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A lot of people dress differently: some have a Y2K style, others are emo, others grunge, others gothic, and others still don’t really have one… but sometimes someone with a certain style thinks another person’s style is ugly or bad. This is a problem that happens A LOT in Spain.
This blog is based on my own experience, and if anyone from Spain wants to add something, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
In Spain, basic style, cayetana or cani style are very common, and sometimes—though more and more lately—streetwear. These styles usually focus on white and black colors, and denim jeans in flat, neutral tones. Normally, this way of expressing yourself comes with a political idea leaning toward the center-right (parties like PP or Vox), except for streetwear, which from what I’ve seen tends to be more progressive. I’m adding this for later, and I also want to clarify that it’s not always like this.
These styles are everywhere, okay? And when they see someone with a different style—like grunge, Y2K, or gothic—they often confuse it with emo and tend to marginalize that person, because they might be the only one dressing like that in a whole class of 30 people. This is a problem, no matter how many people say it isn’t, and it can lead to the marginalized person feeling bad, having academic problems, social issues, etc.
The system forces you to follow this fashion. Yes, in Spain the most popular stores that you find everywhere are Zara, Stradivarius, Mango, and Bershka. These stores sell basic clothing: white tops, jeans, and bags at somewhat affordable prices. Because they’re present in almost every Spanish town, local shops lose importance, competition increases, and these small stores are forced to raise their prices just to survive and not shut down. At the same time, this makes all young people own the same clothes, because they’re buying from the same stores.
Having your own style costs money. At least in Spain. You can find amazing pieces in local and second-hand shops, but either they’re very expensive, or those shops are hard to find. In Catalonia, where I live, vintage second-hand clothing stores—or shops that simply sell beautiful clothes—are often in dangerous areas of the city of Barcelona, and they’re hard to find. Once you finally find them, they charge you a kidney for a pair of jeans. I don’t blame them; the system has forced them to raise prices in an outrageous way.
The lack of these kinds of shops and their high prices end up pushing you to buy from online fast-fashion stores, which many people here know is not the best option.
Clothing is tied to a person’s political ideology. In Spain, more and more young people believe that the far right is the solution to all their problems, and when they see someone with a gothic or grunge style, they call them “red” as an insult, label them socialist or communist, and mess with them because they assume they follow that ideology. Maybe that gothic person is left-wing, but that does not justify the behavior of these right-wing people.
All of this leads to the fact that in Spain everyone’s clothing style ends up being the same, and people who are different get looked at badly, because it’s not something they’re used to seeing. I would like to ask, please, that if you dress in a more “normal” or conventional way, leave people with other styles and cultures alone. Thank you.
That’s all, I think. If anyone wants to add or comment something, the comment section is right there.
— Nick :)
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𝕶𝖆𝖕𝖚𝖘𝖙𝖆 𝕲ł𝖔𝖜𝖆 𝕻𝖚𝖘𝖙𝖆
Unfortunately, harassment and marginalisation due to the way someone looks has always been a thing, in and out of Spain (I'm Spanish too, btw). And you're absolutely right that this tends to escalate in a parallel with the political climate. No matter what they say, fascism never left Spain, and the dictatorship is just dormant within our government -but specially these last 5-10 years, it has really been showing up more and more. To me (and this is borderline conspiracy theory, so take it with a pinch of salt) it makes sense that they're making basic clothing in bulk: it's easier, cheaper, appealing to a wider target audience; but mostly, the duller you colour the world around people, the duller you'll turn their mind -and the easier to manipulate them.
A lot of people are just fkn ignorant and they hate for the sake of hating, not realising that it'll have life-lasting consequences for some; others follow the masses or simply reproduce behaviours they have seen before/are used to, mindlessly. What I've found works best? Never give up on yourself and continue being you, and try to have the patience and grace to educate them. That doesn't mean you owe them anything, or that for every ignorant hateful bastard you have to give a TedTalk about diversity and respect, but some people genuinely don't know better and WLL be willing to listen and change. Also, don't be afraid to throw a punch if you need to. I do NOT condone violence. It never is the solution. But it can be an answer if you are left with no choice.
As for accessible clothing... Damn, I really did think y'all would have more thrift shops in Catalunya! I'm sorry to hear it's not like that! I'm from the opposite northern end of the country and have the same problem! Big bad corporations, fast fashion and brand names keep taking local commerce out of the picture, and the few second-hand shops are... well, very few, and quite pricey. My advice? Look into upcycling, websites/apps where people trade off or buy/sell their own clothes and your older relatives. Some of my favourite goth garments and accessories came from my grandma and other elders, and I got some cool sweaters and sweatpants that fit the emo and Y2K aesthetics from my sibling.
Also! Markets!! Farmer's markets, opportunity markets, fairs, bazars... I don't know if these are common in other regions of Spain, but here they are and sometimes I can find cool, affordable things there
lacretah
As a Spanish person I confirm this!!!
It’s so sad that people like to wear different clothes are feeling discriminated because of this.
My sister for example criticises the clothes of otaku people, and this feels me so bad (I dress basic or formal, but I understand that people have an specific style different from others.
lacretah
As a Spanish person I confirm this!!!
It’s so sad that people like to wear different clothes are feeling discriminated because of this.
