I did review some of the past clothing topics and I'm not a Croc fan, so I'm not worried. I have capri's and we both have walking shorts, I have skirts, skorts etc. HOWEVER, I'm hearing that some places frown on men in shorts and women in shorts, with sleeveless blouses in churches. Is it acceptable for us tourists to wear shorts and for me to wear sleeveless tops (not tanks) on Sunday - or during the week to tour some of the religious places? So do I need to pack a "shawl" to cover my head and arms??? It's still warm over there. And we'll be there in about a week!! YIPPPEEEE! My suitcases are out and I'm in the 'gathering' mode. So, some fashion words from the wise would be appreciated! We are doing day trips starting Sept 8 to Granada/Alhambra, Seville, arrive in Madrid on a Sunday, then day trips during the week to Toledo and Segovia and then on to Barcelona for the balance of the trip. Fashion advice is appreciated. Packing as light as possible. THANKS!!!

It does get pretty hot in Spain, and air conditioning is not often what we consider adequate, so I can understand your wanting to be comfortable. Your best choices would be lightweight cool casual dresses and skirts. If you have pants and capris in a cool fabric, those would be good too. Linen is nice and cool too. Don't worry about the wrinkles. You'll see plenty of Europeans walking around in wrinkled linen. That's the look, and it's very cool and comfortable.

European adults do not wear shorts in the city streets as much as North Americans do, and your wearing them will probably cause you to be spotted as tourists much more quickly than you might otherwise be. Whether you want to wear them anyway depends on how you feel about that. When you're touring places like the Alhambra, museums etc., you'll be around mostly other tourists, so you'll be comfortable enough wearing shorts in such places. I don't think you should wear them in any but the most casual restaurants and never to places like the theatre etc.

In Catholic churches everywhere, it is expected that women cover bare upper arms and shoulders. Short shorts and miniskirts are also not appropriate. If you're wearing something like a spaghetti strap top or strapless dress, you should carry a lightweight shawl or scarf to throw over your shoulders when you go to churches. You can easily fold up something and carry it in your purse or totebag and take it out when needed. Sometimes churches have a 90 year old nun on duty who functions as the clothes police, but even if nobody is around to say anything, it's not considered appropriate to enter churches with a lot of skin showing. Regular sleeveless tops might be ok if the 90 year old nun is not around as long as they're not too revealing. Women are no longer expected to cover their heads in churches, but men are expected to remove their hats on entering.

It's really not permitted to tour churches on Sunday when masses are going on. However, if you wish to attend the mass, it's open to the public.

If you're very young people, you'll find that the Spanish young people dress much like young people everywhere including some of the more weird rapper styles on the guys.

If you're closer to middle age, you'll find that Spanish adults dress well to go out in the evening - a little on the conservative side but very well put together.

Although European men don't usually wear shorts in the city at home, when they are tourists here in New York, they do wear them and often look rather goofy. European men just don't rock shorts the way North American youngish guys who are used to wearing them all the time do. European men as tourists do strange things like wear shorts with a dress shirt tucked in with a leather belt. Heh-heh.

I guess better restaurants might frown upon your husband wearing shorts, and some people might look at him funny, but he should be ok wearing them on tours and at places where you'll mostly be among other tourists. When he wants to go native, he should switch to long pants.

If you both have some summer weight jeans, bring them. Lots of people wear jeans. Just make sure they're very lightweight fabrics. Regular jeans would be too heavy in the hot weather.

Comfortable shoes are the most important item of all. If you want to bring a dressier pair for going out in the evening, that's fine, but be sure you have very comfortable shoes for during the day even if they're ugly.

As soon as summer arrives, all young guys, including the spanish, wear shorts. I barely wear trousers at all, apart from going to work.
Open-toed sandals also become the norm for guys of all ages, along with t-shirts or short-sleeved shirts. I'd say that this was almost the normal thing to wear for guys throughout summer, including going out at night. if it is to a place that is a little smarter then cotton trousers are often worn, but the sandals stay.
One thing which seems to be getting more popular is that hip-hop look that has come over from the US where your underwear has to be exposed because your trousers/shorts are hanging around your knees almost. it isn't quite as prolific as the US yet, and you would only really see it on the younger people.

But, it is frowned upon to go into a church in them, and having your shoulders exposed (male or female) is considered bad etiquette.

