I am leaving tonight for Madrid! I am wearing my jeans over, so I don't have to pack them. This seems to be quite an argument on this board, to wear or not to wear. I have looked at pictures, and other websites, and I have to say, I do see people wearing jeans. I do not see people wearing jeans to dinner. I only plan to wear jeans, if it is cool outside and I am walking around town sightseeing, and wear back home. I'll change into a skirt for dinner. I think I saw that someone else said to wear tights at night, because it's cool, which I plan to do. I also have gathered that the young girls are now wearing the tight black lycra pants that they wear here. Great for the young ones, but being in my thirties, you're not going to see me in them. I hope that slacks and skirts will be ok. I also have packed the white T-shirts, linen shirts to go over, and skirts. Mostly, black, white and tan. I plan to take my small rolled suitcase on as a carry on. I hope this allowed. At O'Hare airport, they actually have a size requirement guide you have to put your suitcase on to go through security, if it doesn't fit, it has to be checked in. I have read alot of horror stories about checking luggage, so I have packed, half of what I normally take. Especially the shoes. I'll let you all know what happens when I return.

Is it hot in Madrid today? I know it's hot on the coast (80's) and too warm now for jeans during the day. But I can't see the problem with jeans anyway - billions of people wear them in Spain...blue, black, white, red (jeans, that is )

Eddie's post was a good one in another thread when he mentions Levis. Anything goes over here.....even for over thirties!

just wear the jeans, no one really cares that much. And they wouldn't be rude enough to point it out if they did mind.

I know that Vienna is not the same as Madrid, but I did see people in jeans, though some of the "jeans" were velvet
I also saw gym shoes...some actually white!
I have to warn you about the luggage though! Several people in our group were not allowed to bring their carry ons with wheels onto the plane. They were told they had to check them as they were boarding. This only happened when the flight was full, but it caused some difficulties when people had things they really wanted to use on board. Also, both in and out of O'Hare I had my carry on searched because I was carrying something "suspicious"...my water bottle! Word to the wise...if you are bringing jamon serrano back with you, don't put it in the suitcase with your water bottle

I flew in from Madrid last night and I am exhausted! Here's the deal.... WEAR JEANS....especially Levi's. The only way you will stick out as a tourister is because you won't be wearing them two sizes smaller than you do in the states. I ended up staying in the Rios Rosas district. Beautiful, full of wealthy Madrillenos, and young trendsetters, everyone had jeans on, except during the day, when they were going to work. I actually didn't see much difference in the way people dressed from here in Chicago. In fact much the same, only tighter. The guys all wear cargo pants, pretty much up to age 40. The teenage girls and some in their twenties, all wear the black lycra pants the girls here do. But the majority of women over 25, had Levi jeans, and dressed them up with scarves, boots and purses. We ate at a restaurant called Filo's (an obvious trendy Italian place) on a Saturday afternoon and a weeknight(it was so good, but only one menu written in English), and even at dinner the people were wearing jeans, both men and women. The men wear tennis shoes with theirs, but the women wear boots or shoes. The women typically had tight turtlenecks and scarves atound their necks. Beleive me, because I told my husband not to bring more than one pair of jeans or tennis shoes, he pointed out every person in Madrid with them on, because it became a real issue with us. He told me to get back on this board and tell everyone the real truth. I also wish I had tennis shoes for the El Rastro (or as we affectionally called it "El Crappo" )We met up with Andres, for our tapas tour, and guess what..He had jeans on. I am mad at myself for being such a small packer this time,as I didn't wear my tennis shoes on the plane on the way over. I should have. I forgot that when you sit on a plane for so many hours, that your feet swell to twice their size. I had to squeeze my feet into my only pair of shoes, and had to wear my sandals the rest of the trip because of some blisters. It was a good excuse to buy some new shoes though. Wear shoes that will expand or shoes that tie for the plane. I actually have Isotoner ballet type slippers with a leather sole that I wore home, didn't want to go through the tight shoes again. Women on the plane, we're all asking me wear to buy them, they thought it was a great idea. So, if you have any questions about clothes please ask me, because I was really in tune to the fashion. :p

Thanks for bringing up the swelling feet issue...EVERY SINGLE TIME I go to Spain, my feet swell up on the plane trip and I spend the whole trip in one pair of shoes, usually purchased the first day in Madrid...This last time I took extra precaution and wore some slide shoes (closed toe), drank a liter of water before we took off, drank water and juice the whole trip and squirted Evian atomizer on my face the whole time, not only did I not suffer from foot bloat, I also enjoyed the plane ride more...So, remember to wear the most non constricting shoes you have on the plane trip and keep yourself HYDRATED!!!

Laduque is right - drink a lot of water! But also try to move. Get up out of your seat often and walk around. Do the silly exercises the major airlines are now suggesting to keep your circulation going, no matter how dumb you feel. Swollen feet can happen on any long flight, not just the ones to Spain. I had forgotten about it last month, and my feet swelled up like melons. On the flights I took after the initial one, I drank only water, and got up several times. I also wiggled my feet around a LOT while I was seated. The swelling was much less. It's also good to move to avoid potentially dangerous blood clots that develop on planes.

I thought the key to a good plane ride was to get all durnk and roudy during the trip!

(no, that really wasn't me bothering you and everyone else on the fly over)

someone suggested that i bring over extra pairs of levis because they were so popular that if i were in a money jam, i could sell them. is there any truth to this? is there a limit on how many pairs of levis you can bring over?

Selling Levis used to be an option (10 or more years ago) but with the price of Levis higher in the states and the exchange rate, they come pretty close to the price there.