My sister for example criticises the clothes of otaku people, and this feels me so bad (I dress basic or formal, but I understand that people have an specific style different from others.
leo
PORFIN MI GENTE ESPAÑOLA!!!! I get it. Soy de Canarias, y aunque ahora mismo vista bastante basico porque todavia estoy viendo que estilo de ropa me gusta más, he pasado por bastantes estilos y epocas en las que me vestía distinto, sobretodo cuando era más joven y vestía emo hasta que dejé de ser parte de la subcultura (12 a 14 más o menos)... La cantidad de personas con los pantalones por debajo de las rodillas ridiculizandote en manada y gritandote cosas es flipante, y eso es lo que me da miedo de salir a la calle distinto y por lo que visto basico de momento:( yo,en mi caso, soy una persona que en mi niñez y en mi adolescencia temprana sufrí mucho acoso e incluso bullying en la ESO, todo eso se me ha quedado marcado, y entre eso y todas las noticias de palizas, fallecidos y etc solo por ser quien eres, solo alimenta más mi paranoia. Me da pánico ser el blanco de los demás y que acabe en agresión física....
ya, es horrible cuando ves por la tv cosas asi, yo tambien sufri acoso por como vestia y pensaba, por eso igual que tu no visto tampoco tan llamativamente, pero duele ver y pasar cosas asi TT pero bueno, al menos no se nos ve el culo
by Nickyy |-/; ; Report
⚣ maikol
soy d españa (y encima Andalucía
) y todo lo q has dicho es verdad (y por cierto todas las tiendas de segunda mano q hay aqui no son tiendas si no puestos de mercadillos). Me han llegado a llamar otaku y emo almenos 100 veces, " puta emo " y cosas asi. La gente es súper ignorante y me da vergüenza decir que soy de tal país.
ME PASO LO MISMO CUANDO ESTUVE AHI, porq mi abuela vivia alli, y mi madre y yo hemos estado algunas veces, y en casa de una amiga de mi madre, el hijo que tendra ya sus 22 añitos y esta opositando para policia nacional me dijo "tu eres como otaku no?" iba con una camisa DE LOS BEATLES, DE DONDE SE SACO LO DE OTAKU LOL??
by Nickyy |-/; ; Report
JAKDJSKDJSD " tu eres como otaku no? "
no m lo puedo creer es increible como la gente puede ser tan tonta
by ⚣ maikol; ; Report
tlj, a partir de ahora si a alguien le gusta los Beatles es otaku al parecer
by Nickyy |-/; ; Report
urbex101a
Vivo en españa, y tienes TODA la razón. Estoy harta de sólo ver chicas con los mismos pendientes dorados, blusas blancas, fulares con estampados florales; Todos los chicos con chándales de la misma marca, el mismo peinado y los mismos zapatos que todos los demás. Además, toda esa ropa la compran siempre de sitios como tiendas de inditex y shein, y otras marcas fast fashion. Parece que los estilos alternativos están extintos, porque anque si entras en una record store siempre te vas a encontrar a algún alternativo, en los institutos y en la calle sólo veo clones, y a la gente le da miedo llevar la ropa que realmente quieren llevar.
TLJ, yo estuve de intercambio una semana en Helsinki y ame como en el instituto habia personas scene comiendo en una mesa y en la de al lado chicos con camisas de hockey, lo que se podria traducir como "los fifes", o sea, estaban comiendo al lado y no se tiraban odio ni nada, simplemente todos los estilos convivian en el instituto y nadie al parecer se sentia mal. A mi me toco de partner una chica que era baddie y me encanto como ayudaba a otra chica que era como grunge en biologia sin decir nada sobre su vestimenta ni pelo. Y alli si habian tiendas de segunda mano sin necesidad de meterte en ningun sitio raro. Necesitamos que esto sea asi en España por favor T-T
by Nickyy |-/; ; Report
En mi ciudad hay varias tiendas buenas de segunda mano, pasa que la ropa muchas veces esta gastada y no vale la pena por el precio, por eso compro en vinted
by urbex101a; ; Report
si, suele pasar. yo casi nunca voy a comprar ropa porque mi madre dice que es un gasto inecesario y por eso reutilizo cosas que ya no uso, pero cuando tenga dinero hare lo mismo de comprar en Vinted
by Nickyy |-/; ; Report
Sen
As someone alt living in Madrid, I find it rlly hard to find cool stuff that r near me and not in the centre of the city. Plus, I normally hide my band shirts n stuff under a hoodie or smth bcuz I normally get side-eyed by ppl my age or older. Ive always wanted to have friends my age with similar likes and styles, but Ive started to give up. My classmates and family rlly want me to dress cayetana, even buying me clothes , which upsets me because I feel like my style is just not accepted by anyone anymore.
me too, my mom wants me to dress like "normal" ppl, and all my classmates look bad at me for my tees. dw, i swear you will find alt friends, there is some1 out there :) at least on the internet
by Nickyy |-/; ; Report
Amon
Wow, me siento tan identificada contigo. Tener un estilo es tan caro y es tan fácil encontrar cosas horribles como skinny jeans
loixm
don't worry with that,conservatives are retardeds ^_____^
every kid here is conservative like it's really worrying so yes we DO have to worry when kids over here are legit telling the teachers " I'M GONNA VOTE VOX! " (basically maga but Spain and they legit follow everything trump says)
by ⚣ maikol; ; Report