I know that in general Europeans dress up more than us North Americans, and I'm wondering what is appropriate dinner wear. I was reading a few guidebooks that mentioned casual is fine during the day but that to fit in it's best to 'polish up' for the evening. I'm thinking it's easy for me (sundress) but what about for my husband?
If anyone has been to Spain recently and could give me a few ideas that would be great - we'll be in Madrid, Barcelona and San Sebastian. (In August).
We've just returned from all 3 places. Only tacky tourists wear shorts & t-shirts in the evening. A nice shirt and slacks should do just fine. What I would call casual apparel.
Thanks everyone, that was very helpful. It's what I thought but needed some confirmation! My husband read all the responses and promptly declared he needs to go shopping! We may just buy some stuff there making sure to have shoes that work well with pants. Thanks everyone, we're really looking forward to our trip!
Bob is right. Unless you are hitting a fancy restaurant, no need for anything more than a nice skirt/dress or slacks for ladies and slacks and no-logo shirt for guys. Loose fitting is good to stay cool. And frankly, only tacky tourists walk around during the day dressed in shorts and logo t-shirts.
Hubby does not need to pack dress shirts and ties unless you are planning to eat at the very top tier restaurants.
On the other hand, white sneakers, shorts, and tee shirts are too casual. A conservative knit shirt, sport shirt, and khakis work easily.
I found the older generation (retirement age) to be remarkably well-dressed in Spain any day of the week in the evening…nice slacks, dress shirts, jackets, and even ties for men. Women wear nice dresses. Younger men and women dress fashionably…very similar to what you’ll see in Paris or any other large metropolitan area. College-age kids wear jeans and tee shirts…whatever’s in…skinny jeans, athletic-cut shirts, etc. Sunglasses during the day are huge with younger people…seems like the bigger the better. I agree with everyone else…a tie isn’t really necessary, but you should dress up a little (better casual) if your desire is to fit in a little better for dinner in a restaurant and a stroll afterward when you're a tourist. If you’re just hitting tapas bars, I wouldn’t think it necessary to dress up at all, but you certainly could if you wanted to with no downside. I was just really struck by how well dressed the older folks are…more so than any other place I’ve visited.
Hi Kira,
A shopping trip probably isn't required--it really depends on where you eat! We were in Spain recently and dressed pretty casually to go to tapas bars. We dressed up more for one meal in a nicer restaurant so it just depends on what your style is. Think about how you'd dress to go out to dinner at home and that should be fine.
