I don't wear dresses at all as I feel awkward I'm shorts during the day then linen's of an evening. I feel too 'girly' in a dress This stems from when I was younger and had very skinny legs (long one's as well) so was always self conscious so took to wearing jeans/trousers & have never grown out of my habit.

Glynis, I dream about having long skinny legs! And being taller than 5ft! I have a real "peasant" build - short, stocky,thick wrists and ankles, short fat hands and wide feet. Not much scope for euro chic there. My must have accessories are a cover-up and a good deoderant.
Now my OH is another matter - although he is in his 60s, he is tall, has a good body, long legs, a good head of hair and goes mahogany brown, not at all your typical Welshman - in fact when we are away, a lot of people think he is a local. I can see womens eyes following him..... Jealousy is a terrible thing, but life is just so unfair sometimes

Slightly off topic but i remember years ago while in spain talking to the holiday rep after the welcome meeting , she told us that most hoteliers and bar staff could tell the brits from other nationalities before they spoke by the way they dressed .
I didn't take offence by Espanol's post .

We're usually lily white as well llindy - no wonder they recognise us. Everyone looks better with a light tan.

I think I've mentioned this way back in this topic but I do still believe it's the clothing some of the Brits wear. I've seen some really elegant/trendy Brits who look lovely and well groomed, but of course I have seen some 'sights' in their out of shape T shirts with bright red 'tan' marks. And of course my pet hate (which I know I've mentioned) the 5 carrier bags weighing down their childs buggy - that really irks me

One only has to look at Espanol's other posts on HT to know that s/he is only really interested in provoke a strong response from others - best not to rise to the bait. But as for posture I'm not sure that it comes any more naturally to Spanish women than anybody else - they have their secrets!

A couple of years back I was in Seville for the Feria in April with friends and we noticed that no matter what their shape or size all the local women, large or small, tall or short looked amazing in their flamenco-style dresses. And this despite the fact that the fashion that year was for skin tight sheaths that didn't flare out until the knee. All was revealed when my pal and I went to El Corte Ingles to see if the dresses would work the same magic on us.

First surprise was how heavy they were when we took one of the rail, second surprise was to discover that the reason for this was the built in corset that every single one of them had in them! Even those that were made of quite light fabrics for the top layer were constructed around a very stiff, rigid lining that was heavily boned from boobs to bum. And, yes, because of this they did work their magic on us - not a bump or wobble in sight and you had absolutely no option but to stand and sit perfectly upright. It also explained why the women maintained this very same stately, straight backed posture when dancing but we were agreed that we wouldn't fancy being trussed up in this way for a good night out. The shop assistant said that anybody who could afford it would have had their dresses made to measure and that if you did that then they were much more comfortable but we were not so sure about that!

The men also had the same wonderful posture and dancing style in their Caballero outfits too and this then raised the question of whether they also had corsets inside their very elegant highwaisted trousers but we couldn't persuade our male friend to do the same 'roadtesting' that us women had done.

I have in the past admired how even large women from places like eg Uganda and Kenya in their often equally tight formal traditional dresses also always look so wonderful and have now discovered that most of these are probably based on a very stiff boned lining too. My neighbour is having her Mother-of the-Groom dress made for her by a dressmaker from Africa and whilst on the surface it is a very European silk taffeta, it too will be constructed around such a boned lining that the dressmaker insisted would be needed and which she is hoping will work wonders for her too. Her only worry is whether she will still be able to do the ceilidh dancing that is such a major part of every Scottish wedding!

SM

Those dresses are known as trajes de flamenca caminar, which roughly translates into flamenco walking dresses because that's what they are designed for, flamenco styled to walk around ferias and behind romerias. They are what we would call promenade dresses, which fashionable regency women used to wear to be seen and impress, walking in parks and on the promenades.
You'd want to look your best if you're parading yourself around and would wear undergarments to hold it all in, but a traditional gitana flamenco dress which is tight fitting to accentuate the body contours and enhance the sexuality of flamenco and these days usually have some spandex in them to stretch with the movements, would not be constructed like these walking dresses because they wouldn't be able to move in them, and a flamenco dancer would be insulted if you implied that the only reason her back was straight was because of the structure of the dress, and not through the natural posture acquired for the intense sensuality and emotions displayed in "proper" flamenco.

