I am in Lisbon, Portugal for the week. And I am blown away by the explosion of colors in everyone’s clothing here. It’s completely normal to see a woman walk by, and look great in, in a searingly yellow pair of pants or a man completely in his skin wearing strawberry red or banana yellow trousers. What a wonderful contrast to the Seattle gray – both in the sky as well as in people’s attire! Whenever I’m here I make a beeline to Zara’s, one of my favorite European stores. Each time in the past, I have found one signature piece at this store but that’s usually all I find. This time I rake it in (or is it Zara’s who’s raking it in) with four different pieces. Each one of them a signature one and several for under $100 even with the painful Euro exchange rate. Also, usually I find a colorful piece at Zara’s. Not so this time – 3 of the 4 are white. I love white, it shows up well against my brown skin. I try on about 10 different white trenches till I find my dream one. As I try this style on and off debating whether I should get the small or the medium, this Italian guy who was shopping there with his girlfriend walks up to me and effusively starts telling me how perfect and beautiful and wonderful this jacket looks on me. This is definitely a keeper – the jacket that is, not the man . In addition, I further score at two stores called Love and Miss Pepper, mostly with an Italian line of clothing called Peiro & Piovani – all in bright colors. I spontaneously sigh out loud every once in a while when I see a particularly attractive piece of clothing. Hopefully they will chalk it up to another one of those crazy tourist characteristics. I feel like a kid in a candy store and will definitely have to go on a clothes shopping “diet” once I’m back in the States! I can’t wait to wear all these fun clothes and will post pictures as soon as I can.

Here’s what I see in terms of trends on the streets and shops of Lisbon. An explosion of colors as I mentioned. The shop racks are stacked with bright yellow and green, pink in various shades, light blues, purple, red, and orange. Not much in black. Zara’s as I said is inundated with white this time of year. On the streets, wedges and patent are very pervasive for shoes. There are also a few gladiator sandals. Prominent, wide, ankle straps are big and look great in many cases, not just with gladiators but with regular shoes as well. Quite a few heels over two inches – I cringe vicariously for women wearing them and navigating the cobblestones of Rua Augusta! Overall, people aren’t super polished in how they’re put together (e.g. hard to find people with PPL) but then this is the weekend and I’m in the tourist district where people’s outfits range from socks and Birkenstocks to the sleek sophistication of skinnies and dresses. There’s one trend I’m noticing that I’m not a fan of. I don’t know what these are called but these are pants that are calf length and form a tight cuff there. They’re loose on top, sort of like Jodhpurs and made of a jersey type material. The crotch hands a little low and looks sort of droopy. They look too young for my style and also quite casual and not too flattering on many body types. Angie have you seen this style and do you know what it’s called? Women of all ages also tend to wear really short shorts. While most of them have the body to carry it off, it still doesn’t sit well with me for someone over their 20’s. Quite a few people wear leggings but mostly with skirts, not dresses. I see very few wrap dresses. More that are trapeze style as well as with well defined waists and a slightly flared skirt – like the two that San had recently posted pictures of. I bought one of the latter. Overall, this has been a great experience to people and clothes watch and really refreshing to see so much color. I didn’t realize just how much gray I’m surrounded by till I saw all this color this weekend!