WHAT TO WEAR

The classic San Fermin gear doesn't need much describing - it's colours are recognisable by all. A white shirt and trousers ( white blouse and skirt for the ladies) and a red sash round the waist and of course, the red necktie and that's you all dolled up for the Fiesta.

The custom of donning the distinctive uniform for the Fiesta is neither really very old (since about the middle of the century onwards) nor in any way obligatory. While most of the locals like to wear it, some will do so only in part ( the necktie is the essential symbol of the Fiesta time) and others not at all. See some details on the advantages and disadvantages of wearing the classical San Fermin gear.

- The clothes have a practical function and it's interesting to notice that the "traditional footwear" of "alpargatas" have not won much favour for the majority of people simply because they are not very practical. They look nice and homely - white peasant slippers with a red strap - but they are very impractical as they don't protect one from the often wet and dirty surfaces of the streets and bars. They provide little or no protection from broken glass and slippery surfaces. The best kind of footwear is to wear the classic sneakers or track shoes - but not your best ones- as these too will end up a sorry mess by the end of the week.

- The red sash is also becoming less popular it seems. The thing seems to get undone at some stage of the hectic proceedings and if you haven't learnt to make a decent knot when you were being initiated into the San Fermines as a youth, then it seems you never really learn the knack of knotting it correctly.

- The red beret has little or nothing to do with San Fermines and has never had, contrary to what some visitors seem to think.

- Trousers are often rolled up a little for two practical reasons : one, to show that you are a real hard reveller who will be hanging in to the very end, and two, to protect the hem from the aforementioned dirt and grime which accumulates on the ground and which leaves an indelible stain which can never be removed.

As well as this basic gear, many people put on a kind of traditional shepherd's smock over their white gear. Members of the different "Peñas" all have their own distinctive-coloured smocks. If you don't belong to any "Peña", black is the most popular colour as it can absorb a lot of dirt and grime.

Of course, you can wear just about anything you like - weird flowery shirts, shorts of all types, mexican hats, viking helmets, wigs of all kinds, - as far out as you like, especially round the old part of town.

What happens is that all these funny get ups are sold on the streets and some particular things become popular each year. There is a large influx of street sellers - mostly African - on the streets of the old part. Bargaining is not bad, but without overacting.