What kind of clothes do Spaniards wear

I've read the other posts here but what I want to know is how does spanish style differ from other western style, ie U.S.. I've heard they dress up more and don't wear loud t-shirts etc..but anything more detailed? I'm leaving soon and I want to blend in so I don't stick out like a sore thumb. Any ideas?

Hi Jaime! That's my son's name but I bet you are one of the many young women who took a Spanish male name?? hehehehe. Anyway, check out the other posts and read all about 'blending in,' in this section on packing. Dress how you would if you were going out to dinner with grandma, and you'll be fine. Young people can get away with anything, almost, and feel comfortable. If you really want to blend in, avoid athlectic shoes and raggy jeans.

Hi Jaime! Yes, read the other postings about blending in this forum. But you want to know how Spaniards dress? First tell us, how old are you? Age does make a difference. If you're an old woman (and I doubt this) you might wear a past-the-knee skirt, white silk blouse, long-sleeved, buttoned to the neck, maybe a necklace, and a short woolen vest-jacket (which matches the skirt of course!! hehehe), and black leather low-heel shoes. Don't forget to have your hair done in a salon and not cut very long, maybe just past the shoulder or just above. This is how my ladyfriend's mother always dresses - she's 75 years old (the mother, not the ladyfriend) - and I swear, you walk outside and everyone of her generation is dressed almost identically, but in different dark colors (i.e., grey, black, dark green, navy blue, etcetera).

Okay folks. Who wants to tackle the next generation down.. Say, the 50-75 year old bracket?

Saludos, MadridMan

Jaime, if you are young you will look nice with jeans (we love Levi's 501), t-shirts and sneakers by day. For the nights , if you are going to clubs, wear shirts and pants (kakis) and leather shoes. If you are a young girl same thing for the morning and dresses for the night. If you are middle age wear whatever you will be wearing in a normal work day in USA.
But if I were you I will wear whatever you like to wear. Americans dress well most of the time and again I don't see much differences between the way you dress and the way we (Spaniards) dress.

I'm 24 yrs old and I don't want to look like my grandma. I have Spanish friends here but of course they dress differently because they have new types of clothing available to them. I don't want to look like a slob but I also want to be comfortable. I think I will just bring simple clothing and buy a few things when I get there. Thanks

Jaime, if you are going to buy a "spanish wardrobe" when you get there, you'll have to check out these stores which are VERY popular with the spanish girls..."Massimo Dutti"(they also make a line of men's clothes which I'm particularly fond of) "Zara"(not quite as expensive as massimo Dutti, but very nice) and Mango. Check out those stores and I know you'll fit in...

Jaime, I meant that if you dressed like when going to grandma's you'd be fine. Don't dress LIKE her! MM, you cracked me up w./ your description of every espanyola over 65. You forgot the bata-dress for everyday getting the groceries and stuff. And in summer those low heeled black shoes have an open back with a strap, right?>!?! You forgot the gold cross (or vigen de guadalupe, my fave santa). Jaime, check out the rebajas (sales) at the Corte Ingles. I picked up a fantastic paintsuit in january for about $50 that looks SO SPANISH! here's a funny story. I showed up at a conference in Miami, and when my SPANISH friend came to pick me up for dinner, she had on the same suit in a lighter color!!!! we were twins! but classy en EE.UU!

[This message has been edited by rgf (edited 08-20-2000).]

Thanks everyone for replying to my question. Just to set the record straight...I am a girl and I am named Jaime because it was the seventies and my very gringa mom had no idea. Nuria..I am confused about the whole sneakers and t-shirt thing. Others posts on here that I've seen said the Spanish don't like to wear t-shirts and sneakers. I'd really like to know because I don't want to pack anything I won't use. I'm not trying to have a Spanish wardrobe or anything but when I travel I don't like to stick out. It lets people know you are a tourist and for many reasons I don't like that. thanks again.

From my experience, I would lean more towards pants/skirts/capris and leather shoes than jeans and sneakers, and definitely stay away from baggy tshirts and shorts if you don't want to stand out. Tank tops are fine for everyday, just not in cathedrals and such. Spanish women are very stylish and tend to dress up a bit more than Americans, a more tailored look. Most women your age usually have on a simple top and pants (if you really wanted to look Spanish, you would wear your pants a size smaller than normal - they wear them tight!) or skirt, sundresses are good, too. Definitely check out the stores mentioned earlier (Zara, Mango, etc), they are all over the place and it seems like every store in Spain is having rebajas right now, so you can find some great deals! Have fun!

Hi Jaime,
Well, I have some experience about clothing in Spain because I am Spaniard and I was living in Spain for 24 years. I am young (25) and while I was living in Spain I was wearing jeans, t-shirts, sneakers... Of course if you go to the disco or a good restaurant or something like that you try to dress nicely but if you are going to go to visit the city by day you should wear comfortable clothes. Shorts are OK, trust me. And people will stare at you but not because of your clothes is because WE LOVE to stare!!
And sorry about getting confuse with the name, we have the same name in Spanish and it is given to boys.
Have fun!
Nuria

[This message has been edited by Nuria (edited 08-22-2000).]

