This post has been one that I have wanted to write since the day I hopped off the airplane and arrived in Spain, but I decided that I should wait, because I wanted a little more knowledge on the subject before writing this.
Fashion in Spain is an entirely different world. When I walked on the campus of my new university Universidad de Alicante, after carefully getting ready, I felt like I looked like I had just rolled out of bed compared to most of the girls there.
Honestly, Spain is opening my eyes and my fashion sense to another world of style. I’m wearing tights for crying out loud. My new favorite stores have become Stradivarius, Zara, and Promod without a doubt. Since I live in Alicante’s shopping district (a blessing for me and a curse for my wallet, haha), I see some of the most fashionably dressed women walking around every single day on their way to work or shopping.
Some of the things I’m starting to like, I honestly hated before. I own this pair of leather shoes and a leather jacket which I wear proudly every. single. day. While I still maintain my love for all fashion with a bohemian flair, it is toned down a bit and definitely has more of an “urban chic” bend to it now.
There are some very distinctive looks to me that really stand out as far as Spanish fashion goes.
First, we have what I call the Formal Athlete.
For instance, this girl loves to look athletic, but with a fancy twist so that they could wear this outfit to a formal dinner party and fit right in. This girl wears her adidas tennis shoes everywhere she goes, but with tights of course. Then, she pairs a cute mini skirt over her tights, accompanied by a turtleneck sweater. To top it off, she’ll pull her hair back into a sleek ponytail, put on a cute pair of earrings, and toss her backpack over her shoulder to complete the look. I see a trendy girl my age wearing this style of outfit everywhere I go. It’s fun, versatile and dressy.
All I’m saying is this is a much more refreshing take on the leggings/yoga pants and t-shirt athletic look that’s popular at my university, haha.
Now, something that I was very surprised at, at least here in Spain, is that open-toed shoes are a huge no-no. This isn’t just as far as fashion goes, I feel like it even borders on inappropriate if you break out the shoes that show your freshly painted toes. I was quite surprised the first day that I wore my open toed shoes out on a particularly nice day. Honestly the death stares and shaking heads were enough to make me want to run back to my apartment and change ASAP. So, with that being said, I’ve bought several pairs of cute closed-toed shoes in order to avoid the old women scowls. The shoes in these two looks today are common looks that I wanted to share with you because every time I’m out, I without fail see tons of women in the adidas superstar shoes or in high heels. It’s the Spanish shoe staples.
Another thing to note is the fact that no one wears hats. Even if you’re talking super cute big, floppy hats, to baseball caps. No one wears hats. It’s like wearing a huge banner wrapped around you saying “I am not from here!!!”. Needless to say, I bring my favorite big hat with me when I travel to other cities just because I don’t have to spend a lot of time doing my hair then on vacation, but on the daily, it stays hanging on its hook on the wall.
So for this next outfit, I think I’ll call it The Everyday European.
One thing that I notice to be so true is that every European woman has great taste in outerwear. This really proves to work out well for them because honestly if they want to be lazy and dress down, all they have to do is throw on their fancy coat and they’ll have fooled everyone. This is what I’m starting to pick up on too, whenever I don’t feel like putting all the effort into choosing a cute outfit for the day.
The women who wear this outfit have a lot to do and little time to do it. But, they want to look pulled together during their busy day. They’ll pull on their favorite pair of
denim, and a cute but cozy ruffled
top. They’ll perfectly {and minimalistically} accessorize with their
purse and favorite
watch. Finally they decide to have a dash of color in their outfit with some fun, pink
pumps. And before they head out the door, they throw on their best
coat that brings them an extra layer of warmth and style.
Well, with that, those are my two favorite types of outfits so far that I see on the daily while I’m living here in Spain. However in about two weeks, I leave to travel to many cities in Europe because I have my vacation from school, so I’m sure when I get back, I’ll have a lot more styles that will have influenced me that I’ll have seen in places like Copenhagen, Brussels, or Milan!
I’ll keep you posted and as always, much love!
Olivia
