor a heavy drinker and dress well so what is it that makes me stand out as a Brit abroad?

i am quite dark so when in spain i get spoken to in spanish, can pass off as turkish but i still have my english ways, not by being loud and drunk and moaning it is too hot or food is too greasy or spicy but by overly polite, drinking hot tea with when its over 100 in the shade, saying thank you far too often and probably have that slight awkwardness that the british often seem to have when trying to be relaxed and cool

i go to la often as my dad lives there and can spot an british person a mile off

lol nola - no, but I've noticed Brits tend to seem more lost than other nationalities

Never tried to spot the Dutch - to be honest I enjoy spotting Brits because I miss the UK. And sometimes I just want to go over and talk to them (but never dare).

Navy a summer colour??

I always get asked if im norwegian/swedish. Im not.

People often think I'm German-fairly tall blonde and take a dark tan without going through the lobster stage but dh manages to perfect the Brit abroad act by going through at LEAST 3 foreheads due to his refusal to believe that he doesn't have the same type of skin as I do

YANBU. I dislike the rudeness of many British abroad, the inability to even learn to say a basic "please" and "thank you" in the local language, the drunken behaviour, and of course the terrible dress sense!

I think the nicest compliment we had was a Maitre D' who presumed we were Italian. In Italy people presumed we were French, and in France we are presumed to be Italian, until we open our mouths of course, then our Englishness can't be denied, and we are both terrible at languages but at least make an effort.

Yes, it's a light hearted game, but perhaps we're making light of what is often a terrible image of the British, through the behaviour of a significant minority.

How weird that navy is a summer colour. It's dark and the colour of winter woollen school uniform tights and coats.

Sky blue is a summer colour, and yellow.

Yes, v. wierd I know but I have been reliably informed by four separate women (one a shop assistant, one a college professor, one a French teacher, one a printer) that navy is only to be worn in summer (this is in France/Belgium). I was baffled tbh - still am. Perhaps they mean navy in the Mediterranean - gold buttons - naval - Breton jumper - sort of sense??? Not sure!

Oh - one bugbear about Brits abroad (apart from the indiscriminate drinking etc etc) is not saying hello or goodbye when entering or leaving a shop, an office or a restaurant. It comes across as so rude (even though it is often unintentional).

I see loads of Belgians wearing Navy in Winter as I live there!

I was a bit aghast to be spoken to by the checkout guy in Aldi in English before I'd even said anything;asked him how he knew and he said it was a lucky guess, but that I looked English. Can't see how.

I live there too Scary! Just reporting what I was told on four separate occasions. Don't claim to understand it.

...and the local posh dress shop has a navy dress in it as well!!!!
I live and die in navy all year round, so it's an all season colour for me.

Me too! Couldn't live without it!

I always thought I looked British, but kept getting asked where I was from.

I don't know where people think I'm from, as it never seems to be the same place twice, but apparently I don't look British

I usually spot the British by:

• abundance of fleeces/or inappropriate clothing
• uptight demeanour/ or shy
• paleness

Of course you can spot Italians: we are loud, sadly, and many men dress in pastel, hideous colours.

People think I'm Spanish or Italian and dh is Dutch or german (he's big and fair too). The Dutch we saw on holiday this year were all tall, blonde, athletic looking and very very tanned. Bad hiker-type shoes tho :)

Sorry, my parents live overseas in a town where there are a lot of 'swallows' - Brits chasing the sun and can be spotted from a mile away:

a) Pale and not sunburnt like the 'locals'
b) Drive cautiously and are always having rest breaks ...
c) Buying all their groceries, fruit, veg and meat at one store !

Saying this, it is easy to pick out the South Africans from the rest and know when they have made it to the arrivals hall at Heathrow ...

I think YAB slightly U in assuming that people necessarily have a negative image of the Brits, at least outside the package holiday circuit: as others have pointed out, the Brits can also be perceived as more polite, quietly-spoken, respectful of others. And being differently dressed really doesn't mean un-chic.
I live in a non-European country that gets a lot of European tourists. I love watching the locals here trying to work out where someone is from, trying out different languages on them... I'm British, but people often guess German (which I am in part) or Polish (which I'm not).
There are lots of different clues: physical appearance, clothing, but also more subtle ones: facial expressions and body language, make-up and hair-styles. For instance, ideas about what is an appropriate colour to dye one's hair can vary a lot. I was in Copenhagen earlier this year, and was amazed (and pleased) to see that most women with grey hair seemed happy to leave their natural colour. Here the only women old enough to have grey hair but not to cover it with a scarf are French pensioners and they all seem to dye it an unnatural blonde or strange pale red.
My brother is an orthodontist, and he tells me that not only are there certain dental characterists which are typical of certain countries/groups, but different countries have different standards for what people's teeth SHOULD like after orthodontic treatment: he looks at people's teeth to see where they may be from :)

Having lived in Germany for 20 years I've developed quite a good sense for spotting British and Irish people. Sometimes it's a certain lack of self-confidence combined with vague smiling (a determination to be pleasant, even when you haven't a clue what's going on), at other times I swear I recognise the bone structures, which are VERY different from the typical Berlin face. People just LOOK like people I know from the UK and Ireland.

Tenebrist vague smiling (a determination to be pleasant, even when you haven't a clue what's going on)
That is so true! In fact, I used to find myself doing it all the time, till I realised it was much better to fake a look of self-confidence.

Here in Rhodes spot the British is.

She wearing primark
He wearing his football shirt
Her patchy suntan
Him red and blisters
Her smirnoff ice
Him pint of beer
Her sensible sandals
Him trainers and socks

Obviously this is a generalization. When ever tourist friends brings me gifts it always in a whsmith bag.

Oh and queuing at the bus stop which is always a mistake in greece

The Brits do have some (subtle) racial features that make them stand out as British: relatively short and stumpy, pale, dark haired. My less generous foreign friends describe it as the 'ugly and unhealthy' look - sorry. :(

I always pick out the Brits when I'm abroad, just like I always spot the Dutch person in the crowd.

For the person who asked what sets the Dutch apart, in my view it's being quite tall, light hair, relatively long face, and yes, a healthy appearance.

There's something about British and Dutch noses as well, but I can't quite put that into words. Overall it's more an overall Brits or Dutch 'feel' than anything specific I can put my finger on.

As an Irish person, I can always spot another one at a glance, more by expression than by complexion (the complexion thing has become more problematic because of the current national addiction to fake tan). When I lived in a part of the US where there was an annual influx of Irish students in summer time, it tended to be their much less confident/entitled body-language that gave them away, even in a situation where everyone, US and Irish, was wearing much the same beach clothes and was fairly tanned.

Plus I think partly - as well as obvious things - it's also the way a person's face is 'trained' by the language, and the dalect of that language, they speak. An American friend of mine has lived longterm in Paris and is married to a Frenchman, and while she still looks utterly American - height, build, body language etc - I think the musculature of her face, as she ages, has settled slightly into a 'French' look because she speaks French the majority of the time.

Apparently I'm difficult to place, though I think that's less to do with my looks or dress than because I speak several languages fairly well, and that throws people off. Also possibly that years of living abroad has meant that I don't have the 'pleasant and slightly befuddled' body language thing going on any more.

I used to live abroad and could always tell nationalities from how they dressed. Brits have an obvious style - sometimes awful (chavvy tracksuits) but sometimes, well, just British

Start by removing the knotted hanky from your head and try wearing your sandals without socks.