The obvious advantage of the “uniform” is that you don’t have to think about what you are going to wear on any particular day. Besides, it frees your normal clothes from any shock treatment which they could easily suffer from during the Sanfermines. During the Fiesta days clothes tend to get spoilt from the amount of smut and grime that is engendered by all the Pandemonium. And with so many bodies on a “high” accidents such as cigarette burns and other such mishaps are the order of the day.

The drawback is that white is not a very impervious color and even after one hard day’s night you could end up with something that only vaguely looks like it had once been gleaming white. It’s usually necessary to change the whole outfit on each new day, so that means having to have a spare outfit while the other is undergoing a needed wash in the washing-machine. Unless, that is, you don’t give a damn and simply pull on the same grimy gear day after day. But you’ve got to be a real slob to do that and even though we are not exactly the squeamish type, it’s beyond our audacity to do it.

Of course, wearing the scruffy gear has its advantages - everyone can see you’ve been in the heart of the action from the accumulated grime and filth you’ve collected along the way and this suggests you’ve been having a hell of a good time ! This kind of thing is important during the Sanfermines.

Another advantage of dressing up in the “official “ gear is the resultant feeling of having adopted another “persona”. The idea of shedding your normal personality and undergoing a personality change where maybe you feel like a hardened matured San Fermin ringleader having a hell of a time. Totally uninhibited and sharing the kinship of San Fermin with the rest of the crowd. All for one and one for all ! There is that element at the heart of the San Fermin Festival too.