Above is two of the clichés of Spanish fashion. The traditional Andalusian/Flamingo style dresses and the traditional stylish Andalusian man. I have seen both of these things in Spain and while they are certainly different from the styles in America they do not seem to be the standard.
In my opinion on average people in Spain have a better understanding of fashion. So the average person dresses slightly better on any given day. Apart from that I have not seen a ton of cultural differences when it comes to fashion. I think that in the age of technology people are constantly incorporating parts of other cultures that they like. For example the skinny jeans style pants are a very common thing in Europe and have spread to many parts of America. On the other side I have met several university students here who like to wear NBA jerseys. I have noticed a similar phenomena with hairstyles. Both here and in the US the poplar style is a clean cut that is shorter on the sides then on top. I think that on average people here care more and take better care of their hair but I do not see extremely definitive differences in the specific styles.
I think that americans on their best day line up pretty well with most Spanish people. The difference is in the off days. People in Spain would never leave the house wearing sweatpants or a dirty t-shirt and they would only wear athletic clothing if they were going to work out at that exact moment. They simply care about appearances more. I once tried to go out with a semi-wrinkled shirt and my host mom stopped me and made me wait while she ironed it.
As I mentioned before I do not see much of a difference in the style of college students here or in the US. One of the only differences I have notice between the style of college students here and in the US is that here it is common to wear jean shorts. Other than that the clothing is very similar. Students here get dressed up to go out at night the same as students in the US, Usually with a brand named collard shirt and nice shorts or pants.
I do not know for certain but I believe that there is most likely a bigger difference between the fashion of older individuals in Spain and in the states. I spend the majority of my time here and in the states amongst college students. So I have less experience in seeing the fashion of older individuals. I think that those in Spain usually dress nicer even to go buy bread or get the mail. But even this difference is blown out of proportion by many people
Beyond fashion and style, the culture and personality of young people in Spain seems to be mostly the same story. College students seem to behave the same way. They joke around and make fun of each other and generally just try and have a good time. They all seem to be very welcoming and open. One of the key differences is the use of alcohol. Because most people start drinking at a young age(relatively at least) most college age students seem to have a better control of what they drink and often drink more for the taste than simply to become extremely intoxicated. I have also noticed a sizable amount of misogyny amongst college students here. I do not know where exactly this comes from or if it has simply been the students that I have encountered so far but it is definitely the most problematic thing that I have encountered both in Granada and at the University of Michigan. This points to deeper issues that I do not have time to go into here but there are definitely many important conversation that need to be had.
All that I have written here is just my personal experiences from what I have encountered here in Granada. It is from what I've seen on the city streets and from the time I spend in a college dorm here with my host brother. I do not think they are completely accurate but I think that they give a honest view of what I have seen both here and in the United States.
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