Putting on a flamenco dress is quite a stylistic and personal challenge. Here we go in our best clothes, to Real. Living the April Fair in Seville is a unique experience that you have to try at least once in your life, but it is difficult to ‘survive’ if you don’t have a callus with your dress. We give you 10 tips so you don’t look out of place at the Real de la Feria and live it to the fullest dressed as a flamenco dancer.
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Don’t wear heels
Yes, a flamenco dress looks better the slimmer you are, but you won’t be able to walk in twelve-centimeter heels. It is convenient to know that a gypsy costume is like a 15th century armor: it hurts, it is uncomfortable, it sticks, there is no one who goes to the bathroom comfortable… but it is fabulous. Therefore, do not suffer more with your highest heels. Bet on shoes that have very low heels -your back will hurt if you go completely flat-, or esparto wedges.
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Don’t wear sunglasses
Martyrdom there is only one, and for a reason it is. A flamenco woman with sunglasses seems to have gotten lost in an after-party at a town rave. Even if the sun shines, they are more than prohibited.
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Accoutrements are not jewelry
Going dressed as a flamenco requires a diva attitude and yes, being more uncomfortable than in your life. It is time to put on large earrings, necklaces that match the shawl and even bracelets. But remove the earrings from more than the ears, do not wear the huge ring that your boyfriend gave you and goodbye to the chokers. And never, never wear a watch, it doesn’t suit you.
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No bag
The flamenco dresses -the real ones, not the joke ‘Sevillana’ ones that they sell to foreigners- have a little pocket in the shin area. They are for the essentials: your mobile if you want to bruise as you walk, your house keys and loose change to pay for drinks at the booth. A flamenco woman with a bag has never been seen, and you don’t want to be the first.
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The flower, on the head
How to recognize a flamenco who has never been to the fair? Because she wears her hair loose, and the flower in her ear. Big mistake. The flowers are carried on the head, at the top. Powerful, feminine, awkward, but always fabulous. Now they are starting to look flamenco with more than one flower, in true crown style. But wearing it on one side of the ear is being a leg, not a flamenco.
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The suit limits a lot
Many flamenco dresses are so extremely tight that they will not allow you to sit down – you would have to slip into the chair – or bend over, and they will probably prevent you from going to the bathroom without help. Few flamenco girls manage to climb up their legs to go to the bathroom, it’s better to undress completely and have your friend hold you. The image of a flamenco woman waiting in a bathroom with another dress in her arms is more than common. The friend is inside, in her underwear and stockings.
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The day fair and the night fair are different
They are held in the same Real, the same people go and you will wear the same flamenco dress that is sinking your life, but they are not the same even if you are dressed the same. The day fair has a special charm, horse-drawn carriages, and a light that only Seville has. The revelry is repeated from day to night, but the fair must be lived in its two nuances.
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Socks
Even if it’s devilishly hot, never forget your socks. They stylize, allow not all body shapes to be seen and look better. But everything has a practical sense, when wearing such a tight dress, the heat will precisely cause the thighs to rub together and that causes irritation. Better safe than sorry, because the next day there is more Fair.
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Shawl
They became fashionable several years ago, although flamenco trends are very cyclical. The shawls are those shawls that are sewn directly to the suit, or applied with a safety pin that is covered with a beautiful brooch.
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Live your flamenco dress
But above all, before dressing as a flamenco dress you have to prepare yourself, you will not be comfortable, but you will be prettier than ever. A flamenco dress is feminine, sensual, powerful. The youngest girl and the oldest grandmother can dress in a costume that celebrates the female body. The neckline, the hips, the arms. A woman dressed as a flamenco wears makeup as if she were the bride, a bow that reveals the beauty of her face, and a dress so tight that she screams from the four winds that she adores her femininity. But it will be useless for you to put on a suit without thinking that you are going to conquer the world. Dressing in flamenco is living it, and there is the Fair to live it.