Hi Nuria, no I'm not from Malaga (I'm English), but the you got the reference right! Malaga's one of my favourite places (I always stand up for it on this board when people diss the Costa del Sol in general!), and I love "boquerones fritos" - along with the rest of the great seafood they have there.

!Viva la fritura malaguegna!

in direction of Mlobear's opening question:

are you equating individuality with how a person dresses?

everyone here is correct that you can dress how you want, especially in a cosmopolitan city/european capital like Madrid. spain has changed quickly in this view... my experience growing up was pretty strict, but in Madrid you see all types, punks(reminiscent of the 80's), doomers (all black-shoepolish hair), preps, and whatever else you are looking for...(to put in american terms).

in fact there is a great punk-rock scene in Madrid that i am a particular fan of.. i think you'll find that the individuality of spaniards goes much deeper than their appearrance.. you probably already know this...(look at all the great art and artists that have come from spain..)

the biggest thing is that you are going to get a lot of perspective from this board.. we are of all ages and experiences... missmadrid99 made a lot of really good points, but if you go into smaller and more rural areas, expect stares... it's mostly out of the curiosity that small-town friendly people have in something that is different... there are Madrilenios that would stand out and get stares in Toledo...

anyway, dress how you want. gage others if that would make you more comfortable... whatever you do, you would be fine and you would still have a blast!

pd> i have always thought that it was the harsh reality of the Franco regime that brought out the intense, creative, and loving spain that we know today...

[This message has been edited by real_megia (edited 08-17-2000).]

[This message has been edited by real_megia (edited 08-17-2000).]

Thanks for all replies. Interesting to see how you all think. Hopefully I will have a blast in Spain, not because of the way I dress, I`m counting on my winning smile to take care of that business. Will send you a post to say how I`m doing.

B.M

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I say go to Spain with an empty suitcase and buy some cool clothes! I buy and wear the clothes there and then have great memories when they get worn here in the U.S. This however is only an option if you have the money to live and buy without a tight budget.

Trying not to be too sassy or s*xy, I encourage you to buy underwear in Spain. I have never experience such comfort!

I recently discovered a chain store in Southern Spain called Taxi International. Cool clothes! We took teenage girls into this store and the other mother and I (both over 40) found clothes that made us very happy.

The only time I recommend that you really should dress nicely is on the flights. You get better service based on your dress, especially if there is a delay or another problem.

Your haircut and your eyeglasses will give you away as a foreigner.

Once I was in desperate need of finding an American to assist me on the streets. I directed my eyes to the earth. When I saw the sneakers of a college girl, I asked "Do you speak English?" She was from the USA. I was too tired to speak Spanish after almost 40 hours awake. She helped me. Your american clothing alerts other americans in need! I thank you for that.

I love MadridMan's forum and am a regular reader! This is the best site on the net!



[This message has been edited by Sofia (edited 08-19-2000).]

I second that- this being the best site on the net! You go MM!! (and all the other oh, so informed participants!!)

I am interested in the punk scene you spoke of real_megia. I tend to lean towards this type of lifestyle more than the conservative one.

Could you suggest some places that may be off the beaten track from the normal touristy type places?

I am really interested in record stores, clubs, cafes, events, tatoo parlours etc...that are in line with the alternative scene in Madrid.

If anyone else has any suggestions about this, please let me know.

Sheba-- one great place for the alternative scene is Chueca. Just get off the metro at the Chueca stop and you will be in the heart of it. Lavapies is funky, too. Tell us what you think when you come back, vale?

good tip, rgf.

sheba, chueca is pretty darn good, the tribunal area is not bad, lavapies is cool for sure. i like the tribunal area because it seems more densely packed, and the bars and clubs are tightly packed into little spaces. many of these clubs will have live music (the best kinds of clubs - in my opinion, as i'm not into the dance club scene).

my favorite bar, "rigormortis," which may not longer be around (bars tend to come and go, like ships in the night), is just west/northwest of metro Plaza de Espania, just next to the park. it's buried in the streets in an old basement-like space... the crowd is always amicable and they always have unknown punk bands, some good some bad.

surprisingly, some of the best punk music i've seen is in Manzanares, a logical stopping point on the way to Madrid from Jaen. in manzanares they have a lot of cool little clubs that offer live music of all types. and manzanares is a young city, relatively, so you don't quite get the dense packed in city feel, but you do get the pueblo-city feel, which is great. i saw barricada, aerobitch, and so yesclavo there in manzanares, all of which were great shows...

one last spot, and i can't remember the name, is in arguelles-moncloa off of calle andres mellado near a bar called the "sapo azul," metro moncloa. it's a two floor bar where the upstairs is "jevy"(spanish for heavy metal - noisy), and the lower floor is more punk oriented. i'm not into heavy metal so i can't tell you much about that scene, but there is a great punk scene around Madrid.

have fun in your search, Sheba!

[This message has been edited by real_megia (edited 08-28-2000).]

I was totally laughing while reading this post because I swear to you all that ZARA is da bomb! I bought so many nice things there! Mango is fun too, but the quality wasn't as "good" as ZARA.

Depending on where you go, climate rules the dress code. During July and August it was incredibly hot in Valencia, but we were on the water. In Madrid and the South it was WAYYYYYY hotter. I suggest UN MONTON of tank tops, because it gets hotter than a mug. I never wore jeans because it was too freakin' hot. I do suggest buying some denim there because it is much thinner than the typical levi's or gap jeans. Capri's are everywhere.

Shoot, just as long as you look nice and decent, that's all that matters. The inevitable truth is even when you look like you fit in, it's not gonna do you any good if you can't speak a lick of SPanish.

BTW, they're right about tight pants. I had a hard time buying pants here! No camel toe for me, thanks!

VIVA ZARA!!!

it gets hotter than a mug.

I've never heard this expression. Sorry that this isn't about packing.