Donna and Daniel
Thank you so much. We are middle aged (OMG! I said that!), AND tourists (if nothing else gives it away, the HUGE camera on hubby's neck will!). It sounds like we can get away with shorts on the day trips planned. For city walking (ie Madrid and Barcelona), I'll stick to skirts/skorts and carry a shawl of sorts in my bag. Hubby will wear dress walking shorts and nice collared shirts. Evenings will be capri's/skirts and long pants or hubby. Now THAT being said...where would one find 'linen' pants for men?

I was very concerned about the 90 yr old nun at the churches. I'll pick up a nice shawl before we leave. I can wad it up and carry it in my bag, or tie it on my bag or waist.

We are both opting for sandals and running shoes for most excursions. I wish shoes were more adaptable for packing! *L* They are so heavy and men's shoes take up a lot of space. Since we'll be using trains a couple times, I'm really trying to keep our baggage down to one bag each.

We leave, 1 week from today...the excitement is building!! *L*

Thanks again!

Hi Denise

I'm going out to Spain for 31 days, To Avila, Madrid, Valencia, Barcelona and Sitges.
I will be taking:
1 Black knee length skirt
1 black calf length skirt
1 pair calf length "trekking" trousers- with zip off legs- to make shorts
1 Lycra mix top
2 string sleeved vests
4 or 5 very lightweight floaty type tops to go over the above.
1 black cotton Cardigan
1 pair of flatish evening sandals. Pair of beach/sand shoes- type that you can wear swimming.
Lightweight vietnamese style black silk sleeveless trouser suit
swimwear & Trekking type towel for beach
2 Sarongs.

Laptop, Camera, kettle, MP3, phone, various chargers etc
Basic toiletries. 2 x 200ml Once a day sun lotion
The electricals all go in my hand luggage, everything else in a small wheelie case.

For the journey I'll wear:
pair lightweight trousers, Trekking type flip flops,Light weight waterproof jacket,lycra mix top, silk long sleeved shirt.

Every thing is easy wash/dry with no ironing needed. I take a 100ml of concentrated washing liquid and wash as I go.

Jan
Much more prepared than I am! For sure...and I bet about 30 years younger *LOL*
I forgot one thing - baseball caps. To keep the sun off our heads. I wouldn't wear one in the evening of course, but for touring, we both will. Just the visors that they sell these days, won't do. So, are they common for tourists, or do you see many red headed balding men? *L* I have alot more hair than hubby, but a sunburned part on my head is painful!! Comments please!

We always try and dress non touristy. It must work 'cos whatever country we are in Mum and I are quite often stopped by someone looking for directions- and asked if we speak english.
So we must blend in quite well!!!
We'd never open a map fully in public, we keep it folded as small as possible. If we do get lost, we always walk as if we know exactly where we are!
Get hubby to put high factor sun cream on his bald bits !
A telescopic brolly can double up as a parasol.

So is the recommendation, no caps?? We don't use parasols in Ontario, other than for rain *L* Is this something I should consider? Oh gawsh! I can't believe we'll be there in a week! L*

Why not Wait til you're in Spain to decide about caps.
Mum takes the brolly because we usually spend a day or 2 on mountains waiting for the Vuelta to pass by. So we quite often get rained on !!

Denise, do what you like! Unless you have olive skin and dark brown hair you are almost certainly to stick out as a tourist!

I wouldn't try to blend in too much because you'll end up trying to pack too many clothes, and besides, you are on holiday :-)

So, if you like wearing a cap, then do it; just take it off in bars, restaurants and a church. Although the hot part of summer is almost over here, it is still pretty hot so you need to bear in mind the temperatures you'll be wandering around in. In fact, i'd recommend thinking about what times to stay indoors to escape the heat during the day more than whether the cap is the best option.

p.s. you could get the linen trousers in Spain in almost any clothing shop.

p.p.s I wouldn't worry about the nun on the door of the churches. I personally have never seen it. It is normally just a sign of respect that you cover your shoulders, you might get a few looks but you will unlikely get booted out. My wife always just takes a scarf to wrap over her shoulders. Also, people will know you are tourists, so they'll cut you some slack.

p.p.p.s the church in Calle Goya (if you are in the centre of town, in the shopping area) is worth a visit, right in the centre of town and it is pretty big. you can't miss it. although, i may be biased a bit because I got married there :-)