# Is It Possible To Disguise Yourself From A Person Who Knows You Well? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 18, 2009, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-disguise-yourself-from-a-person-who-knows-you-well/496875 "2009-05-18T17:27:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-disguise-yourself-from-a-person-who-knows-you-well/496875/21 "2009-05-19T03:24:34Z")
> [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](#): > > I’ve failed to recognize people I work with and sit next to a few times. In all cases they were people I had only ever seen in uniform. In all cases, when I saw them out in the world wearing civilian clothes, I had an idea that I knew that person from somewhere, but had no idea from where. And this is people who weren’t trying to disguise themselves and fool me. Reminds me of a story… I ate lunch several times a week at a restaurant close to work, and became friendly with one of the waitresses. She came along on a canoe trip with our friends, where everyone was wearing shorts and sandals. Some time after that, one fellow who’d been on the trip joined me for lunch, wearing a suit and tie. She came to the table to take our orders and he said “Hi, Debby.” She did a double take and said “Tom! I didn’t recognize you with your clothes on.” Then she realized what she had said and turned an amazingly bright red. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-disguise-yourself-from-a-person-who-knows-you-well/496875/22 "2009-05-19T16:26:27Z")
This isn’t quite the same, but a couple of friends of mine are identical (mirror) twins and one of them was telling me that he occasionally gets confused in certain malls/stores because he doesn’t always know if the person he’s seeing at the end of the aisle is himself in a mirror, or his brother just standing there. I keep thinking there must be some way to have fun with that. ---
**Author:** ![sjc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@sjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjc)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-disguise-yourself-from-a-person-who-knows-you-well/496875/23 "2009-05-20T01:25:54Z")
It’s absolutely possible to disguise yourself from a person who knows you well, though some people will have a harder time at it than others. It will probably take hard work and some skills that many people haven’t developed. I’d say that a lot depends on the context and expectations of the people you are interacting with. For the sort of scene in the OP where it’s someone you know _very_ well and the interaction lasts a long time (and is in a context like a shared home), it will likely be exceedingly difficult. In addition to having to drastically change your voice, posture, movements and overall demeanor (skillfully, I might add) you will very likely have to work to create a situation where the other person doesn’t really have time think of you as anything other than the character you are presenting. I have not actually attempted an impersonation of level of difficulty, but based on my experiences acting, I believe it is possible (if difficult). ---
**Author:** ![sjc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@sjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjc)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-disguise-yourself-from-a-person-who-knows-you-well/496875/24 "2009-05-20T01:30:52Z")
I’d add that a lot depends on the person you are attempting to fool. Some folks are more observant about these things. (And **pbbth** can just sniff you and know.) ---
**Author:** ![Cyberhwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-disguise-yourself-from-a-person-who-knows-you-well/496875/25 "2009-05-20T05:38:33Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > I wouldn’t recognize Mr. K if he shaved. Not a chance. I’ve seen a picture of him from about 1964 without a beard. He grew it in '66 and hasn’t shaved since. WOW! That’s kind of a trip not knowing how your spouse would look with only a simple change. ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-disguise-yourself-from-a-person-who-knows-you-well/496875/26 "2009-05-20T10:37:30Z")
There was a reality TV show in the UK a while back which involved dressing/making up a celebrity and training them to act differently in order to try and fool a friend - mostly it worked (sort of). Grim ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-disguise-yourself-from-a-person-who-knows-you-well/496875/27 "2009-05-20T11:00:31Z")
> [@grimpixie](#): > > There was a reality TV show in the UK a while back which involved dressing/making up a celebrity and training them to act differently in order to try and fool a friend - mostly it worked (sort of). > > Grim Yes, that was called [‘Celebrity Swap’](http://www.themakeupgallery.org.uk/disguise/fakeovers/swaps/poshlr.htm) and there’s a couple of pictures of an actress (Linda Robson) before and after disguise. I think such skilful makeup would fool your family. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-disguise-yourself-from-a-person-who-knows-you-well/496875/28 "2009-05-20T12:18:57Z")
For halloween last year we went to a Brother’s Grimm party. Being male I went as an Evil Queen, and SWMBO went as Sexy Red Riding Hood. I was a dead ringer for the queen from Snow White. No one recognized me when we arrived until I started speaking (I used my normal voice) and two drunk guys even thought I was a chick until I started talking to them. ---
**Author:** ![Spectralist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Spectralist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectralist)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-disguise-yourself-from-a-person-who-knows-you-well/496875/29 "2009-05-20T23:17:41Z")
I think it would depend greatly on the person doing the recognizing. I doubt it would be difficult to fool me. I rarely pay any attention to how people look and occasionally mix up people that i’ve known for months or more anyway. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-disguise-yourself-from-a-person-who-knows-you-well/496875/30 "2009-05-21T01:41:17Z")
