I will be going to spain and would like to know how to dress so i wont stick out like an "American"

Hi max_uh! Welcome to our little ALL SPAIN Message Board!

"Blending In" can be very very difficult if you don't have Spanish roots. The best you can do it to dress nicely and stay clean shaven and hair cut. Avoid the baseball caps, baggy pants, tennis shoes, and logo-covered clothing. Yes, there are Spaniards whom wear these things but they're in the vast minority and you wearining them AND looking not-so-Spanish will label you as a foreigner. Nothing much you can do about your facial features though, short of plastic surgery, so don't worry about that.

If you expand this forum (I've moved it here) to "Show All Topics" (click here if you don't know where to do this), scan down through the thread titles and you'll find a number of similar threads on dressing in Spain, in restaurants, in clubs, etcetera.

Anyone else have fresh suggestions for our new member? Good luck, max_uh!

Saludos, MadridMan

[originally posted by max_uh on 03-01-2004 02:49 AM]

First of all thank you.
I have a few more questions

When you say hair cut to you mean Like
Ronaldo Luiz Nazario de Lima (bald no hair)
Raúl González Blanco (medium amount of hair)
David Beckham (long hair)
Hope you don't mind i used the Real Madrid players as examples.

When you mean clean shaven does that mean a trimed and clean facial hair or no facial hair?

Also want kind of pants? I usally wear jeans.

Do many people wear futbol jerseys? I have a Mexico and Arsenal's jersey but could easily get a España or Real Madrid jersey (e-bay).

I will mostly be at Salamanca and Madrid what clubs are there that have a "nice" dress code (slacks and dress shoes)?
thanks again for your help

Hi! I think that when MM says "haircut", he means Mowhawk, like Mr. T. When he says clean shaven, he means, "lightning bolt shaped beard that stretches from your ear to your lip". You'll have no trouble fitting in.
Obviously, I'm kidding. Just look clean, and you'll be fine.

So.........
then wearing the jersey wont make me stand out?
what about the Jeans?
Clubs?
I will be there from may to july, so what is the summer clothes like.

Also whats this I hear of not being able to wear white socks?

There is nothing wrong in dressing like in USA

Anyway, I'll answer your questions:

Most people here show a medium hair cut (like Raul, who is the only spaniard of the three soccer players you mentioned ).

Jeans are very common.

Using a soccer team jersey to dress is considered awful, as well as using white socks (except with sport shoes/tennis). That will label you inmediately as a forgeiner (it is not that people here don't wear it, but you will hardly blend that way hehe)

As for summer clothes, you may wear jeans and a t-shirt. Be aware that in May it is usually still cold.

Fernando

and facial hair is fine. I think beards are more popular here than they are in the States... Being clean shaven doesn´t necessarily make you blend in any better. I´ve seen more than my fair share of 5 o´clock shadows here.

On the issue of facial hair, look at some leading PP politicians, Aznar - moustache; Rajoy - beard. From my six months here, I have seen lots of men with facial hair, and most keep it fairly well trimed.