Clothes in Spanish: A Guide to Spanish Fashion

Do you constantly think about your next purchase regarding clothes? Well, I always do! Shopping has become one of the most therapeutic activities for some people, in the end, when you buy something new and like how it looks on you, your self-esteem improves. If you love shopping and want to know a little bit more about clothes in Spanish, you came to the right place. Today, you’ll learn different ways to say you’re wearing something, as well as Spanish vocabulary and fashion trends in Spanish-speaking countries. Let’s get started!

“To Wear Clothes” in Spanish

First, let’s start with the basics. There are different ways of saying you’re wearing clothes in Spanish. All of them are verbs that refer to the same thing, but make use of different words.  

Llevar puesto

Llevar puesto is a verbal expression that means “to wear” in English. To use this expression, you conjugate llevar normally and change puesto to puesta if the thing being worn is a feminine noun.

¡Mira! Ella lleva puesto un vestido Michael Kors. – Look! She’s wearing a Michael Kors dress.

Since un vestido is masculine, our verb phrase is then ella lleva puesto.

Mira que linda la pulsera de diamantes que ella lleva puesta. – Look how beautiful is the diamond bracelet that she’s wearing.

Since la pulsera is feminine, our verb phrase is then ella lleva puesta.

Ponerse

Ponerse is a reflexive verb that also means “to wear” in English. To learn more about how to properly conjugate reflexive verbs, read our detailed post on The Key to Spanish Reflexive Pronouns!

• A él le gusta ponerse pantalones negros todo el tiempo. – He likes to wear black pants all the time.
• Ella no suele ponerse tacones. – She usually doesn’t wear high heels.
• Voy a ponerme el vestido rojo que compré para la fiesta. – I’m going to wear the red dress I bought for the party.
• No quiero ponerme ese sombrero, no me gusta. – I don’t want to wear that hat, I don’t like it.

Vestirse

Vestirse is another reflexive verb that has two specific definitions: “to get dressed” and “to wear.” 

• No entiendo cómo le gusta vestirse con manga larga en el verano. – I don’t get how she likes to wear long sleeves in the summer.
• ¿Cómo tienen que vestirse para la fiesta? – How do you guys have to dress for the party?
• No me gusta vestirme de negro, me hace sentir triste. – I don’t like to wear black, it makes me feel sad.
• Espérame un minuto, voy a ir a vestirme. – Wait a minute, I’m going to get dressed.

 Usar

One of the most common Spanish expressions used to say you’re wearing clothes is usar. This verb means “to use” or “to wear.” 

• ¿Qué vas a usar para la fiesta del viernes? – What are you going to wear for the party on Friday?
• Voy a usar el pantalón blanco que acabo de comprar. – I’m going to wear the white pants I just bought.
• No me gusta usar blusas de tirantes, me siento muy descubierta. – I don’t like to wear spaghetti strap tops, I feel too uncovered.
• Me encanta usar estos zapatos, son tan cómodos. – I love to wear this shoes, they’re so comfortable.

Andar de

Andar de is a highly informal verbal expression meaning “to wear,” that is similar to the English way you’d say “He’s going around in boots” (él anda de botas).

To help you remember how to use this verb, consider this formula:

andar de + noun (without an article)

• A él le gusta andar de botas. – He likes to wear boots.
• Nos gusta andar de shorts en la playa. – We like to wear shorts on the beach.
• La mujer que anda de vestido morado es muy bonita. – The girl who’s wearing the purple dress is beautiful.

Men’s and Women’s Clothes in Spanish

A practical way to use your Spanish knowledge is to talk about clothes! While you plan your dream trip to go shopping abroad, these words will be essential to know. 

Men’s Clothes in Spanish

Spanish	Pronunciation	English
la camisa	kah-mee-sah	shirt
la camiseta	kah-mee-seh-tah	t-shirt
la camisa de vestir / de botones	kah-mee-sah deh behs-teer / deh boh-toh-nehs	button-up shirt
el chaleco	chah-leh-koh	vest
el suéter	sweh-tehr	sweater
el pantalón / los jeans	pahn-tah-lohn / jinz	pants / jeans
los pantalones cortos	pahn-tah-lohn-ehs kohr-tohs	shorts
la corbata	kohr-bah-tah	tie
el corbatín	kohr-bah-teen	bowtie
el traje	trah-heh	suit
el saco	sah-koh	coat
la gabardina	gah-bahr-dee-nah	trench coat
los calcetines	kahl-she-teen-ehs	socks
los calzoncillos	kahl-sohn-see-yohs	underpants
la gorra	goh-rrah	cap/hat
el reloj	rreh-lohh	watch
el cincho	seen-choh	belt
la bufanda	boo-fahn-dah	scarf
los lentes de sol	lehn-tehs deh sohl	sunglasses
los zapatos	sah-pah-tohs	shoes
las botas	boh-tahs	boots
los tenis	teh-nees	tennis shoes
las pantuflas	pahn-too-flahs	slippers

