Hi Shirley, I can't recommend a specific clothes shop in Malaga but my experience of the Spanish approach to weddings is that you if go to the sort of shop that specialises in Mother of the Bride/Groom shops that you'll find that the prices aren't really any cheaper there than here - even allowing for the fact that the exchange rate for £s against the Euro is better than it has been. Mums push the boat out in southern Spain in my experience and go for an evening dress look but as I say my experience is limited and relates to families that could afford to fund a splashout day so that mightn't apply across the board.

That said there's bound to be a branch of El Corte Ingles and you could do worse than start there in order to get an idea of what's currently fashionable in Spain and what mid-range prices are like. But I've found that the direct approach often works too. Not always easy for us uptight Brits to do but having arrived in Seville minus my luggage and needing to acquire some smart business clothes as soon as possible in case it didn't arrive in time for a conference presentation I was doing, I plucked up my courage and asked a stylishly dressed woman (whom I guessed to be approx my size) at the next table in the cafe I'd repaired to in despair and directly asked her where she would recommend I start looking for clothes similar to what she was wearing. Worked a treat! She seemed to be genuinely pleased to be asked, pointed me in the direction of a particular street and suggested some brands to look out for. I was sorted in a couple of hours.

But re cost and wanting something a bit different, how about checking whether there are any local tailors/dressmakers here at home who would run you something up? It's what a couple of friends have done recently for weddings and their outfits looked fantastic and being tailor-made fitted perfectly and hence looked very flattering.

SM

Thanks for your reply SMa. I will keep all my options open. We don't even know when the wedding will be yet as son's job is unstable at the moment. They were hoping for a late summer wedding, but I fear they've left it too late now. I won't be able to buy anything until they have the colour scheme sorted but I'm making initial enquiries just in case.
Thanks again.

Hi Shirley I can`t recomend any shops but can highly recomend Malaga for a day out, we did it a few years ago and had a full day there. We bought a city sightseeing bus ticket and hoped off and on the bus, it wasn`t cheap but well worth it to see everything. There are loads of shops in Malaga so you will be spoilt for choice and if I remember correctly quite a few are not far from the train station. As for when best to go, I would say before Good Friday as I am sure a lot of shops shut over the easter weekend (seem to remember this from past easter visits to Spain but I could be wrong).

Will you be going up to Arroya to see the parade on Good Friday, I have never managed to see it yet as we have always arrived after easter.

Thanks for the reply Christine. Not sure how we'll spend our time yet, we'll play it by ear and see what develops. It will also depend on the weather because it was very wet there last Easter Hopefully the sun will shine for a bit longer this time.

The El Corte Ingles store in Puerto Banus might be worth a visit. its bigger than the Malaga store I think.

What is the El corte Ingles store? Is it the equivalent of our department stores, for example Debenhams, John Lewis etc? Also are the clothes the same brands as I'd find in the UK or would I be able to find Spanish fashion there? The only reason I'd consider British Brands out in Spain is if they were cheaper
Thanks

British Brands will be more.vat etc.like if you was to buy british food.its cheaper in the uk.

Hi Shirley, El Corte Ingles is chain of large department stores - every city of any size seems to have one but it tends to be the only one. Department stores don't seem to be as numerous in Spain as they are here and I think that the name (the English Cut) is possibly derived from them associating department stores with the English approach to shopping.

I like them because they do seem to stock mainly Spanish brands rather than having numerous multi-national concessions that you;d find on any high street here within them. Pricewise, I'd say they were mid-market - not the top end ranges which you are more likely to find in the smaller, classier boutiques but not cheap and cheerful either. And probably towards the more conservative (dare I say middle-aged?) end of the market too - don't expect too much in the way of cutting edge fashion aimed at the younger shopper. So think John Lewis or House of Fraser rather than Harvey Nicks or Selfridges but IMO a step up from Debnenhams in quality and possibly price too.

Generally, I'd say that you can expect to find mainly Spanish brands that you don't see much of, if at all, over here and that those Spanish brands will probably be selling at lower prices than they do here if you can find them in our shops. For example, I always head for them for my shoe shopping because they stock one of my favourite Spanish brands 'Hispanitas' and it's not a brand that is easy to find here. When you do there's nowhere near the range on offer and in the past they have usually cost in the region of a third more than in Spain itself.

