What Not to Wear (When You're a Tourist in Spain)

Knowing the style and trends of the location to which you are traveling will help you from stick out like a sore thumb while you are visiting.

This is especially important when traveling to places that have a higher rate of crime – if you are dressed like the locals, you won’t be as much of as target.

With our Spain trip looming in the near future (8 days away), I’ve started looking into the typical dress in Spain so I don’t stand out like a tourist (even though I am).

GoMadrid.com said, with the exception of the coastal areas of Spain, shorts are very out of place. However, sneakers are only worn for sporting events and working out, writes JourneyWoman.com. “Fitted clothing is preferred as baggy clothes are considered sloppy,” JourneyWoman.com continues.

Spain-Traveler.com writes that while casual dress is seen in Madrid, women and men wear suits for the work day and the Spanish "casual dress" is typically dressy-er that the rest of Western Europe.

“In the evening the Spanish like to go out for a 'paseo' - a stroll with friends or family, often stopping at a bar or three for the occasional tapa … It isn't unusual for them to dress quite formally for these walks and evening drinks,” writes GoMadrid.com.

Cathedrals and churches also have their own dress code and will not permit visitors into the building if they are not to code. Many don’t allow shorts to enter and ask that women wear skirts past their knees or pants and that men wear pants.

The fastest way to mark yourself as a tourist in Spain is small skirts, shorts, swim wear and scantly worn dresses.