Jamie Claros is a junior at Boston College, studying abroad in Madrid, Spain for the fall semester. As an Eagle in a foreign country, she wanted to share with us her birds-eye view of the Spanish culture. This series will chronicle her study abroad experience, detailing the food she tries, the people she meets, and the places she explores!
¡Hola mis fellow collegiettes™!Â
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The following statement is a real life excerpt from a conversation between one of my roommates and a Spaniard:
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“We have this idea from the movies that you guys wear sweatpants to class? AND FLIP FLOPS? Flip flops to school? It’s like, you wouldn’t go to work in your PJs or sweatpants. You would dress nicely. You should dress nicely for school.”
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Such is the general feeling of all Spaniard collegiettes™ it seems. Although the girl my roommate was talking to was shocked to hear that we do, in fact, wear sweatpants to school in the States, I was equally shocked to hear that she thought it was such a crazy idea.  Every time I arrive on campus, I’m constantly surprised and impressed by all of the well put together girls walking around. Not to say that us BC girls aren’t put together but, let’s admit it, there are always a few days when we roll out of bed wanting to wear nothing a pair of oversized sweatpants and some BC related t-shirt (finals week, anyone?). Not the case in Spain. In fact, I’ve never seen any one wear anything with a university logo or name on it and, God forbid, someone were to wear a pair of sweatpants (refer to above quotation).
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No, in Spain it’s all about chunky knit layers, shorts over tights, oversized sweaters, and even bigger scarves— as much cozy as it is fashionable.  It’s the kind of look that seems like you just put on all your warmest attire, while still looking like a page out of a fashion look book.
An example of the layered style so popular here in Spain.
The overly layered look can be a bit overwhelming at first, but the girls here pull it off well enough.  The shorts over tights style is a good way to put those summer shorts to use year-round, and a pair of colorful or patterned tights gives the look even more edge. Throw in a comfy cardigan that’s two sizes too big and boom, you can be a madrileña, too! The girls mix patterns and different knits to cater to their own individual styles and always look effortlessly chic.
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Scarves are also a huge trend here now that the weather’s starting to get chillier and are mandatory to the madrileña wardrobe. From colorful pashminas and eccentric prints to thick, knit eternity scarves, there’s a style for everyone. I haven’t done much shopping for clothing so far here, but I have amassed quite a large pile of scarves of all different styles.
My latest purchase! They’re truly the Spanish staple item.
Though the lack of sweatpants was truly a shock, there is one style trend that continues to surprise me every time I see it. Heels. To school.  Don’t get me wrong; I love a good pair of heels. As someone who’s been graced with the grand height of 5’0 (and half an inch if we’re being technical), it comes with the territory. But when it comes to trekking around campus on cobblestone paths and grassy patches, heels are the last things I want to be wearing. In fact, unless I’m giving a presentation for a class, you’ll never find me wearing a pair of heels to school, and especially not for the whole day. But such is the case here in Spain, or at least at my university. Girls wear platform booties (slightly understandable) and all out heels (not understandable) as casually as we don a pair of Uggs. As much as I applaud their commitment to looking good, there are just some style choices that I’ll never understand.
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Aside from the heels to school look, I’ve truly become a great lover of Madrid fashion, falling in love with stores like Pull and Bear (think Spanish Urban Outfitters) and Calzedonia (a story completely dedicated to tights, leggings and socks of all different patterns and colors). I can’t wait until my end of the semester shopping spree and to be able to wear all my new Madrid clothes back at BC.  So, while it was with a heavy heart that I left my sweatpants back at home in New Jersey (stupid luggage weight limits), perhaps I made the right choice.
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Photo Sources:
http://www.pullandbear.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/category/pullandbeares/en/pullandbear/69501
http://static.pullandbear.net/2/photos/2011/I/0/1/p/9842/236/705/9842236…