You know the stereotype that Latin American women love to wear tight clothes?

Well, it’s alive and well in Caracas. The pair of pants in this picture here are actually considered loose in comparison to what I see women wear every day on the streets. Even women wearing professional suits look like they picked two sizes too small – and I mean I think they really do.

I was recently in Sabana Grande, which is considered a pretty large shopping district (similar to Lower Manhattan sans skyscrapers) in Caracas. I spotted a nice pair of pants and asked to try them on. I didn’t realize the sizes here run smaller and as soon as I got the pants on, I knew I needed the next size up. When I came out show my mom that they were too small, everyone else in the joint started saying they were perfect. I said, “Uuhh no, they’re too small – the material is tugging at the zipper.” The employees said “No, they’re supposed to be that way.” Right…

The men also wear fitting clothes; more so than the men in the States. However, living in South Florida for seven years, I got used to men dressing differently.

Considering that I wouldn’t wear pants as tight as this picture, I guess I’m a bit of an outcast. I think clothes should be trendy, but they should especially flatter the person wearing them. Extremely tight clothes do not flatter anyone most people. But of course, to each his/her own and I just have to get used to being out of fashion while I’m here.

Tags: Cultural Expectations, Cultural Norms, Culture, Expat, Fashion trends in Caracas, Getting settled in foreign country

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 27th, 2010 at 8:53 AM and is filed under Caracas, Caracas how-to's, Cultural Arts, Cultural Expectations, Culture, Expat, Getting settled in foreign country, Immigrants, Shopping in Caracas, Social Norms, Venezuela. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.