Jaime-
Don't let people freak you about about the t-shirt and gym shoe thing. Perhaps it is different in Madrid, but I was just in Sevila and ALL of my Spanish friends were wearing t-shirts. It was really hot, so most were wearing sandalls, both guys and girls (or men and women -they're 25-35 yrs old). Also, it seems that, for the women, "ethnic" type clothing seemed popular, like Indian-type blouses. It seems that most of the t-shirts, too, have cool and/or funky designs on them. It's interesting, b/c when I first studied there 10 years ago, almost everyone was wearing what I like to call the Corte Ingles uniform. I've been back several times since then and it seems that each time, there have been more variations in clothing styles. However, the uniform for the middle aged-older Spanish women has remained the same, as MM described!! Like Nuria said also, either way, they'll stare at you!! (BTW Nuria, I posted a question about this- I really want to talk about this!! Maybe you can email me or something if the topic interests you)
Jaime, have fun. Bring some stuff, pack light and get some stuff there.
-Jen

[This message has been edited by Jen (edited 08-22-2000).]

Thanks everyone again! This site is the best. My brother and I leave tomorrow morning. He'll spend a year and I'll only be there for the week but I know I will really enjoy myself and of course...dress in style. Thanks so much, Jaime

If you're an older guy and you want to fit in in Spain it's very simple. Just get a boina and a pair of bedroom slippers and go for a walk through the park! Seriously...walk up to any standard zapateria and you'll see that they are selling plaid bedroom slippers as shoes. I found this to be extremely amusing.


Leche

I dug out this old/ancient thread to help shed some light (literally!) on what Spaniards wear, especially in the summer.

Visit http://www.GlorietaDeBilbao.com and take a LIVE look at the what the passing-by Spaniards in Madrid are wearing through a new live cam looking down over the BILBAO metro stop and terraza.

So far this hour (8pm in Madrid), I've only seen one person wearing shorts and he was wearing gym shoes and carrying two gym bags. Many women in skirts, but most everyone wearing jeans or other long pants and I understand Madrid is HOT these days!

At first I thought this live cam was boring, but I enjoy imagining myself looking out the window of some café with a café con leche and simply people-watching.

[ 07-02-2001: Message edited by: MadridMan ]

Ijust got back from 2 weeks in Spain, Madrid and north/northwest. It was very hot when we first arrived and yes, everyone wears little tanks and spaghetti strap tops. Anyone going soon can count on great sales and lots of cute colorful tops, especially for younger girls and their size XL is more like a M in the US unless you go to a more "missy" shop/boutique w/numbered sizes.Solid pants (and capris especially in Madrid) and alsoshort colorful skirts and skirts that fall below the knees w/little flared or asymetrical hemlines were popular too. I had a longish flared skirt that I rolled up in my tote for some days that I did wear walking shorts and I quick pulled it on in the car to visit a village church or go in a shop. I did notice..come July 1st..alot changed, which I'll mention elsewear. The proportion of tourists greatly increased the #'s of shorts to be seen and people seemed to accept that as part of the invasion.We loved dressing up at night in little dresses w/a shawl or cardigan for the evening stroll and a drink and tapas then dinner. It stayed lite til 10PM and it was always midnight by the time you get finished so a little coverup oif some sort was necessary.

[ 07-08-2001: Message edited by: karenwishart ]

I saw many shorts on my recent trip. Granted, I would definitely say for women skirts were more common, and the only girls I saw wearing shorts were around my age (22) or younger. Lots of guys my age and younger in shorts, definitely more than girls, which is not fair! And lots of capri pants for both sexes -- they are not nearly so common for guys here in the US.

Jaime,

from what i´ve noticed, the typical young spanish girl has on a bra with clear straps, a colorful polyester tank-style top, and very tight pants that typically match the polyester top in color and hug the hips. very tight (usually tailored)pants and some kind of foot-binding like heels. but most of them look like they have had a rib or two removed, as they have very tiny waists and almost absolutely no butt. if you are over a size 8, you will have a tough time finding clothes in stores as everything is designed with this in mind. (oh, and if you´re wearing white pants, you should wear a white thong.) they are wearing their hair straight (no perms), just like most fashionable young Americans and very little makeup, but lots of perfume. if all this doesn´t help, just look at any teen magazine like Sassy, and you´ll get the drift.

There are of course people in Madrid who do not fit this stereotype, but they are generally few and far between and constantly stared at like they just came from outerspace.

Sheba, you are so right. We just came from Spain and it was my boyfriend that was shocked by how tight the clothing was. The plastic strap bra was a must. Even if you were wearing a tube top you wear one of these otherwise it is very taboo. I managed to blend in with just a few sun dresses and peddle pushers. Nobody should bring dress shoes with them. Buy them there. I could have brought home a bag full of nothing but amazing shoes.

By the way girls..I purchased one of those plasic strap must haves for $15 in Palencia.(compared to $25 plus at Vic Secrets et.al.)