A good flamenco dress should feel comfortable and allow the body to move freely, without forgetting that it should be a fabric that has the ability to fly in the direction that you want it to.
Flamenco is in the blood and soul, they spend their entire lives perfecting it, so I don't think they'd need a corset to straighten their backs.
Just thought I'd mention it.
Sanji

I hadn't wanted to get too technical but that was why I did refer to them as 'flamenco-style dresses' and perhaps I should have made it clearer that I wasn't talking about flamenco dancing nor obviously trained flamenco dancers. One element of the surprise when we realised how the dresses were constructed was the very fact that it would have been difficult to dance 'proper' flamenco in them because of the way they would restrict body movement unlike the dresses that professional flamenco artists wear that would allow for more sinuous movement.

The sort of dancing that I was referring to was not Flamenco but Sevillanas, more of a 'social' not performance dance and looking to be a much more stately even courtly one at that, which is what nearly everybody was doing in the 'casetas' through long nights of partying at the Feria grounds. Even then, some of the dresses were so heavily 'engineered' that we became aware that some women could hardly lift their elbows to shoulder height because of the tightness and rigidity of the bodices and sleeves and that this probably accounted for what at first had looked to be a more relaxed, that is less disciplined, placing of the arms compared to traditional flamenco. It's the fact that we are both latin dancers that meant that we obsessed so much about the dresses and spent so long speculating about what it would and wouldn't be possible to do in them.

SM

Ah see, because us Brits try to ram as much as possible into our 15/20kg luggage allowance I'm not sure we'd be that up for corseted frocks when we can have 8 primark specials instead and never have to wear the same outfit twice.

@ SandC

Dont forget the Bridget Jones pants though - can work wonders those things

Ah see, because us Brits try to ram as much as possible into our 15/20kg luggage allowance I'm not sure we'd be that up for corseted frocks

And that's the main reason why, much as we coveted the overall look, neither of us bought one! A single dress would have filled a case because as well as the corset all those ruffles had wire in the hems to keep them just so! Couldn't possibly leave behind all those wonderful shoes we'd already bought at a fraction of the price we'd have to pay here for the same quality.

SM

Glynis HT Admin wrote:

I think I've mentioned this way back in this topic but I do still believe it's the clothing some of the Brits wear. I've seen some really elegant/trendy Brits who look lovely and well groomed, but of course I have seen some 'sights' in their out of shape T shirts with bright red 'tan' marks. And of course my pet hate (which I know I've mentioned) the 5 carrier bags weighing down their childs buggy - that really irks me :duh

LOL Tesco carrier bag syndrome. The ultimate holiday accessory.

I mean it's not like we dont have some of the best shopping in the the world in the UK. You can literally get anything here clothing and accessory wise. I once remember a tour guide dragging us off on a detour to a market when abroad and thought to myself, have they got a clue about what we can get in the UK and why would they think I would want to spend my euros on this carp. - I would rather have a nice meal out or go and look at a historic site or place of natural beauty.

No excuse really for the 5 carrier bags Glynis. Still perhaps people think I am on holiday, relaxed and just dont care what others think about me.

Never been able to get on with anything that claims to squeeze your bits in. I even bought a thing that goes around your waist once, for a streamlined look under a dress....

Well the flab has to go somewhere so unless it's de rigeur to wear a full bodycon suit in the style of, say, a wetsuit, it just isn't going to work.

Anyone noticed how in the ads for control undergarments the models are always slim? Show us a fat bird in one love, then I might be convinced.

You can look good in a carrier bag....lots of them.
You might even get a job with EasyJet

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/picturesoftheday/8107350/Pictures-of-the-day-3-November-2010.html?image=7

SandC wrote:

Anyone noticed how in the ads for control undergarments the models are always slim? Show us a fat bird in one love, then I might be convinced. :rofl

You can look good in a carrier bag....lots of them.

Shucks sanji - THAT'S exactly what we really needed for the Feria that year! It was the wettest for decades - a dress like that would certainly have survived the rain, floods and gales even if the wind would have whistled through the 'lace'. The 'parasol' might even have helped keep the rain off us

SM

sanji wrote:

You can look good in a carrier bag....lots of them

It'd melt Sanji - I smoke There'd just be a blob of orange plastic laid at my feet

Oh well- just about to hit the beach again and then look at all these females with immaculate hair and makeup, and wonder what went wrong with me! I'm not too bothered about the make up but i do spend time trying to sort my hair first thing in the morning only to find that half an hour in the sun and I just shouldn't have bothered. Why is nobody else melting in the sun? Do some females actually just not sweat at all??

This is my favourite thread of all time Fiona - the laughs we've all had

I still suffer with the hair palavar and always will as my hair is so fine. I WANT! big bouncing, hair that I can flick, that will swish as I move. I want hair that as I leave the sea/pool, will cascade down my back and dry, naturally in the sun with just a shake of my head.