Dear Miss Red,
I’m planning to study abroad in Barcelona this summer. I’ve never been to Europe, but I know they like to dress clean. Do you have any recommendations on what I should wear?
– Baddie in Barcelona
Dearest Baddie in Barcelona,
I am genuinely so hyped for you, oh my goodness! I’ve visited Europe before (Paris and London specifically. It was a dream), so I feel like I at least have a small idea of advice to give you. People in Europe definitely dress differently than we do.
First, you want to check and make sure if there are any particular clothing customs for the area you want to go to. To my knowledge, customs like this are most prominent in East Asian countries, however, that doesn’t mean that Spain won’t be particular about clothing you wear (example: wearing too much, wearing too little, etc.)
Athleisure does not seem to be as common in Europe for daily wear. Keep your yoga pants for yoga, and experiment with things like longer, flowing skirts or linen pants. I’m seeing lots of dresses and very classy clothing.
If it looks like something your rich grandma would wear, it’s probably good.
A lot of what I see online shows that Europeans honestly don’t even tend to wear things like jean shorts. So, safe to say your shorts with rips and tears need to stay at home.
My recommendation for your travels is a capsule wardrobe. Pick outfits that can easily be mixed, matched and layered with one another. Linen pants can go well with a cute tank, and you can reuse the tank to match with a skirt. That way, you have fewer items to go into your suitcase but can still make plenty of outfits out of it.
Think about the weather when you’re going. So – Barcelona. Summer. Safe to say it’s going to be hot. You want lightweight fabric that’ll keep you as cool as possible.
Pick a color palette ahead of time and stick to it. Barcelona, I’m thinking of shades of blue, white and pale yellow. Or, you can go more earthy – blacks, greens and browns. Either way, get a palette and find items in the style, fabric, and color you want.
My number one thing I ask: please, for whatever reason, do not wear pajamas out in public. I do not care if you’re dying of thirst and desperately climbing to get a water bottle. Do me a solid and at least put some pants on first.
At the end of the day, what they say about Europeans is true. They can always tell when you’re a local, no matter how hard you try to fit in. Even if you aren’t as fashionable as the locals, all that matters is if you’re comfortable.
But you’ll probably buy clothes while you’re there. If you’re like me, it’ll be a ton of clothes.
XOXO
Miss Red
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