Anchovy,

Definitely add speedos to the "unacceptable" list. About the only people who can wear those things are pro bicycle racers, and a few swimmers.

If I tried to get into one of those things I'd look like several hot air balloons bonded together in flight, half of them not being fully inflated.

Of course... if you're 6-2... weigh about 140 lbs and ripped... you may be able to pull it off. That's not me... In fact, I'm bigger than two of those guys

According to my wife, I should start buying my clothes from Omar the Tent Maker. I guess that meant that the diet she put me on has to work... or else

Wolf (Who shops at the big man shops)

Thanks for that excellent description of speedos, Wolf! I nearly choked on my bocadillo! Let's see....."if you're 6-2... weigh about 140 lbs and ripped" ... Nope, rules me out too! I'll stick to the painter's pants - they hide gruesome sights well! Now, what on earth are capris......

Hi Anchovy

Capris are pants that stop somewhere between knee & ankle. Very nice length & worn all over US. Last year in Paris I saw quite a few, however I'm very naieve I really can't tell who is native & who is not.
They could have been all tourists wearing capris.

Anchovy,

Do you remember those pants your parents bought you when you were growing? The ones that were just the right length when purchased, but ended up being called "high water" pants less than six months later after you grew several inches?

Capris resemble that, only they start a bit short, and stay there

I hate short pants. I always feel so self conscious. My ankles aren't any prettier than my knees... A friend of mine referred to my build as resembling a bag of jelly donuts that had been run over by a bus.

Do you think he was telling me something

Wolf

I found most people to be very well dressed! The women in dress pants/skirts, matching sweaters, matching leather shoes and bags. The men - dress pants, button-down shirts and pullovers. Dressed in what I would consider casual clothes, I felt very under-dressed compared to the locals. (female perspective!) Even the babies seemed to have colour-coordinated matching leather shoes. If I return, I would definitely bring dressier clothes than what I had with me.

Wolfgang, I MUST make a comment about your postings - THEY ARE HILARIOUS!!! I love your sense of humour!
Hope to be reading more of you postings - on a daily basis, if possible!

And to add to this thread, I always noticed capris in Spain WAYYYYY before they came to Canada and the USA... my (young) aunt used to wear them all the time and she lives in the outskirts of Madrid (Cercedilla).

SusiLaGallega

I think the part that is confusing on the capri pants issue is that they are for women. Wolfgang accurately reflects my husbands feelings on the speedo issue, and I would think most American men. Just not a good site(men in speedos) from the women's point of view, unless they happen to be nice looking volleyball players on the beach.

Is it me, or are Europeans in general less self-conscious about their body shapes? I've seen very "zaftig" women wearing tiny bikinis, sometimes barely visible amidst the flesh and apparently not at all self-conscious about it. Men as well - Wolf, you fit the description of a lot of (mostly German) men I've seen on the beaches - in the disreputable Speedos. I think it's quite refreshing really (not the sights so much as the attitude!) to encounter people who are so comfortable with themselves.

I need an Anglo-American dictionary! Is there a zaftig man too? It sounds really interesting. Can a Brit help me out here and confirm that capris are known in Europe as pedal-pushers? Don't ask me how I know that - I don't have a drawer full, as my comfortably shaped body wouldn't do them justice, either ..... I just look at 'em on las chicas ..... promise!

Yes, yes, AnchovyFront! We called them pedal pushers when I was a kid. They were popular in the late 50's - Audrey Hepburn made them the "in" thing. (OK, so I was an old kid in the late 50's...)