Bogota Fashion Trends for Men

When you think of fahsion trends in Bogota, think of a low-end preppy/hipster who uses vintage and normcore pieces. Here is a sample of the range in looks.

1. The Urban Reggaeton Singer
This style says "I'm not a cheesy reggaeton artist because I'm also hip and cool". These guys will wear Adidas, active wear, and T-shirts. Shoes, caps, and jackets are a priority.

2. The Refined Punk Hipster

They used to be punk, but now they are edgy hipsters. Not the same as American hipsters. Enough said.

3. The Preppy Executive

This look says, "I have a corporate job, but also want to look casual at expensive bars and clubs while dancing to Vallenato". You will also see this style at work or country clubs.

5. Skater Punk / Tattoo Boys

Usually consist of old t-shirts, torn clothes, vintage, and a lot of tattoos. Edgy hairstyles are important here too. 

                                      

Working for Shady Businesses in Colombia

A couple of years ago, Esther traveled to South America in order to learn Spanish and work in Colombia. Unfortunately, she was not aware of how difficult the process would be as it seemed like she (and other foreigners) had to jump from job to job before they could find one that was stable and legit. 

This is what she learned:

When working abroad, there are several dangers that Americans like Esther were not aware of that can take the shape of scams or illegitimate businesses. These type of businesses often take advantage of their employees and can even lead to dangerous situations that employees are unaware of.

Especially in Colombia, there have been cases where people are not paid or have had  their work stolen. Some businesses are fronts (shell companies) for other illegal companies like money laundering or prostitution, so be careful and look out for the warning signs!

Some warning signs include:

1. The company pays you in cash or from a personal account

2. The company does not pay on time

3. The company hires you too quickly

4. The company's job posting uses words like "urgent", "must be able to work under pressure", "no estrellitas"

5. The company puts you on a trial period

6. The company makes you work odd hours or is in constant contact with you when you are not at work

7. The company does not provide benefits

8. The company looks like it does multiple things like selling various products/services

If you get a job offer from a company like this, you need to back away. Any shady business can get you in a lot of trouble. I have heard horror stories of people getting ripped off for jobs that they took from the USA to teach English abroad. 

Also, there are especially bad issues with advertising or marketing agencies. Advertising agencies in Colombia are known for not paying freelancers for work they have done upfront or blatantly stealing other peoples ideas without pay. On the other hand, marketing agencies can be covers for event marketing companies who hire "models" to be escorts.

There are various resources to check if a company is legit that you should use, or just ask on Facebook lol!

Why Are Colombians So Basic?

With the use of Facebook and Instagram becoming more and more popular in Colombia, it seems like Colombians have no idea how to use it to post relevant and interesting content. They don't know about the American concept of "being basic", so they end up posting things that Americans would otherwise consider basic - like things that are considered "basic" in the USA such as Starbucks coffee and UGG boots.

Colombians tryna show off on Instagram... with fruit. ( -_-)

Not that this is a bad thing, it just means that there is a cultural gap between what makes American vs. Colombians look cool to their followers. For example, Colombians take pride in the little things in life while Americans are more grandiose about the things they post - everything is bigger and better than the last person.

Because of this, you find Colombians posting photos of the most irrelevant things that Americans would not care about such as:

1. A piece of chocolate or candy (why? do other people not have the exclusive privilege of buying $0.10 candy?)

Wow, candy... so impressive. Not!

2. Food from home and basic snacks like its the most delicious thing they have ever eating (fruit snacks are not exciting)

What is so special about chicken and french fries that it needs to be on IG?!?

3. Gifts from other people that suck (the gifts suck, so what is the point?)

What is this?!

4. Taking pictures of the one expensive thing they bought, like the rich.

It's just water, hun.

4 Reasons Not to Live in Colombia

Hey, I lived in Colombia for 6 years. I liked it at first, but now I don't so I moved. Its great to visit on a shor-term basis, but these are the reasons I left and why noone should live there long-term

1. The Traffic Sucks: It took me 1.5 hours to commute to work back and forth, which would only take 20 minutes to drive through without traffic. Most people can't afford a car, so like me you will end up stuck on a bus crammed in with other people who are rude. There is no regard for safety and if you aren't robbed, you'll be lucky if you don't fall out of it while moving.

