Is a baseball capto borth american in Europe? - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

toddkaz · 07-31-2006, 08:11 PM

Hey guys i am just curious if a baseball cap is ok to wear in europe or would i stick out to american looking?

**c0urt** · 07-31-2006, 10:41 PM

actually thats a good question any takers?

but i think i will be wearing my yamaha cap either way it goes, but it would be nice to know

**tumblezweedz** · 07-31-2006, 11:53 PM

They do tend to be pretty American, I really don't notice a lot of Europeans wearing them around the city. That said, we just bought a bunch for the Deutsch Wandertag last month, which is a quintessentially German event, and my husband picked up several at second hand shops in Lithuania when we lived there. I think the difference is, in Europe, men wear baseball caps when they're working or doing sports, but not just around the town. So if you were hiking, you'd probably be in good company, but if you were wandering the streets of Cologne, you might be more readily identifiable as a foreigner. I guess it depends, too, on the cap you bring. If it blares Yankees, Cubs or some such, yeah, everyone will immediately know you're American. My husband usually opts for his Wandertag or Vilnius Smiling caps when he really wants to wear a hat in the local community, or bless him, the Whitecaps hat I bought him last time I was in Vancouver.

You don't really notice a lot of Europeans wearing hats most of the time in summer, though older people still do (especially the traditional German ones) or if they're working in the fields or whatnot (we live in the country, we see a lot of people working in the fields).

My husband has a Tilley hat he really likes, though we have heard the comment that only old people wear Tilleys. I don't know, I've had mine since I was 22, but we are admittedly older than most backpackers these days!

Basically, though, you're likely to stand out as a foreigner anyway, so if you want to bring along a cap, do so - some days you won't want to wear it, but other days you won't care about being identified as a traveler. If you can get a cap with a FIFA or World Cup logo, that might be a good compromise!

**Brookers13** · 07-31-2006, 11:55 PM

i rock my osu hat once in a while...whats so wrong with looking american?

VP. · 08-01-2006, 06:44 AM

I have one hat with me in Germany...I had heard they made you seem like a tourist/American, but I haven't really noticed any weird looks and I do see a good amount of Germans wearing them too. I try not to wear it every day, but if it's between the hat and walking around with bad hair some days I have no qualms with putting on the hat.

I think its worth it to bring one, because even beyond the fashion part they are also pretty utilitarian for hot days/sleeping on trains/covering bad hair, etc, etc, etc

**MeTurk** · 08-01-2006, 08:34 AM

We do wear them over here, it is a sports cap to us though so it's probably not so common on the streets, there very popular with young chavs.

As tumblezweedz already said you will stand out as an American anyway, for some reason it's always very easy to spot a yank so I wouldn't worry about it.

**patchouli Lover** · 08-01-2006, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Brookers13@Aug 1 2006, 01:55 AM
i rock my osu hat once in a while...whats so wrong with looking american?

[snapback]133202[/snapback]

HaHa hey Brookers that is so funny, 'cause I plan to wear my OSU hat too! Of course mine is Oklahoma State, not Ohio State. :D

**c0urt** · 08-01-2006, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Brookers13@Aug 1 2006, 12:55 AM
i rock my osu hat once in a while...whats so wrong with looking american?

[snapback]133202[/snapback]

good point. plus i think most people will know where i am from the second i say "hey how ya'all doin"

and the whole big honking backpack thing

VP. · 08-02-2006, 01:14 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by c0urt@Aug 1 2006, 12:05 PM
good point. plus i think most people will know where i am from the second i say "hey how ya'all doin"

and the whole big honking backpack thing

[snapback]133258[/snapback]

Yes...that will defnitely be a dead giveaway regardless of your headgear

farfaraway · 08-04-2006, 06:27 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(VP. @ Aug 2 2006, 04:14 AM) [snapback]133367[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

Yes...that will defnitely be a dead giveaway regardless of your headgear

[/b]

Don't forget the stench....

almostdone82 · 08-06-2006, 01:21 AM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Brookers13 @ Aug 1 2006, 10:55 AM) [snapback]133202[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

...whats so wrong with looking american?

[/b]

I agree 100%, I plan on rocking my Cubs hat 24/7. I'm a hat guy, my Cubs hat has been to Iraq twice and it will make a trip to europe with me this winter.

SleepIsTheCousinOfDeath · 08-06-2006, 11:10 AM

Actually...If you wear a baseball cap you will be mugged. They will have no mercy upon you. They will go onto pull all that fast food out of your stomach and beat the reality show imagery in ur mind out of it. It will be brutal absolutely horrible. If i were you I would just wear a beret. Seriously...

almostdone82 · 08-06-2006, 08:04 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SleepIsTheCousinOfDeath @ Aug 6 2006, 10:10 PM) [snapback]133872[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

Actually...If you wear a baseball cap you will be mugged. They will have no mercy upon you. They will go onto pull all that fast food out of your stomach and beat the reality show imagery in ur mind out of it. It will be brutal absolutely horrible. If i were you I would just wear a beret. Seriously...
[/b]

Really? Come on now...

**raoulduke** · 08-06-2006, 08:18 PM

Absolutely, the only way to get served in French cafe's is to wear a beret

**tumblezweedz** · 08-06-2006, 11:27 PM

And it's good to have a striped sailor shirt, too. That way they know you're not just pretending with the beret.

**omisan** · 08-07-2006, 01:48 AM

Don't forget to wear a thin mustache and smoke Gauloise unfiltered cigarettes for the appropriate croakiness of the voice.

**space virgin** · 08-07-2006, 02:07 AM

If you can't bring yourself to go that far, just put a Canadian maple leaf all over everything you own. Including your underwear. Seriously.

almostdone82 · 08-07-2006, 04:06 AM

Hows this for a compromise, if I still fit into 'em, I'll wear my service charlies. Smart and comfortable! You don't think I'd get any weird looks do you?

**tumblezweedz** · 08-07-2006, 02:03 PM

Perfect, you'll fit right in.

Actually, my husband wore his blues to a Remembrance Day service (Nov 11 - what is that - Veteran's Day?) at Hamm Cemetary in Luxembourg, and then we went into the city for lunch with another family. People openly stared in... amazement? shock? bewilderment? horror? at two uniformed men as we walked through the city, and then were stunned when the other fellow began speaking fluent French.

Would have been extremely interesting to see what kind of reaction those uniforms would have elicited in France...

**patchouli Lover** · 08-07-2006, 03:58 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tumblezweedz @ Aug 7 2006, 04:03 PM) [snapback]134034[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

Perfect, you'll fit right in.

Actually, my husband wore his blues to a Remembrance Day service (Nov 11 - what is that - Veteran's Day?) at Hamm Cemetary in Luxembourg, and then we went into the city for lunch with another family. People openly stared in... amazement? shock? bewilderment? horror? at two uniformed men as we walked through the city, and then were stunned when the other fellow began speaking fluent French.

Would have been extremely interesting to see what kind of reaction those uniforms would have elicited in France...

[/b]