What Not to Wear: Spanish Edition

Among my more stylish friends, I am often considered the fashion outcast. I love to acquire new clothes, but I mostly do so by thrifting and rummaging through donation bins or clothing swaps...Generally, the more comfortable and/or unique the outfit the better, especially if it is cheap. I generally live in GoodWill clothes, free t-shirts from student orgs, and the same pair of clearance moccasins everyday.  When I was in high school, I spent hours doing my hair or putting together outfits, but I just can't rationalize putting in the effort to straighten my hair or match accessories to shoes everyday anymore.

Coming to Spain has definitely required me to think about my clothing more than I normally would. I avoided packing leggings and t-shirts, and I actually get ready for class everyday. Even so, I still feel like an outsider and generally am not up to dress code. The style is definitely more formal in Granada than other cities I have visited. Here is a simple guide of how to dress in Granada:

1. Clothing doesn't always seem to match the weather. Just because it is hot doesn't mean you have a free pass to wear short shorts and a tank top everyday. Because it is almost always hot here, people are used to wearing pants in the heat. It isn't like Michigan where the first random day in March when it is warm becomes an excuse to break out the shorts.

Notice that most people are wearing pants despite the almost 90 degree weather

2. Flip flops are not typical shoes to wear outside. Don't bother bringing your cheap flip-flops from WalMart because they typically only wear fancy sandals, flats, or even heels. Women will wear heels even to walk the dog...

A popular shoe store... no flip-flops:(

3. In my opinion, there is a much sharper contrast between the clothing of women and men. I have been known to wear some of my brothers old clothes, but I have seen more distinction in dress based on gender in Granada. For example, it is common for women to wear dresses or rompers, but men typically wear nice trousers and polos. It is easy to differentiate the clothing stores for different genders, and in a smaller city like Granada (compared to Madrid, for example) there are barely any people that challenge the norm.

Females almost always wear prints, dresses, or bright clothes

Men typically wear nice pants or jeans and a dress shirt

My brother and I sometimes match (and this was unplanned). This probably would never happen in Spain...

4. Being above middle age is also not an excuse to walk out in your pajamas. Elderly people here seem to take more pride in how they dress, always matching accessories and outfits. But like the United States, there seems to be more attention on the fashion of women, and it is generally more common to see a very stylish grandma than grandpa.

5. If you have a Chicago Bulls jersey from the 90s, feel free to pull it out of the closet. For some reason, the Chicago Bulls are incredibly popular, and I have seen someone sporting a jersey in almost every town I have visited.

6. Your going-out clothes are probably more similar to the everyday Spanish style than their night apparel. Generally, the dress is more formal to go to the discoteca here than a random party in the US.

The night apparel of me and my friends: Basic (according to the Spanish).

7. For a city so concerned with apparel, they still have places where fashion doesn't apply. For example, my host sister puts on make-up to go walk the dog, but when we are in the house, she wears mismatched pajamas. My host mom can often be found wearing an old Powderpuff Girl dress. Most of the young students I see are typically wearing uniforms, which I think is great considering after school ends they have to be concerned with their fashion well into their elder years.

A boy in his school uniform walking with his fashionable mom

8. If you are like me and hardly ever brush your hair, you probably won't fit in very much. There are peluquerias everywhere because it seems that the Granadinos are very preoccupied with their hair. Even the men put in a lot of effort to their hair here, sporting a very Cristiano Ronaldo style. However, a trend that isn't super widespread but is definitely more popular in Spain than the USA is the man-bun (and I love man-buns)!

9. During the feria of Corpus Christi in Granada, it is a favorite tradition to wear Spanish flamenco dresses, even for the little ones!

To be honest, one of the reasons I wouldn't want to live in Granada long term is the obsession with fashion. In Madrid, for example, there are many more people and tourists, so the fashion isn't as black or white. I could walk down the streets in shorts and a t-shirt without people staring at me. Although it isn't completely different in the USA, it makes me nervous for young people, especially after seeing how my host-sister is soooo concerned about her appearance, when a culture is overly critical of fashion. But like the USA, I am sure there are people that are more concerned than others. 

In my opinion, there are more similarities than differences between the young people in the USA and Spain. The youth here seem to be more passionate, and I tend to see a lot more couples and PDA than in the USA. Like the culture in general, the university students (from the little experience I had with Barrett's host brother and his friends) seem less consumed by their work and relax and party more often. Compared to the stressful and competitive culture of U of M, it is a nice change of pace.