to ask if your appearance is deceiving.....

[thelastshadowpuppet]

One of our customers came in last week and as he was waiting for his order we got chatting and it turns out he is an amazing opera singer. Looking at him you'd never think it. Think older gent, builder type.

Over the weekend I was somewhere that had a piano so I sat down and played something. Someone commented and said to me that they weren't surprised I could play the piano as I just looked like someone who could.

Is there something about your appearance that would give something away about you or not.

Not a judgy thread, please don't turn this into a bun fight.

Just a fun thread........hopefully.

Not me, but my eldest stepson. He's a 6'3" full on Goth, l've been out with him and people have actually crossed the street to avoid him, he apparently looks so intimidating. Dyed hair, makeup, very flamboyantly dressed (I bought him an original Victorian top hat for Christmas a few years ago, and he wears it with a full length cape).. He stands out in a crowd.
But he's the sweetest, well mannered, well spoken lad. He has a doctorate in astrophysics, and is currently doing a degree in quantum physics 'for something to do' and learning Japanese so he can converse with his wife's family.
Oh, and he met his wife at a pole dancing class. He was the only male there.

Not an appearance thing I don't think, but a few times when abroad and talking to people who have just discovered I am from Northern Ireland they have started sympathising with me about being oppressed by the cruel British occupiers. It's a little awkward moment when I quietly point out that I am one of the persuasion they assume to be jackbooted oppressors and used to serve in Her Majesty's Armed Forces (well, I was in the OTC for a couple of years).

Nothing to do with my appearance but I was once pulled up sharp on my assumptions.

I was on a train to London. A man got on and sat opposite me. Scruffy appearance and very large so he had to wedge his belly behind the table. He had food dribbles all over his t shirt and chin and was unshaven. After a while he pulled The Times out of his plastic carrier bag and proceeded to do the two crosswords. Then he put it away and took out the FT which he read for the rest of the journey. I always wondered where he worked.

I work in an office(dull/with ladder-climber types) suits/professional look. Finally changing careers as i just got my truck license! Im 5ft3 and have had to follow the office-etiquette in terms of dress code. Not overly feminine but make-up/smart(ish) clothes! So as soon as i let people know what i just qualified as their completely shocked...

My dad
If you saw him in the street,you'd think he was a homeless person wearing a daft hat and smelling faintly of cow shite
In fact hes minted and is the most intelligent man I've ever met
He's a gardener-what he doesn't know,isn't worth knowing
He's a hard working member of friends of the earth,rides a massive motorbike and come across as a meak and mild quiet old man
What people don't know is,he listens in and can be a real twat if you piss him off-I've seen a few people be very shocked when they've annoyed him

A lady who used to live near us when I was a kid
Her and her lodger had cats-over 100 at one point
They had about 17 dogs,a few rabbits and a family of rats living under the shed
The house was a horders dream-you couldn't get in without climbing over crap
My dad didn't believe that when she was younger,she was massive in the theatre world-i didn't believe her either but it was true
She hob-nobed with some of the biggest stars of the time
When she died,they found 4 pianos-all massive and all in mint condition under the piles of crap shed collectedw²
Her parents where millionares and as the only child,she'd got the lot
You would never in a million years have thought this-she was just the lady who lived near us,with a million cats,who babysat for us,swore like a sailor on leave and dressed like a witch

Me-people are amazed I have 6 kids,am a trained hairdresser,and can draw (my grandad taught me)
I hate drawing so tend to kept that Quiet!

DH is 6’2’’, broad shouldered, big guy - his job is a very niche, delicate, highly skilled artistic job.

People always look very surprised when he tells them what he does!

To look at I’m pretty average, 4 kids, hoody and jeans wearing, live in social housing, swear a lot and work in a lower banded nhs admin job. I was a teen mom too, and had all 4 by age of 27.

People tend to express a lot of surprise when they discover I’m seriously intelligent (not an ounce of common sense mind!). Apparently I don’t look it 😂.

I am a mother of 2, girly girl who competes at brazilian juijitsu

I'm in my early 60s now. Semi retired, l work in a supermarket, and live in a small town in Yorkshire. I probably look fairly typical for what l appear to be. Small, dumpy, few silver threads in my hair.
One of my young (she's 22) friends at work told me that quite a few people (who don't work on my department, and don't really know me) think l'm incredibly quiet and reserved.
I'm not. Far from it. I border on boho/goth when not at work, and l have tattoos which they haven't seen. I'm loud and outrageous and sweary with people who I know me. I'm a twitter regular and people often can't believe l've posted 'that!'
I love rock music, the louder the better.
And l've shocked more than a few people when they found out that when l was young, l went out with someone who ended up very a famous rock musician. Two of my very best friends are his sister and a superstar's ex wife.

