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.

Zara jeans (or the real[B]thing rather than Zara knock-offs) are fine - in fact through-out March in Madrid I saw any number of Spanish women wearing them - with boots or heels. Plus - Zara's jeans are comfortable!!! And, when compared to Gap jeans - far better fitting and much less expensive.

Some jeans (again - Zara or better) in Sevilla. Segovia, Valencia, Cordoba, Cadiz -jeans all over - Estepona, Marbella, Malaga ... again - jeans. Please note that the many many Spanish women I saw in jeans had the figure to wear them ....and the jeans were tailored. I didn't see anyone other than the foreign college kids in baggy and/or tattered jeans ...

nevado--how much are levi's in the rest of the country? in minnesota it is not uncommon to get a pair of levi's (brand new) for $15. but when i travel to nyc, it's more like $50-$75, which always just blows my mind. here that would be a pair of earl jeans.

Finally, someone to talk about Zara. Why is it so popular? I went there and bought some scarves and perfume. I didn't see what the big attraction was, but all of the Spanish women carry their little Zara bags around, so I told my husband, we had to go there.

The Spainish like Zara so much because they are nice, trendy clothes that are inexpensive. Mango and Cortefiel are a couple of other popular store like this. Plus, they offer mens and childrens clothes and all the accesories. I but alot of my kids clothes there. If you noticed, buying clothes in Spain is not cheap! I can buy primo clothes lines in italy for the same price of regular clothes in Spain.

Why Zara? They produce well made knock-offs of designer clothing - the company that owns Zara's is about to go public - lot of info in the financial sections of CNN, etc. I like them for jeans and tops, casual stuff not for more business-like attire.

Its well worth going into any one of the Zara stores - if only to look at the multi-national price tags - what sells for 3500 ptas sells for $50-60 US. Tell me, if the clothes fit and you like them - its not a bargain!

I agree, Zara is great for the trendy clothes with prices to match my budget...I especially like their children's line...Anyway, my twenty-something brother-in-law and novia (madrilenos) were hot for the Gap clothing as Gap has moved into the European market (at least in England) and it is just now starting to get recognition on the continent...

Also, was it me, or is everyone, young and old, mad for Burberry everything!!!!?

You are not mad, Burberry is popular, but it is here too. I saw a lady in Madrid with a pair of Burberry jeans, that had a tag like levi's but the red tag was replaced with the plaid. I did like the price tags at Zara, but I found conversion easy as the exchange is the same as the Euro. So, if you ask a salesperson how much in euro, it is the same in dollars. They have a Gap in Madrid in the Salmanca shopping district. I was suprised that Gap Jeans weren't more popular. I guess Levi's will always be more American.

Nic I think what Puna was saying as far as the price tags is that they don't just convert -- the price in dollars is WAY more than it is in pesetas! There is a Zara in the mall near where I live in NJ -- it was great to go in since it looks exactly like the ones in Spain with the same clothes, but wow what a price difference!

Regarding Burberry, when I was in Salamanca absolutely EVERYONE had the tan plaid scarf! We didn't realize it was a brand and just called it "THE scarf."

Thanks for clarrifying for me Majesty318. Your rephrasing was exactly what I meant to say! Can smeone tell me what the draw is re the Burberry look - it was all over the place!!!

The Burberry look has become accessible to many more people due to knock-offs of the plaid that somehow have made it into the market. Also Burberry themselves have saturated the market with an incredibly varied array of merchandise making them much more visible. I've read there are key people in their company who have been adverse to this.

Thanks everyone, I get it now. But, I still didn't think that the bargains were all that great. But, like I said, I didn't shop for clothes. Shoes, and purses and scarves for me. Easy to pack. Burberry reminds me of old people, sorry...I'm sure the marketing people are trying to get to the younger shoppers and future sales, but I am not a fan. Tan plaid is not my thing.

I read or heard somewhere recently that Burberry have withdrawn the franchise from the Spanish company that sells their clothes in Spain as they are worried about saturation. Also, out of interest, if you look at the labels on the Burberry clothes in the Corte Ingles concessions for example you'll see that they are different from the "official" ones. I expect that once the franchise has been withdrawn Burberry will still operate in Spain but selling its "official" lines for higher prices. So snap up the bargains now before it's too late.

When you all talk about "tennis shoes", do you include Nike sneakers? I would love to wear mine because they are the most comfortable in the whole world, but they look SO American! When we visited my daughter in Ecuador she wouldn't allow us to wear sneakers because we stood out so glaringly as gringos!

You will seem american whatever you wear so wear whatever you feel comfortable with.

There is nothing bad in seeming american. We can argue that you may be an easier target for pickpocketers, but the reality is that those people is used to identify tourists. So, why modifying your wearing?

I didn't did it when I was in the States, and noone signaled me as an spaniard (but I obviously was looking as one). Yes, some people called me mexican, but that didn't have anything to do with my clothes for surem, and more with how I spoke (but someone told me I have an accent from Orlando!!)

Fernando

Fernando
We are in Madrid in Feb 2002.Wheres the best place for Levi501s and Burberry shirts that has lowest prices.Thanks.

I don't really know where Wakefield is (USA, UK, ...) but definitively it is not a good idea to buy Levi's or Burberrys in Spain IF you can do it in the States, or even in the UK. The prices are much different.

In the States, if I recall well, you may buy Levi's for, 40$? Levi's here cost 11.000 ptas, which is just 60$

Anyway, a good bigstore to buy clothes (but expensive one) is El Corte Inglés. Usually smaller shops have better prices.

Regards.

Sorry Fernando , Wakefield is in Yorkshire , England.Here 501s cost between £40 and£50 so it does look like you pay about the same.Not that Im suggesting a wonderful organisation like Levis is price-fixing- no siree! :p

I've been doing some pre-trip shopping and bought TWO new pairs of jeans and a pair of dress pants which were actually SEMI-tight so I'd "fit in" more. Hahahhaa.. All my other jeans are rather baggy in the thighs and too long so they "buckle" at the shoes. I did the same with shirts, buying a couple more tighter fitting button down shirts.

Regarding shoes/slippers to wear on the plane on those long trips, the last couple of times I've worn those thick footies (which some airlines give) you can put on over your socks and they are much more comfortable than shoes and still keep your feet warmer than only with socks.

Saludos, MadridMan