I was directing a show and I was a guy short. A young woman whom I hadn’t cast asked if she could play the part. I hate casting a woman as a guy because they generally" can’t pull it off (Pervious to this play, I used to say, “They can’t pull it off” no “generally” to it). They generally talk like a girl who lowers her voice and gesture like a girl, stand like a girl, move like a girl, etc. By dress rehearsal, I was proven wrong. That girl was no longer there. A guy was. She went into a grocery her family owned and they had no idea who the young man shopping in their store was. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-disguise-yourself-from-a-person-who-knows-you-well/496875/31 "2009-05-21T02:14:49Z")
Bruce and Clark have managed to pull it off for years. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-disguise-yourself-from-a-person-who-knows-you-well/496875/32 "2009-05-21T03:40:13Z")
I was just thinking about this very thing not too long ago. I was watching True Hollyood Story about Kelly Ripa. Her mother was interviewed about her performance as Haley on All My Children and said she didn’t recognize her. I can’t imagine a mother not being able to recognize her own child, even in heavy makeup. ---
**Author:** ![sunstone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunstone/32/3372_2.png) [@sunstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunstone)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-disguise-yourself-from-a-person-who-knows-you-well/496875/33 "2009-05-21T05:46:28Z")
I once dressed up as a belly dancer as a surprise for my son’s birthday (my wife was dressed as a clown with full face paint…I had veils covering everything except my eyes. We knocked on the door and entered his home dancing. He actually thought I was some really cheap over-the-hill-out-of-work female belly dancer - with a figure that had really gone downhill. It wasn’t until my wife pulled my face veil down that he saw that it was his Dad. I make a really homely woman. So if I can do it, anyone can. Including the belly dancing… ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-disguise-yourself-from-a-person-who-knows-you-well/496875/34 "2009-05-21T06:33:19Z")
If Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari are to be believed… yes, it’s possible. ---
**Author:** ![Elysian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c77e96/32.png) [@Elysian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elysian)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-disguise-yourself-from-a-person-who-knows-you-well/496875/35 "2009-05-21T09:26:15Z")
> [@autz](#): > > The other day I was looking for my husband to walk towards me from far away. There were lots of people coming and going, but as soon as I saw him from a very far distance I knew it was him. He was too far away to make out facial features, and he was dressed the same as everyone else, shorts and a t-shirt. > > It was his walk that I recognized. It’s not a weird or unusually distinctive walk, but I find I can easily recognize someone just from the way they walk. Same here. He was walking towards me in the arrivals section of the airport, and all I could see around the other people was the top of his head and a bit of his shoulder, and I knew immediately. It was the way he walked. I can pick him out by pretty much any clue. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-disguise-yourself-from-a-person-who-knows-you-well/496875/36 "2009-05-21T18:18:36Z")
This reminds me of a time I was channel surfing and I landed on a movie dubbed into Spanish. I didn’t recognize the movie, but there was an actress in it who looked remarkably like Loni Anderson. Her Spanish-language voice was deep and almost gravelly, though, and it completely threw me off. My friends and I watched for several minutes, debating whether it was really Loni Anderson or not. It was. The only single thing different was the voice, which was very different, and it was enough to make us doubt her identity. ---
**Author:** ![Noelq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noelq/32/16438_2.png) [@Noelq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noelq)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-disguise-yourself-from-a-person-who-knows-you-well/496875/37 "2009-05-21T19:27:13Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > Bruce and Clark have managed to pull it off for years. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Creaky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@Creaky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Creaky)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-disguise-yourself-from-a-person-who-knows-you-well/496875/38 "2009-05-21T20:22:00Z")
I tried it once and it totally didn’t work. As others have said, it worked for a friend of mine when she dressed up for a Halloween party. She dressed up like a hillbilly dude with the baseball cap, big jeans, big t-shirt and false teeth. Seriously, she looked so real and we were all like, Cindy has a cousin who looks like THAT? I mean, none of us knew who she was. It was a really good job. It didn’t hurt that Cindy was a terrific actress too. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-disguise-yourself-from-a-person-who-knows-you-well/496875/39 "2009-05-21T21:35:23Z")
> [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](#): > > I’ve failed to recognize people I work with and sit next to a few times. In all cases they were people I had only ever seen in uniform. I have failed to recognize people I’ve known for years when they have altered their hair style. Is it mostly the fellas that could do this? ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-disguise-yourself-from-a-person-who-knows-you-well/496875/40 "2009-05-21T22:10:46Z")
> [@spooje](#): > > I have failed to recognize people I’ve known for years when they have altered their hair style. > > Is it mostly the fellas that could do this? In my case, I’ve been equal opportunity at not recognizing coworkers. I blew right past one young woman I worked with because I had no idea at all she was someone I knew. It hurt her feelings, but then several other people failed to recognize her throughout the day and she got used to it. In her uniform with her hair skinned back she looks like an earnest young woman. In her regular clothing she looks like a Bratz doll. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-disguise-yourself-from-a-person-who-knows-you-well/496875.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-disguise-yourself-from-a-person-who-knows-you-well/496875.md?page=3)