Hello there,

I came upon this board and found it fascinating as my wife is from Madrid and we're going to visit in 2 weeks after 16 years!

One thing that she can't remember and I haven't found on the web is a chart to convert American sizes with European clothing sizes for when she goes shopping.

She apparently has very fond memories of "El Corte Ingles" from when she was a kid.

Hi!
I am a size 2-4 here (US) and 38-40 in Spain so a 6 is a 42, a 8 is a 44... But I find that sizes is Spain are smaller.
You'll find most of the tags with European sizes and some of them with US sizes too. You can go to Zara too, all their tags are in different sizes (Spain, Europe, US) and currency.
For shoes I am not sure, but I beth they will be more than happy to let her try different sizes.
Have fun!
Nuria

The following sites have conversion information. The only problem is that the sizing seems to differ a bit from site to site!!!! My 7.5 shoes seem to be roughly equivalent to 39.5 on some sites, and a 37-38 on others, but I have a pair upstairs that fits beautifully and is marked American 8/European 39.

I wear about a 4-6 in women's clothing, and my size is supposed to be a 34, 36, or 38, I think...but I tried on a pair of 40 pants in Madrid and they were skin-tight and would have split if I tried to walk!!! I have a wool jacket from El Corte Ingles and that's a 40, and I wouldn't want it any tighter.

Anyway, sales clerks can really help (they would tell me if things seemed to be cut small or large--though I don't think they were EVER large!). Also, if you're buying for someone else, try to provide a size comparison (look for another shopper or a sales person you can point out as a similar shape and size). And if you're shopping for kids, always buy bigger than you think you need, because they will grow!!

We also bought men's pants in Salamanca (at Cortefiel) and the employees were fantastic, noticing every pair that would look good on my husband and steering him away from ones that would not.

The first site listed here has measurements in cm and inches to accompany the size information. But don't rely on it exclusively, because it doesn't match some of the others!!!

http://www.ladybwear.com/main_size_chart.htm#clothing

http://www.onlineconversion.com/womens_clothing.htm

http://www.tall.org/clubs/ny/tcnyc/Resou...conversion.html

I'm with Tara...the clothes there are cut MUCH smaller than they are here. The first time I lived in Spain, I was a size 12, so I NEVER found anything clothes-wise to buy, I have since 'scaled down' and wear a 6-8 and can usually fit in something around a 40 (but like the sites say it SHOULD be a 36 or 38. Shoes have always seemed to work out that for women at least, if you add 30 to your American size, you should be ok. I wear about an 8 or 8 1/2 shoe, and most of my Spanish shoes/sandals are 38-39.

I would suggest taking a tape measure with you that has both inches and cm on them. If there are certain people who you want to buy clothes for, have them give you their measurements in both inches and cm so that you can check it once you're in Spain.

Have a great trip!!

-GG

Oh, I forgot to mention that it is very difficult to find large sizes in Spain... I think the biggest you can get at regular store is a 52, that's like a 12/14 in US.

If you or your wife is a PDA user (Palm, Handspring, etc) you can download a free program called Converter.

It´s great and converts everything from speed, temperature, shoe sizes, clothing sizes, etc... I have it downloaded onto my PDA and find it absolutely INDISPENSABLE!!

Have a great trip!

I agree with Nuria, there's a much wider range of sizes in the US.In most stores women sizes go from 36 to 44. I'm a 4-6 (US) and a 40-42 (Spain), but sometimes you have problems trying to fit in some size 42 tiny clothes.

I'm with Castiza. I'm your standard 5/6 in the US and wear 40-42 in Spain.

I'm a 5'10" woman with long everything and generally a 16 in the USA. I have not found a single thing to fit me here. I'm planning a trip to the UK and Germany soon to do some clothes shopping (closer than NYC). I guess it will keep my credit card bill down. If you are slightly taller or larger than usual, esp as a woman, you are sheer out of luck here.

If anyone has hints on where to buy larger sizes, I am all ears!

In my last visit I noticed the lack of plus sizes, so I asked our chambermaid at the Suecia Hotel who was a well endowed lady, like moi, she said that she went to a costurera. she brings a design and the costurera measures her, cuts and sews the dress. She also said she went to e_bay to buy Jeans . Where there is a will, there is a way.