Do you enjoy shopping for new clothes? If you're like me, you'll love clothes shopping, it's great to go on an evening out wearing smart, new clothes and looking well turned out is important for most people I'm sure.
It's certainly the case in the Hispanic world, and no matter what the financial circumstances, there is a lot of personal pride in being smartly dressed and here's some stylish Spanish phrases for you to easily add to your Spanish vocabulary all about fashion around the Hispanic world.
¡Venga, vamos a echar un vistazo a la moda en el mundo Hispánico! - We're going to take a look at fashion in the Hispanic world!
Being well-turned out means not to dress badly nor to over-dress. People who don't make an effort to dress well are referred to as:
zarrapastroso/a and people who over-dress, an equally unpardonable sin, are referred to as cursi.
If you want to compliment somebody who is smartly dressed, you can simply say:
Usted es fino/a or Usted es elegante - You're smartly dressed, You're well-turned out
but I think these Spanish phrases are a little bit too formal. Let's see if we can add a splash of color. The Spanish verb Parecer provides a very cool way to compliment someone who is smartly dressed:
Pareces otro/a - You look fabulous!
Another cracking Spanish phrase uses the verb estar:
Estar de gala - To be immaculately dressed so:
Ese hombre es muy elegante - That man is very well turned out
Sí, está de gala - Yes, he's immaculately dressed
But what about if you want to state that an article of clothing looks good on someone? Try these simple phrases you can easily add to your growing Streetwise Spanish vocabulary:
Te va mucho esa chaqueta /esa blusa/ esa camisa - That jacket/ blouse/ shirt really suits you.
You can also use the catch-all Spanish verb quedarse in the same way, again a very common street way to compliment someone on their clothes:
Te queda bien ese color/ ese estilo - That color/ style really suits you
OK, there are a select group of people who always know how the right styles and colors to wear and who always look chic no matter what they wear! Again it's a breeze to describe these lucky souls in Spanish:
Saber cómo vestir - To know how to dress
and this phrase can be expanded to give it a bit more punch, like this:
Ella sabe cómo vestir y siempre ella sabe elegir las más elegantes - She knows how to dress and always knows the smartest clothes to choose
The Spanish verb vacilar has several meanings but when it concerns fashion, it means to show off, por ejemplo:
A Ana le gusta vacilar con su nuevo vestido - Ana loves showing off her new dress
Lots of authentic, vibrant Spanish phrases for you to add to your growing vocabulary. Have fun playing around with them and the best way to do that is to make them part of your daily spoken Spanish. Practice makes perfect and as they say in Spanish:
Poco a poco - Little by little
Nos vemos,
Peter