Capris are also known as pedal-pushers and clam diggers. The slight difference being that Capris are a bit shorter (mid-calf to short) and pedal pushers are short pants to your lower calf.

I've had this argument/discussion before...I thought, having grown up in 50's & 60's that capris were ankle length,tapered pants for women, usually w/little vents at the ankle so you could get them over your feet, and pedal pushers were somewhere between the calf and knee and we started calling them clamdiggers in the early sixties to separate ours from our mother's. Was this just Philadelphia/Jersey Shore differentiation?Now just about everything that is more than 3" above the ankle but below the knee is called a capri.

I must add to this hilarious thread...

I just got back from a week in Spain and all I wore were Capri pants!! I was SOOOO glad I packed them. I saw them all over the place in Madrid (probably mostly tourists like me), and somewhat in Granada. The weather was beautiful, and if I were at home I probably would have been wearing shorts, but of course the only people wearing the shorts that we saw were either German or American tourists!!

I must agree too about the whole speedo/beach wear issue. Europeans seem MUCH more comfortable with their bodies to wear those things, or for women to wear bikinis who in the US would't be caught at the beach without a huge t-shirt covering up their once piece bathing suit with the little 'skirt' attached to it!

Viva Espana!

Just to add to the discussion of capris...which apparently came, originally, from the island of the same name. I just read an article that pointed out that all of us run-of-the-mill, non-famous Americans have been pronouncing it wrong...the Vanity Fair set say "CAH-pri," rather than "ca-PREE." But maybe that's just the island, or pants worn by people shaped like islands, or something like that....

You guys make me LAUGH!!

[ 04-23-2001: Message edited by: taravb ]

Hey you guys, now I'm really confused at what to pack!! I'll be in Malaga for a week, Alicante the following week and Madrid for 3 nights. Shorts and T-shirts (promise no speedo's) seem to be ok for Malaga, but do I need to pack a whole seperate case for 3 nights in Madrid??? HELP!! I'm packing this week and leaving on Friday 4th ... I'm from South Africa and used to the more casual style ... so, Capri's seem to be the order of the day

Take a deep cleansing breath, Cheryl! First off, if you are leaving on the 4th, a bigger concern than appropriate fashion statement is comfort. It is still about 65 degrees in Madrid during the day (again, I check the USA Today website as they have been pretty accurate.) That means you probably will want long pants and long sleeved tops for Madrid anyway. You don't need an entire second suitcase...no one will care if you wind up wearing the same pair of black pants every day! (I'm used to warm weather, so I don't wear Capris unless I feel comfortable having bare feet!)

I don't know how old you are and that sometimes makes a difference. I think a young person can get away with a fashion faux pas better than a fossil like me could! I'm going to Madrid and Malaga in early June and I will take long pants, capris, a skort (shorts with a skirt in both the front and back) and a simple black dress. I bring a sleeveless sweater with matching cardigan, short sleeved tops, and one long sleeved shirt. BRING AN UMBRELLA!

Relax and have a great time!

Phew!!! that's a relief I'm no spring chicken myself, and not yet well-travelled, so I feel a bit of a baby having to ask all the questions I do, but I really don't want to be weighted down with unnecessary baggage, so casuals for Costa del Sol and the old favourite black slacks or skirt for Madrid it will be. Thanks so much for the advice and I'll let you know when I get back. Have a great time yourself.

Shorts in Spain? It depends where and when.
In the large cities, at least, I would be guided by what would seem appropriate at home. Would you walk around the business centers of the United States' most populous and cosmopolitan cities in shorts during the working season? Or even during the vacation months?

In the cities it is wiser to dress a bit conservatively rather than in vacation togs.
Many courteous Spaniards might tolerate vacation garb--but among themselves will often find it amusing.

Good advice Cantabene, I have just said those same words to my husband who is insisting that shorts will be necessary when we go the 1st week in June. I have told him to pack what he likes, but don't blame me if he looks out of place! :o

Regarding the whole shorts thing: My last trip to Spain was 1999. Our tour guide was a young man in his late 20's. We went to Madrid and Barcelona, and the guide wore walking shorts/Bermuda length with a short sleeved henley or golf/type shirt tucked in. He wore a belt and sandals...not gym shoes. He is Spanish! Keep in mind that Madrid was pretty toasty and Barcelona was stiflingly hot and humid.

While Tucson certainly is not as large a city as New York, our postal workers, UPS drivers, repairmen and the like all wear walking shorts with the requisite dress/uniform shirt and a belt. Similarly, it is not uncommon to see women going to work in walking length shorts with jackets (for air conditioning!!). The difference is in the definition of shorts! I would not wear raggedy cut offs, lycra workout shorts, or those short shorts that go up to your armpits ANYWHERE in Spain, just as I would not wear them to go to a downtown-type function in the US. Going casual should look like what casual Friday was supposed to be about...no heels, no pinstriped suit, white shirt and tie...NOT like you were just out working in the garden.

I try to dress a little more conservatively when I'm in Europe because I am usually there in a somewhat official capacity: a teacher. I dress up more for my classes here...even when it is 117 in the shade and we are wearing shorts!

My Spanish friends are fond of reminding me "En España hay nueve meses de invierno y tres de infierno." When it is not in infierno mode, it can be pretty chilly (I find 50 degree nights chilly!), so I think you can wear long pants in Madrid until at least mid June without feeling uncomfortably hot. The end of July and August, however, can be very warm and jeans (in my opinion) are just too heavy.

Speedos! I always thought of them as fair play! If women are drooled over for wearing dental floss and gauze to the beach (and the truth is, even the most modest of women's bathing suits is designed to cling tightly to the person wearing it and to highlight all physical imperfections,) then men should have to wear Speedos! We don't have to look at them, but perhaps then they would understand why women are so grumpy when they have to try on new bathing suits if they had to try to squeeze into one of those bits of lycra too!




[ 04-30-2001: Message edited by: la maestra ]