Whether this comparison still holds true or not I don't know because in the last 12/18 months, they've now become really expensive in the only shop within travelling distance I know of that stocks them here. Or what I think is really expensive anyway. Shoes that cost the equivalent of £50/60 in Spain used to cost £80/90 here when I first started buying them, but last summer they'd suddenly shot up to around £140 here! I haven't been to Spain in the same period so I don't know whether they have gone up a lot over there as well or whether this means that they'd be an even better bargain now. Either way, I'm certainly not buying them here at those prices, though they are of very good quality and very comfy to wear and are my first choice when I need to wear a stylish, smart mid/high heeled shoe but know I'll be standing around a lot. I have two pairs in particular that I've worn repeatedly at recent weddings and day long events (yes, I bought the outfits to match the shoes rather than vice-versa!) for precisely this reason.

So re your originally inquiry, I'd suggest that you have mooch around here first in order to get an idea of what sort of outfit you you'd like and what sort of price range you could expect to have to pay for it here. Then once you are in Spain you can investigate what's on offer in El Corte Ingles etc and get an idea of how the prices compare for an outift of a similar quality out there. In my experience, Spanish formal/smart clothes and shoes can be more expensive than a lot of what we are used to here but that it is nearly always because they are of better quality and for me they represent better value. I'm still having to fight my nieces off with regards to a pair of Spanish made Chanel style ballet pumps (you know the type - quilted leather with a patent toe-cap) that they still covet. They are of such good quality that they assumed that they really were Chanel originals when they first saw them and because it was long before every high street shoe shop over here had their own knock-off version of them. I paid something like £45 for them in El Corte Ingles in Seville at the time and I have worn them an awful lot but they are still going strong after cheaper pairs opf ballet pumps from place like Office, and even a pair from Hobbs that were more expensive, have long worn out or at the very least are now looking shabby.

SM

Thanks for the extra info Sma. Looking forward to a day at the shops there now. I have 4 weeks to wait- it'll soon come round

Your welcome Shirley - I have to admit that a good mooch around El Corte Ingles is an integral part of any city stay in Spain for me. But then again my nearest John Lewis is an hour away by train so a decent department store is always a bit of a retail treat for me wherever it is

SM

PS Forgot to say that if you produce a British card at the payment desk they will ask you whether you want to pay in Euros or £sterling. I always opt for Euros after the first time I was offered this and asked what the price would be in £sterling before deciding and realised that it was based on a much poorer exchange rate than I'd been getting at the local ATMS. This is because you're charged in £sterling based on the stores own exchange rate rather than your bank's and the goods can end up costing more than you expected. Or else to be really sure where you are with the price, use your debit card to draw Euros from an ATM instead. The difference is not necessarily a consideration on small amounts but it can add up if you are splashing out on a complete outift or, as in my case, 2/3 pairs of shoes!

That's good to know SMa. I think I may get a Nationwide card which I think is a credit card especially for use abroad where yu're not charged an extra fee. I have a visa one but Nationwide now charge to withdraw from the ATMs with this. I will still say I want to pay in euros though.

I think that the name (the English Cut) is possibly derived from them associating department stores with the English approach to shopping

Hi SMa
El Corte Inglés takes its name from a small tailor's shop in Madrid, which was so called because it referred to the cut of the cloth (i.e. tailor made) for which (at the time in the 1800's) the English (British) tailors were renowned . "¦The English cut.

I've also seen El Corte Inglés translated into ‘the English court' because the word 'corte' also means 'court', for example, Corte de Arbitraje Internacional de Londres (London Court of International Arbitration) and I can't think of a single reason why a humble tailor in the 1800's would want to name his shop after the English court, so I think this is just a wrong translation by those who have no knowledge of the history of the department store and possibly a basic dictionary.

When the tailor's shop was bought in the 1930's and later other premises, they were altered to create a huge amount of floor space and several upper floors, and this was the start of El Corte Inglés Company and the department store in Spain.

Sanji

Edit for typo error.

Sanji. I must admit I thought it sounded like 'English Court'. Whatever it means, I'll hopefully take a walk around there in April.

I can't think of a single reason why a humble tailor in the 1800's would want to name his shop after the English court,

Nor can I, Sanji, at least not in the sense of a court of law What you say makes sense and I always took it that the correct translation was 'cut' and not 'court', though I also wonder if there's also a bit of punning wordplay taking place here? That possibly it's a reference to both the English style of tailoring and also the English royal court and the reputation of varous royal princes as dandys? Who knows, either way, Shirley, it's a great shop and there is one in Malaga.

SM

PS Sanji, the Spanish mint you sent me last year has survived the winter so far - looking a little motheaten at the moment but putting up lots of new young growth already so seems like I'll have plenty of lovely mint for mojitos again this summer

In Malaga, the street called Calle Marqúes de Larios and the surrounding area is where all the Spanish fashion shops are found, but because it's Semana Santa some of the shops will be closed and street will be closed off for the processions. Holy Week is a fab time to be in Malaga, it's going to be very busy, but IMO it would be ‘criminal' to be so near and not go and see some of the processions.

