How to dress like an Argentinian

   Throughout my time in Argentina, I have seen the most random mix of fashion with so many contradictions, it's hard to explain. The fashion has also changed dramatically since I arrived in winter, and now it is 80 degrees out.
    During the day, a lot of men and women here dress very casually in non name brand clothing, just jeans and a shirt or casual sweater. A lot of people rewear clothes a couple days in a row. This is the kind of clothing you could buy from JC Penny, just very plain and casual. The elementary schools here require the students to wear uniforms, which are white smocks. The high school students don't wear uniforms, but also dress very casual. When I walk past the high school by my house during lunch, all the students are outside wearing the same navy blue sweatpants, t-shirts and sweatshirts. The college students in my classes normally wear jeans and simple shirts. There are a lot of knock offs, and people love Adidas here. Lots of people have Adidas bags and clothing. Fanny packs are popular too, and I totally see why; they are so convenient and safe when pick pocketing is such a problem here. I'm definitely going to buy a Fanny pack before I leave.
     The businessmen and women I often see walking in the city dress nicer in professional clothes, suit jackets and blazers. The casual wear and professional wear is pretty similar to the US.

So many colorful pants!

    But then there are people who wear the craziest outfits. This includes the blue full length leopard print onesie I saw a woman wearing in Salta. Or women wear something in the middle of the two extremes, like jeans with a glittery strip of cloth down the side. A lot of women wear heels. These heels are very specific though. They are gaudy platform wedges that are either bright colored suede, fringed, studded, leather or sparkly. They are probably 6 inches high in some cases. A lot of them have the same height in the platform part of the toe as the heel, so it looks like you are walking on a wooden block (these aren't quite so high). They look really good with the genie pants that everyone wears. These are Indian looking cloth pants that are scrunchy at the waist and ankles but really loose throughout the legs. They come in all sorts of patterns and bright colors, and could be super casual or pretty fancy, and some of them have a really super low crotch so you really do look like a genie.  I bought a pair of these in Chile after searching around multiple artisan markets for the perfect pattern and best price. Also popular are similar cloth pants, made out of somewhat canvas like material, that come in really bright stripes and plaid, but look more like pajama pants and don't scrunch at the ankle. I also bought a pair of these, so I'm pretty much an Argentinian now, I even bought a pair of wedges to accompany them (the least gaudiest pair I could find).

Could I pull this off better than the mannequin?

    However, these bold clothes are starting to seem normal to me after living here 3 months. At first I thought the onesie was the most ridiculous outfit, but now I see so many girls wearing them, they don't seem that bad. They come in shorts and tank top versions too, and I see these all over the city and in classes now. They look super comfortable.... might have to get one.
     The artisan markets have neat clothing and jewelry and bags. I'm sure they are mass produced somewhere and not actually home made artisan products because they are the same at every stall, and in every city, and in both Chile and Argentina. You can find neat textile products made of rainbow colored cloth and lots of leather bags from all the cattle in Argentina, and lots of llama and alpaca wool products. I'm so excited to wear my new wool sweaters when I get back to winter in Colorado. 

When would I ever be able to wear these?

    For going out at night, the girls get super dreessed up. They pretty much transform into new people. The Argentinian women all have super long, think beautiful hair that they will leave down for going out, or wear in super high pony tails. They wear super short shorts or mini skirts, sparkly tops, sequins, hot pink, patterned tights; they look glamorous. And of course are wearing the heels, while I'm wearing the six dollar flats that I bought at the Walmart here for going out, because the boliches destroy your shoes. But perhaps heels are the safer bet in boliches, if they elevate you off the ground, your feet can't get stepped on as much..?  The men normally wear jeans, polos, t-shirts or sweaters; less dressed up than the girls but similar to what American boys wear out for the night.
    When I arrived in Mendoza, I was told it's inappropriate to wear shorts, that the conservative and religious culture of Mendoza frowns upon wearing shorts or very revealing clothing out in the city. When it wasn't quite so hot, people did give me funny looks for wearing shorts, but now it's so hot I do it anyway. Whenever I leave my house, my host mom always tells me to put on a jacket. And mothers will warn the foreigners wearing shorts about the men that will harass you. The only times I saw girls wearing shorts at the beginning of the semester was at the gym or running in the park. Recently I've seen quite a bit of more revealing clothing in the city, as it is warming up, which makes me think that it is completely acceptable. I've seen that the younger crowd will wear shorts and tank tops, but lots of older people will go out during the 70 degree weather in long sleeves and pants, sometimes with a jacket. But what I don't understand is why it's not okay to wear shorts out in the daytime, but once it's night time and everyone is heading out to the bars, the girls can wear tiny booty shorts. Or why is it okay to wear thong bikinis at the pool and not shorts? Those are some big contradictions I can't seem to figure out.

Might never wear real pants again after discovering these!