Women’s Clothes in Spanish

Spanish	Pronunciation	English
la blusa	bloo-sah	blouse
la camiseta	kah-mee-seh-tah	tanktop
el pantalón / los jeans	pahn-tah-lohn / jinz	pants /jeans
el vestido	behs-tee-doh	dress
los zapatos	sah-pah-tohs	shoes
los tacones	tah-koh-nehs	high heels
los tenis	The-nees	tennis shoes
las botas	boh-tahs	boots
las sandalias	sahn-dah-lyahs	sandals
el abrigo	ah-bree-goh	coat
el suéter	sweh-tehr	sweater
el bikini	bih-ki-ni	bikini
los calzones	kahl-sohn-ehs	panties
el brasier	brah-syehr	bra
las calcetas	kahl-seh-tahs	socks
la bolsa / la cartera	bohl-sah / kahr-the-rah	bag / purse
el cincho	seen-choh	belt
el corsé	kohr-seh	corset
el brazalete / la pulsera	Brah-sah-leh-the / pool-say-rah	bracelet
los aretes	ah-reh-tehs	earrings
el collar	koh-yahr	necklace
los leggins	leg-eens	leggings
las medias	meh-dyahs	tights
la falda	fahl-dah	skirt
el camisón	kah-mee-sohn	nightgown
la pijama	pee-yah-mah	pijamas
las pantuflas	pahn-too-flahs	slippers
la bufanda	boo-fahn-dah	scarf
el chaleco	chah-leh-koh	vest
los lentes de sol	lehn-tehs deh sohl	sunglasses

Spanish Conversation About Clothes

Vocabulary you will see: usaras (future tense of usar), use (subjunctive tense of usar), llevarán (future tense of llevar)

Verbs to know: cambiarse (to change / to change clothes), combinar (to match, “to go with”)

Emily: Hola Taylor! ¿Qué usarás en la fiesta del viernes? –  Hey Taylor! What will you wear for the party on Friday?

Taylor: No estoy segura, estaba pensando en usar mi vestido rosado. ¿Y tú? –  I’m not sure, I was thinking about wearing my pink dress. What about you?

Emily: No sé tampoco, pero tal vez use una falda. – I don’t know either, but I’ll probably wear a skirt.

Taylor: ¿Sabes qué tan elegante es? No sé si debo llevar tacones. – Do you know how formal it is? I don’t know if I should wear high heels.

Emily: Pues escuché que nuestros amigos llevarán traje y camisa de botones, imagino que sí es formal. – I heard that the guys are wearing suits and button-down shirts, I guess it is formal.

Taylor: Bueno en ese caso, sí llevaré tacones pero también sandalias para cambiarme cuando me duelan los pies. – Well in that case, I’ll bring high heels but also sandals so I can change when my feet hurt.

Emily: ¡Qué buena idea! Aunque a mi me gustaría poder llevar pantuflas, sería mucho más cómodo. – Great idea! I’d like to wear slippers though, it’d be more comfortable.

Taylor: ¡Definitivamente! ¿Pero sabes qué? Creo que tendré que ir a comprar accesorios, no tengo aretes, collares ni bolsas que combinen con mi vestido. – Definitely! But you know what? I think I’ll have to go buy some accessories, I don’t have any earrings, necklaces or purses that go with my dress.

Emily: ¡No te preocupes! Yo tengo muchos que puedo prestarte. La pasaremos genial en la fiesta. – Don’t worry! I have plenty that you can borrow. The party will be great!  

Taylor: ¡Gracias! Seguramente sí. – Thank you! It sure will!

Fashion Trends in Spain and Latin America

Do you ever wonder how young people dress in Spain and Latin America on normal days? If you ever travel to these places and don’t know what to wear, this section will help.

Spain

In Spain, style varies from bohemian chic to fancy. In Madrid, men usually wear black, white, and grey t-shirts and button-downs, which are combined with jeans or black pants, and of course, a nice watch. Women wear polka dots, colorful sundresses, espadrilles, sandals, jean skirts and tank tops during the summer; and black coats, boots, scarfs, and jeans for winter looks. For both men and women, white Vans (or other comparable shoes) are very popular.

Throughout the country, people in different cities have varying style preferences. For example, men in Barcelona often wear t-shirts, button downs, and black pants. But unlike Madrid, women in Barcelona wear pants, button downs, jackets, and sweaters most of the time. Colors don’t go far from white, beige, light blue, and black. Also, they load up on accessories like necklaces, small handbags, hats, and sunglasses. 

Latin America

In Latin America, looks are very similar to Spain. But because most of the countries here don’t have cold or snowy seasons, people don’t tend to wear big coats or snow boots..

