Appearances

Ecuador is a Latin country with macho attitudes that are familiar to anyone who has seen movies of a Latin nation or read one of South America's great authors. The men are flirtatious, often swagger about and stare with impunity. Girls, from an early age on, are taught that beauty is essential. We went to a birthday party for a five year old girl where they had a beauty contest. Under the direction of an MC, the girls paraded around the room as if they were in a fashion show. They all looked and acted as if they were grown-ups. Ecuadorian women usually dress up and seldom wear casual clothes when they go out. The usual attire is high spiked heels with extremely tight spandex jeans, and low cut tops. However, if a woman works in a bank, a large office, or in a major store, she wears the same outfit as all the other women in the establishment which is basically a uniform consisting of a skirt, top and jacket.  All schools for children have a uniform.

Each school’s uniform is a different design and color. There are numerous uniform stores that carry huge inventories of all sizes for a half dozen schools. Public displays of affection are very common and you will often see young people innocently kissing each other on the street. You will seldom see a woman in a dress with the exception of the indigenous Indian women who wear colorful, pleated velvet skirts and embroidered tops. The Indian men, who are mostly workers, wear what we would call informal clothes. They go to a job site where they might be pouring concrete, change their street clothes to work clothes, work all day, then when it is time to go home, they change back into their street clothes, wash their hair, hands and faces in running water and go home looking as if they were going out for a special dinner. In the US, workers arrive in their soiled work clothes and go home in the same clothes, day after day. Hair styles for men are like other countries but young men often slick their hair down with a shinny pomade which makes their hair look soaking wet all day long. All in all, the appearance of Ecuadorians is one of neatness, cleanliness and personal care. We have probably not seen a single sloppy dresser with the exception of some foreign tourists.