How should a woman dress in Spain in June?

My DH and I were in Seville in mid-September 2 years ago. It was hot during the day and many girls were wearing jeans! I wore skirts and capris, tank tops, T-shirts and comfy shoes. If you're walking a lot, the shoes are the most important.

Many European girls wear stylish athletic shoes, not white running shoes.

I wear sleeveless blouses or nice tshirts, paired with capris or linen pants. I wear sneakers or sandals. I hate skirts or dresses as they just aren't my style... if you would wear them at home in the summer, sure take them to Spain.

What do your daughters think they should wear (that you are disagreeing with)?

I never wear pants in hot weather, so I would take several light fabric skirts and a few tops ( so you can mix and match).
There is a great selection of comfortable shoes ,sandals and funky looking athletic shoes ( Puma ?) to chose from. . It is already in mid 80s there , so the operative word is : comfort!

Cotton sundresses and skirts with sleeveless tops; capris with sleeveless cotton tops; sandals....linen blends....

What do you normally wear? I don't change my wardrobe for visiting Europe. I love looking and feeling cool and feminine wherever I go, which means summery stuff that's light to pack and fun to wear.

I agree with the other posters; capris and nice blouses are fine in Europe, from what I saw last fall, that is. Avoid the bullfight. Just my opinion and DH's as well, but watching a bewildered animal being stabbed with a sharp instrument is just sickening. We got up and left the one and only bullfight we attended in Spain.

Oh you've all been a big help - thanks! I will not take any shorts. I will not take my American plain white tennis shoes. I think I will go with my usual capris, with perhaps a cotton skirt (the flouncy ones that come to the knees) or two thrown in.

Suze, my girls are used to wearing tank tops all summer as it is so-o-o hot here. I don't want to feel awkward that they are "overexposed".
(Alas, I really have turned into my mother!)

Now how about colors? In the south where I live we do like bright, strong colors in the summer (and summer has arrived here)! I usually try to tone it down when traveling - my goal is to blend in. So I typically pack black pants, etc. & ditch the bright pink tops. Any guidelines about that?

I sincerely thank everyone for the many, many gems of information I have
gleamed from the Fodorites. You make trip planning FUN!

wear whatever colors you like and look best on you.

you will never BLEND IN totally anyway, so don´t worry about it.

i think people can get too caught up in this idea.

you are correct in saving your short shorts for the beach, though.
and bring something to wrap around your shoulders for the churches.

you can also bring your american white shoes. if you like them, and they are comfy, bring them.

Shorts are fine - well as long as they are not the kind that you see on rap videos, but the kind that come somewhere between your bum and knees will be OK.

Showing shoulders is also fine lthough if you visit a church you MAY have to cover up. Personally i'd put a sarong in my bag for that.

When you go out in the evening you probably want to wear pants or a skirt not shorts just to look a little smarter.

Oh and if you feel what you have brought isn't suitable what better excuse is there for a shopping spree?

At 28, I'm a bit older than your daughters but when I traveled to Italy last year with my high school students, we felt fine wearing tank tops. Of course we did need to carry a wrap or something for churches.

The kids wore shorts some depending on what we were doing that day but I stuck with skirts; I find skirts cooler anyway. The knee length shorts and capris are another option - keep your short shorts for running

I think bright colors are fine. I bought several skirts while in Italy - all were bright summer colors.

The tennis shoes styles you will see most are the street/urban styles like Pumas - I wear those or Chuck Taylors at home and abroad. Wear what's comfy to you.

MLMom - I hear what you say about worrying about your daughters looking "over-exposed" in tank tops. As a middle age woman I wear tank tops - at home and in Europe - all the time. BUT, the are not the super tight very low cut variety that my 17 year old daughter and her friends all wear. And while I've certainly seen some of that in Europe, I think many of the teens there aren't quite as infatuated with showing off their cleavage as American teens have been the last few years. SO - there are tank tops and there are tank tops and if you can (good luck) convince your daughters to be just a tiny bit modest then it should be fine.

I always wear skirts, sleeveless or short sleeved tops and carry a large scarf or thin sweater to cover up going into churches or when it cools down at night. I personally wear Tevas sandals - the flip-flop kind which I find the most comfortable. With a slightly dressier sandal for evening.

Hmmm, maybe you can get the girls to pick the lesser revealing of their tank tops? Or encourage bringing say the smocky type tops that are popular now. Reminding them they are visiting a new culture, yada yada...

I wouldn't worry in the least about colors (although darker ones travel better than lighter ones because of not showing dirt).

How I pack is this... pick my 5 favorite dressy/casual "outfits" that I feel good wearing, that are appropriate to the weather I'm going to, in fabrics that pack well without wrinkling, and colors that all coordinate. Those are my only fashion "rules".

Everyone needs to have at least 2 pair of comfortable shoes or sandals. You can always buy a t-shirt or wear something twice, but if you get blisters on your feet at the start of the trip, you're screwed.

General observation...The choice of the daily wardrobe will depend on what you are doing or going to do. Note some of the Cannes TV coverage. I suggest cotton or soft linen blouses and similar skirts (Polyesters are heat retentive). You also need broad brimmed hats, again, as light as possible. Foot gear? What are the natives wearing? Remember they are not tourists and are probably going to work. I see young women on our city streets wearing 4 inch heels with skin tight short jeans!

In my humble opinion and as a male observer who has been in Seville several times, I'd say that you will see almost any kind of outfit you can think of.
Seville is a major tourist spot, so comfortable outfits are a common sight among the thousands of Japanese, American, and European tourists who go there.
If you plan to visit any house of worship like the famous cathedral, covered arms and legs will be appreciated.
And while in Seville (or any place in Spain), take your daughters to one of the "Zara" stores, if you need to stock up your wardrobe. They set pretty much the pace of what is in or out - and at very reasonable (low) prices.

I had almost forgotten about taking a scarf as a cover-up for cathedrals. And you are right, we can always go shopping! I'm sure we will be checking out Zara's now. You all have packed our bags for us - thanks!

Definitely comfortable shoes! Last summer we ended up buying shoes because we didn't bring the right ones. The sandals I brought are quite comfy, but they are heavy to wear, which I never noticed until I climbed 300+ steps in them up a tower. I got blisters on the tops of my feet - that was definitely a first for me - LOL. I wore tennis shoes for a couple days, but it was hot hot hot and my feet were miserable, so I bought some new sandals. My husband bought sandals too - I think his first pair ever, but like I said, it was hot - LOL.

We had fun joking around that now that we were properly attired in European footware, that as long as we didn't open our mouths, no one would know we weren't locals. Our fellow Fodorites would be so proud - LOL.

Ok, so not really. The giant camera around my husband's neck and the fact that he is Chicano sort of gave us away

But - moral of the story - bring comfy shoes or be prepared to go shopping

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In Seville, I wore simple skits with tops - if sleeveless, have another light shirt with sleeves to put on when in the cathedral. It will be quite hot that time of year so be prepared. personally, i don't like capris - they look like pants that shrank on me. college aged girls can get away with most anything - we saw jeans, skirts, cargo pants, shorts, etc. just keep it neat, no tears, and covered shoulders in the cathedral.

One thing that my wife and I have noticed is that in towns and cities, European women dress more conservatively than Americans (no daisy dukes, etc...).

However, on beaches, many European women go topless and many times wear thongs for the bottom. They wear little to the beaches where it makes sense to wear little, but dress more fashionably in the cities, wearing nice summer dresses and the like. Spain is no different in this regard.

Perhaps a little explaining of the customs in Spain would be in order before you visit.