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Published: November 10th 2009
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No mirrors were to be found in the shop where I found my Aladdin pants, so a photo was taken. Americans like their space, and I am an American. If you are talking to me, and are not whispering or going in for a kiss, I really don’t see why your face should be any closer than 12-18 inches away from mine. 12 is pushing it. The other day at a “meet other people” event at the UPO (my university) I met a Spanish guy and we got to chatting. Introductions were made with the kiss on both cheeks thing, and then he just seemed to never re-establish the original space. I took a step back. “Where are you from? Blahblahblah.” Step forward. Step back. “What are you studying? La de da.” Step forward, step back. This is him stepping forward, me stepping back if you hadn’t caught on, really mere inches at a time, and by the end of the conversation I realized we were literally about ten feet away from where we had started. Okay, maybe five. Was he doing this on purpose? I would chalk it up to that, had the exact same thing not happened a week earlier with another European guy. Or maybe they were just hoping for a smooch, and I was misreading the signals.
One-step dressing
Connie models the full-body Aladdin pants at the Feria de las Naciones. Ha! Just kidding…
The space thing is an interesting issue here. In the grocery store, if you’re not practically hugging the person in front of you, they wonder if you’re really in line. Some people may even take the liberty of slipping in front of you and filling the space you’re not taking up. This also means that someone may be breathing down your neck as you wait. I’m not saying that there’s anything positive or negative about this, it's just a different concept of personal space. I, for one, could use more. I had the exact same issues in France, and there I had a theory that it was due to the close quarters people lived in. European cities don’t have quite the urban sprawl that America has, simply due to history and lack of space, so they’ve had to squeeze in wherever they can, and this metaphorically transfers over into their physical interactions with people. Same goes for Spain? Or maybe I just smell good.
To note some other notables, I may come back from Spain looking like Aladdin. Possibly like Aladdin with his underwear sticking out. These are the two major fashion trends I’ve noticed lately: “Aladdin pants” as we call them (though I’m sure there’s another name), and something else that at first, I thought was a sad accident. “Oh, someone should tell that girl her underwear is sticking out at least 3 inches above her pants…” I initially mused. Then I saw more and more chicas with that lamentable fashion feature. They know, and wear underwear to match the rest of their outfit. Kind of like guys sagging their pants, I suppose? (Yes, sagging. Kate calls it “housing,” but we think she’s crazy. Is there another word?) There is also the “gladiator shoe” phenomenon, also probably not what they’re actually called, where women wear sandals whose straps go a good ways up the ankle, sometimes extending up the calf, making them look like gladiators. It’s getting “colder” now, though (if a high of 70F instead of 100F can be considered cold), so they aren’t being worn as much lately.
But oh! I’ve completely skipped over the glory that is Aladdin pants. I’ve mentioned them before, I know I have, but never before like this, so fasten your seatbelts, people, this is gonna be a fairly-interesting, not-really-that-exciting-ride. But who am I kidding, I secretly love them. First of all, I did ask my Spanish intercambio what they were really called: bombachos. I prefer Aladdin pants, however, so that’s what we’re gonna call them. There are many varieties of Aladdin pants. To start off with, there’s the more normal variety that simply look more like colorful, over-sized baggy pants. This is the nature of the pair I bought in Granada. They’re quite comfortable and very light-weight, ideal for summer when shorts just don’t cover enough. :P Mine are fairly tame compared to some of the other patterns you can get (see background of the first photo), because I’ve seen some that make me dizzy. These psychedelic fabrics also come in a more extreme Aladdin-pants style, where the crotch hangs so low to the ground it’s almost like wearing a skirt that has the bottom sewn shut. I wish I had a photo of these, because I’m really not exaggerating, but you can visualize it. Finally, we have the full body variety that Connie is modeling for us in the second photo. She considered buying those at the Feria de las Naciones, but ultimately decided for a more dizzying bodysuit somewhere else. She’s much bolder than I am. I initially had quite the aversion to the baggy pants style in general, but they’ve actually grown on me, and I might end up buying another pair before I go… When in Rome!
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Megan
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Where Have All the Mullets Gone?
Interesting to hear about the current fashion trends of Spain. When we were there nearly 5 years ago, the big fashion (nightmare) was the mullet. I do not know why this was so, but all the guys seemed to have them! Stephen was so scared of ending up with one that he brought me along to the barber to translate. :) Underwear outside the pants seems an only natural progression in Spanish fashion...