During my third week in Spain we once again strayed from our lovely city of Burgos to travel to the bustling capital, Madrid. Although our stay only lasted a few days, it was an amazing change of pace. Things were no longer within walking distance and we often had to resort to a bus or cab to reach our destinations. A larger population, however, brings many wonderful things, including a smattering of clothing stores on every street, tapas bars and restaurants on every corner, and large, multi-storied discothèques lighting up the night.
The fashion, of course, had a much larger range than the contained city of Burgos. Real gypsies wander the streets, their hair dread locked and tied with scarves, bags slung across their bodies, with roosters and dogs in tow. Walking past them are everything from businessmen in crisp suits to teenagers in slashed clothing and sparkly high-top sneakers. Two trends, however, I repeatedly noticed on both genders: gypsy harem pants and t-shirts with slogans in English.
I’ve always had a soft spot for gypsy pants; probably due to a brief obsession over an orange velvet pair spotted at a belly-dancing store in my youth, and was therefore very excited to see both men and women sporting the billowy bottoms. These pants, though standard in form: elastic waist, flowing material, and cinched ankle, vary a surprising amount. Some pants sport what seems to be yards of extra flowing fabric, folding and re-billowing with every step the wearer takes, creating a familiar parachute effect. Many pants sport small scale prints which almost seem to move on their own as the fabric flows about, flowers flutter and geometric patterns turn like kaleidoscopes. Its true that mostly the women wear these patterned pants, but men seem to have embraced the solid patterns. My tour guide at the Prado even happily trotted through the museum wearing a classy black pair.
Shirts with English slogans are prevalent in America, but never have they run so rampantly and obscurely across people’s shirts as in Madrid. Young women strut down the streets with shirts bearing sayings such as, “kiss boy!!” and “tonight I will be your master” while young men walked with swagger displaying shirts proclaiming, “your look sucks” and “let us meet in dreams tonight.” I am sure these shirts were chosen more for their bright colors and flashy fonts but their grammatically incorrect sayings amused me to no end.
Madrid was really a whirlwind, with so many more noises, places, smells, and sights, and I was happy to return to my haven in Burgos. With only a week left I plan to immerse myself into Burgos life and live like a native until my eventual departure. Between you and me, colligettes, I might even pick up a pair of gypsy pants.