One of my good friends is a primary school teacher. She's lovely, quite reserved, looks like Sarah Millican. She's small, with glasses and a neat bob. Apparently an inspector at her school commented to a teaching assistant "does she remind you of anyone?"
When she was younger, before she had her kids, she'd get drunk on whisky at parties. And do the splits. People couldn't believe it. She looks so 'straight' for want of a better word.

I look like your standard early 40’s mum. Fairly mumsy, no tattoo’s/facial piercings…

im a massive heavy metal fan.

I am fat and in my fifties

I'm also incredibly fit, and have been for years. I run or do Insanity-type workouts daily, and lift heavy weights 3 or 4 times a week. But nowadays you'd never know to look at me.

People assume I listen to radio 4. I have no idea why. I don't like 'talky' radio and usually listen to Smooth FM.

I’m very slim, skinny really, not particularly short, generally quite sporty, and people are surprised at how shit I am at running. Absolutely the slowest in the park. Still run though!

Strong Glaaswegian accent, bleached hair, fake tan, eyelashes etc. People are often surprised by my degree and people far more junior speak over me and down to me until they find out my job title.

Not a very exciting one but people are always a bit surprised that I'm really fit. I've been going to the gym and lifting heavy for years. I just decided that trying to stay super lean was making me miserable and wasn't worth it, so now I'm a happy size 10-12.

It doesn't bother me but has made me think a lot more before judging someone based on their appearance. I am a lot healthier now than I was when I was a size 8, eating 1200 calories a day and so focused on how I looked. I've been to CrossFit classes where people much heavier than me have completely shown me up. You just can't tell how healthy someone is only by looking at them.

Fat, late 40s, mum, with all girly/ladylike stationery and things around the house.

I love gangster rap and always have.

Dd1 (16) is 6ft, very beautiful, very fashionable, popular etc etc -on the outside she looks pretty cool. Her secret (and very secret because literally only her family know on pain of death), hobby is church bell ringing. And she is absolutely great at it! I drop her off every Tuesday at the church and in she goes for an hour an half. She says it's a great work out.She is the youngest person there by about 60 years. On Saturdays she sometimes does weddings for which she gets paid £30 but before she agrees to it she checks it's no one she even vaguely knows because she doesn't want to be found out

I'd love to be a 10-12 😂😂😂 embrace it girl !!!! 💪🏼

I'm a little old lady type - pushing 70. Grey hair etc. People are shocked when they find out I had a career in computing, as if the modern tech just arrived from outer space one day and they are the first generation of programmers/gamers/developers.

Massive well done, that's an incredible achievement 👏👏👏👏👏

I'm a huge Whovian and regularly go to comicon type events around the UK but on the surface I am a short 52 year old woman - you wouldn't know unless you where on a Teams meeting with me in my study - surrounded by and Darleks - I've had a few double takes when meeting people at events!

My 19 year old, makeup obsessed, PLT addicted daughter is a vicious centre back and her tiny 5ft grungy 17 year old sister has a wicked left foot and scores amazing goals!

Ooo i so get the 'you look like a vegetarian' thing... Fuck that!

I was asked to go to the job centre to sort something out (it shouldn't actually have been done there, but different story, it was sorted in the end). The advisor seemed to refuse to believe I wasn't there to claim anything, wouldn't let me explain, talked down to me, over me, sighed and treated me like mud on her shoe. It was only when she asked about my education (PhD), that she began to be nicer, then when she found out how much money I have and why I wouldn't qualify for any help, after I ended up snapping just a little (I don't care about designer/fancy clothes and shoes so don't particularly stand out), she was falling over herself to be nice to me.
It made me sad that she wouldn't have found me worth talking to if I had been there to ask for financial help, her attitude really shocked me. I hope she isn't typical of people in that role and that they're usually nicer.

I’m a head of department in a secondary school and at work and usually in my day to day life, I like to look professional and polished. I’m also into the finer things in life and if you look at my social media you’d see photos full of cocktails, meals in Michelin star restaurants, holidays in the Caribbean etc.
However, one of my huge passions is gaming! Especially games like call of duty or battlefield. Our spare bedroom is a games room, and everyone assumes it’s for my husband, but it’s actually mine! The even better thing is I’m actually really good and if I wasn’t a teacher I would certainly live stream my games!
Everyone who finds out that knows me is always really surprised!