Typical men’s clothing includes polo shirts, t-shirts and button-downs. Some guys like to wear neutral colors such as black, white, blue, light blue or grey, and others like more vivid colors like orange, pink, lilac and yellow. As in any country, a person’s style is about personal taste. Guys often combine their t-shirts and button downs with jeans, black pants or colored trousers (like white, beige and blue). Also, during hot days many guys wear shorts, which most of the time are colored. Shoes might be casual sneakers, loafers or tennis shoes, and accessories might include a nice watch and a cap.

As for women, we like to wear skinny jeans, white or black pants, or pants with designs on them. These go great with t-shirts, button-downs, fresh blouses, spaghetti strap tops, sweaters and denim or colored jackets. Also, on really hot days, you’ll see plenty of floral sundresses, jean skirts, and other short and long skirts. These outfits are mostly combined with casual sneakers, platform shoes, sandals, and boots. Accessories like small necklaces, earrings and bags are part of the everyday outfit, too.

Note that for both men and women, white shoes are a big trend at the moment. Pretty much everyone has at least one pair of these.

Clothes Shopping Vocabulary in Spanish

As you plan for your big shopping trip, you’ll want to have a solid vocabulary to use as you ask about sizes, preferences, and seek to get your questions answered by the store clerk.

Words

Spanish	Pronunciation	English
la ropa	rroh-pah	clothes
la talla	tah-yah	size
el pequeño / la pequeña	peh-keh-nyoh	small
el mediano / la mediana	meh-dyah-noh	medium
el/la grande	grahn-deh	large
el/la extra grande	ex-tra grahn-deh	extra large
los vestidores	behs-tee-dohr-ehs	fitting rooms
las ofertas	oh-fehr-tahs	sales
la tienda	tyehn-dah	store
los accesorios	ahk-she-soh-ryohs	accessories
la sección	sehk-syohn	section
la caja	kah-hah	counter
la señorita	seh-nyoh-ree-tah	miss
los colores	Koh-loh-rehs	colors

Phrases

Spanish	English
¿Dónde están los vestidores?	Where are the fitting rooms?
¿A qué hora abren?	At what time do you open?
¿A qué hora cierran?	At what time do you close?
¿Está en oferta?	Is it on sale?
¿Cuánto cuesta?	How much is it?
¿Tienen esta blusa en otro color?	Do you have this blouse in another color?
No me quedó bien	It didn’t fit me well
Me queda perfecto	It fits perfectly
¿Con qué puedo combinar esto?	What can I combine this with?
Esta combinación me gusta	I like this combination
¿Qué talla es esta blusa?	What size is this shirt?
¿Tienen más tallas?	Do you have more sizes?
¿Empacan para regalo?	Do you wrap for gifts?
¿Aceptan tarjeta?	Do you accept card?

Spanish Conversation at the Mall

Here’s an example conversation between a shopper and a store clerk.

Shopper: ¡Buenos días señorita! Quisiera saber si tienen blusas color amarillo. – Good morning miss! I would like to know if you have yellow blouses.

Clerk: ¡Buenos días! Sí tenemos varias, ¿en qué talla buscas? – Good morning! Yes, we have plenty, what size are you looking for?

Shopper: Estoy buscando en talla pequeña y mediana, quiero ver cuál me queda mejor. – I’m looking in small and medium, I want to see which one fits better.

Clerk: Perfecto, sígueme. Estas son algunas que tenemos, puedes probártelas.  – Perfect, follow me. These are some of the ones we have, you can try them on.

Shopper: Me gustan mucho, me las probaré. ¿Dónde están los vestidores? – I really like them, I’ll try them on. Where are the fitting rooms?

Clerk: Por allá. Avísame cómo te quedan cuando termines. – That way, tell me how they fit when you finish.

Shopper: La mediana no me quedó, pero la pequeña me quedó perfecta. ¿Cuánto cuesta? – The medium didn’t fit me well, but the small is perfect! How much is it?

Clerk: Cuesta $12.99. Aceptamos tarjeta si prefieres. – It’s $12.99. We accept card if you want.

Shopper: Genial, la compraré. –  Great, I’ll buy it.

Clerk: Sígueme, te cobraré en la caja. – Follow me, you can pay at the check-out counter. (literally: I’ll charge you at the check-out counter)

Shopper: ¡Muchas gracias! – Thank you!  

Clerk: Que tengas un lindo día, ¡te esperamos a la próxima! – Have a great day, see you next time!

Practice and Use Your Spanish!

You just learned some of the most important things when talking about clothes in Spanish. Now, it’s time to practice it in real life! Homeschool Spanish Academy offers fun Spanish classes for everyone, and our native Spanish-speaking teachers will be fascinated by meeting you and start a conversation. Sign up for a free trial class today to see how fast your Spanish can improve!

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