Jose Manuel drops his hands in desperation as I paw a gorgeous, pale pink flamenco dress with a cascade of ruffles. No hay quien pueda with this guiri. Nearly two hours into a search for the perfect flamenco dress, I was more undecided than ever. I got the last one in and knew immediately it was the right one for me, but this year has my head spinning. I sketched out what I wanted β a one-color, sleeveless dress with three volantes and encaje around the bust and waist to make my boobs smaller and accentuate my small cintura.
The woman started asking me a flurry of questions. How tall was I in centimeters β¦. What kind of ruffles did I want? Would I bring my own fabric? But I was way in over my head and with not a single seasoned guiri around to help me. A flamenco dress is known around these parts as the traje de gitana , or simply a traje.
The dress is composed of a body, sleeves and a train of volantes , or ruffles. Made of tela , you can get high-quality fabric or normal and the detailing is called encaje.
Lace is especially popular this year. The seamstress, called a modista , assists you in designing your dress and then sews it for you. The most traditional sort of fabric has lunares , or polka dots, but they can also me liso one color or with pattterns. The first day I heard the heavy reja go up, it was a sign.
I peered in the windows, lights off, when I opened the school and saw the exact dresses I wanted β lisos , con volantes graduados, encaje por un tubo. One color, big ruffles, details in all the right places. Either a deep magenta, turquoise or a pale green. Jose Manuel is on the phone but immediately introduces himself as he hangs up on his mother, oops! He ushers me over to the racks of dresses, each slightly different from the next. They are bold β bright reds and blues β but I shy away from wearing something so loud.