2. The Food Sucks: Don't read blogs that say the food is amazing because the are obviously liars. It's one thing to taste local cuisine on vacation, but actually eating the same empanadas and chicken with rice for years is no fun. The local menu is limited and if you live and work among Colombians you'll be forced to eat the same food because no one else can afford to go to the "fancy" restaurants with you to eat sushi.

3. The People Suck: If you read a blog about how the people in Bogota are friendly, this is a lie. They may be nice to you at first because your a tourist and only meet people at tourist attraction. These people are nice because they want your money. If you get a chance to actually work and deal with Colombians on a day-today basis, you'll see the bad side of their personality. Colombians are known for being cheap, rude, aggressive, unfaithful, liars, manipulative, and everything you see from the bad guys on Narcos. This is not a personal opinion, even Colombians will talk about how much Colombians and their country sucks.

4. Crime Sucks: Yes, people get robbed. They get robbed all the time. Don't believe they hype that says "Colombia has changed. It's not dangerous anymore." Colombia has a lot of petty crime and crime has actually increased over the last year because of inflation and internal refugees.

Graffiti in Bogota: Colombian Street Art

Street art and graffiti in Colombia is very popular. We have been able to attract a lot of international attention and even visiting street artis have painted here because of that. The best place to see graffiti in Colombia is in Bogota, Medellin, and Cali. The urban infrastructure provides a lot of places artist can paint. Also, in some places it is even legal.

A guide to street art in Colombia can be found in the urban lifestyle magazine named Cartel Urbano. Here you can see a varied oa photo galleries and articles aboput street art in Bogota. For example, read this article about a local graffiti artist:

DMENTAL GRAFFITI ESTÁ DE ANIVERSARIO

You know you´re a Colombian if...

After living here for a while, you start to adapt to the lifestyle here. Things that you would not have thought of doing before, you will start to do. When you do it, you start to feel like a real Colombia.

You know you are a Colombian if...

• you can sleep like a baby on a bouncing bus.
  After you get used to the bumps it kinda feels like you are sleeping in a rocking share and actually is relaxing.
• you consider yourself on time when you are 5-15 minutes late.You will be surprised how punctual you have become all of a sudden. hahaha.
• your first thought for hangover food is caldo de costilla (rib broth).
• you favorite quick snack is empanada and coke.
• you can just have a coffee or orange juice as breakfast.
• you can live off $10 in one day and make your budget stretch to the end of the month.
• you are usually poor the last week of the month.

Bogota Street Style / Fashion

One of the first things tourist notice about Bogota is the way that people dress here. It is different because it is a mix of street fashion, traditional clothes, urban, punk, and conservative. Also, the weather has a large influence on how people dress. For example, the rain causes a big trend of people wearing boots and leather jackets. Even if the person is not a wanna-be hipster or punk, black leather boots and jackets are worn by all.

Another thing tourist notice is that people wear mostly dark colors. You will only see bright colors on the coast of Colombia because they are considred tropical colors. One of my friends form the USA arrived wearing a red hoodie and immediatly felt out of place!

Since a lot of expensive, American, and high-fashion brands are out of reach for most people because of price or availability, street fashion is a unique mix of affordable clothes that is mostly influenced by personal style -- not brands. Though recently, some brands have focused on Colombian fashion and has impacted style via their advertising and marketing campaigns. Success stories of fashion brands penetrating the Colombian market are Adidas and Doc Martins.

A great photo gallery of Bogota street style can be seen on the Cartel Urbano Magazine website.







Bogota street style trends for 2013 and 2014 are:

• Jackets (because of the weather)
• Lots of black
• Fashion sneakers like Nike and Converse shoes
• 90s fashion and accessories (earings)
• Punk / grunge
• Platform shoes over high heels for women
• Designer t-shirts
• Leggings and fashion tights (noone walks around with bare legs!)
• Hipster style sweaters
• Highschool varsity jackets
• Leather boots and jackets
• Anything Adidas