I think SMa has just about covered everything.
Spanish ‘quality' labelled clothes are not cheap and imo Corte Inglés is not necessarily a place that the Spanish guests would flock to for a wedding outfit, (OK for you because you're not attending a Spanish wedding) because they too would be mortified to arrive in the same outfit as another guest, and some of these weddings have over a hundred guests, so it would be near impossible to find out what everyone was intending wearing, therefore they do tend to pick the material and have it made with their own stamp on it, or they go to special shops in Malaga where the outfits are 'one of a kind' and they pay an awful lot of money for them, but with their extended family structure, there's a good chance that they will use them more than once in a year or maybe two years. They always amazed me because whatever shape or size they may be, they have this knack of looking elegant and slightly understated, so that they never ‘outdo' the bride.

The last time I was in El Cortes Ingles in Malaga was a few years ago hunting for some books for my Spanish teacher and I don't think the items are cheap (just my opinion) I think maybe it's just the convenience of being able to find everything you want under one roof, rather than going traipsing around the city and whilst some Spaniards love it, especially if there was no opportunity to buy certain items without travelling all over the place before the Corte Inglés store was built, there are some Spaniards who don't like the store because it's growth has put plenty of local traders out of business. I suppose just like a Tesco store can do to your local high street....swings and roundabouts, horses for courses!
Without knowing your budget and how formal/informal you want to be, it's difficult to give any more advice.
You say you don't want to pay ‘mother of the bride prices, well personally I think you'll have a shock when you see some of the prices in Spain for good quality clothes.

There's a shop in La Carihuela in Calle Bulto on the right hand side as you are walking up from the hotel Cabello and it's near the top of the street, and they stock some lovely clothes and evening type dresses ( depending on the season) from names like Pomodoro and Soreto"¦"¦from the outside it looks like any other tat shop with a rack outside of reduced tops and skirts , but inside they have some gorgeous dresses, so depending what your budget is and how formal/informal you want to look, it may be worth having a peek inside"¦..you never know.!

Last year I bought a Pomodoro dress which is mid-calf on me and it's made of chiffon type floaty material with white, coral, brown and black colours, and I paid 20 euros for it, reduced from 100 euros because it was September and the winter stock was being put out on display, and the same dress despite being last season is still being offered for sale for £60 on the internet today.
I teamed it up with a black fine wool knit bolero type jacket and wore it when we went out for a meal during Xmas, but I could quite easily wear it for my son's wedding with a nice hat and a thinner and brighter coloured bolero top or jacket.

If you can't face the thought of how busy the city of Malaga will be during Holy Week, there's also Fuengirola to visit because around the main square (Plaza de la Constitucion), there are some designer clothes shops and small boutiques, and a smaller Corte Inglés store which I believe (I haven't been) is at the Los Boliches end of the resort and the Mirarmar shopping complex in the opposite direction at the castle end of the resort.

Sanji

Oh now Sanji, you're giving me too much choice. I'm only there for a week and if the sun will be shining I won't want to be hanging about inside shops However, I do hope I can find something over there without spending too much time looking. If it's raining, I won't mind so much but if the sun is shining, I'll probably only allocate one day to the shopping.

As for my budget. I was hoping to pick something special up for about £150 but having scoured the MOTB shops on the internet, I'm looking at at least £300 for MOTB designers such as John Charles, Frank usher etc and that's on the sale! On top of that I'll have to buy the shoes, bag, fascinator (don't do hats lol) etc.

what I have in mind is a nice knee length fitted dress with a shortish 3/4 sleeve jacket. If I can find something like that in Spain for under £300 I'll be happy but maybe I'm not being realistic. I will certainly have a look in the shop you mentioned before getting the train to Malaga or fuengirola.
Thanks

Just want to say that I've bought my wedding outfit locally so I won't be looking for one out in Spain. However, I do have a christening in June so I need a nice dress for that. Maybe something will catch my eye during the week.

Thanks to everybody who gave me some great shopping suggestions.

And.......dont we get a run down on your outfit.
Details please.

desdamona, I can't give details much as I'd like to as 3 members of HT will be attending and it's the usual surprise. All I will say is that I was persuaded by my future dil to part with more money than I'd intended when she saw me in the outfit. I will put a few pics on here if it's allowed and if HT will still be around after the wedding in July. Here's hoping