It's a United States territory with shops like Brooks Brothers tending to local lawyers and assorted profesionals. The norm is for professionals to wear leather shoes, suit and ties. Children and adolescents wear weejuns to private schools. You should be OK and able to wear your shoes for all the proper occasions.

Last edited by Senorservo2.0 (2013-12-25 00:01:21)

Chévere is from there so I'm sure he is very well qualified to answer. However I find the op a bit confusing.

Shooey!!!!!
I am pleased as punch to be able to help you! And excited!
Go to Puerto Rico. It's an interesting mix, a hispanic culture with american culture painted over it. The temperature is 80-90 degrees farenheit year round, but there is a constant breeze so if you get hot, get in the shadow and the breeze will you cool off right away.
The hotel district is pretty american in flavor but there are a lot of locals in the service industry and professionals that work in the city.
As far as how people dress, if somebody is wearing shorts I assume its a tourist unless it's a young guy going to the beach.
People there like to look good in clothes, so usually it'll be long pants. Your shoes will DEFINITELY will be appreciated by the locals.
The traditional men's clothing store where my Grand father, Dad, and I shopped was "Clubman" and it recently closed after several generations in the same family. The line up was Hickey Freeman suits for American style, but the rest was italian style mid to upper range. The one thing they used to sell that you should look into is a "Guayabera" shirt. It is a traditional shirt and the name refers to the pockets in the shirt which were big enough to put a few guavas in when you went out for a Sunday stroll. There are many cheap ones around but you can find fine ones in pure linen and some with french cuffs. My mother's X-Mas gift last year was a linen french cuff guayabera in eggshell white. There are many cheap ones on the internet but if you wear a nice Guayabera shirt to your conference with a nice pair of slacks and one of your shoes people will speak to you in spanish.
I was totally unaware of the english cut until my freshman year in college ('73) when I spent a month in London. It was the peacock era and I bought a Michael Barrie hacking style tweed suit that I beat to death and used to get lots of comments on because it was so different from anything in PR. The fact that I would wear tweed in PR (although at night when it wasn't boiling hot) tells you something about what some Puerto Rican kids will do to look sharp.
So Shooey, don't be afraid of looking sharp, it's not like Jamaica or Trinidad where expats go to relax or dress "for the tropics". On the contrary, the logic is not to dress appropriately for an island, but to dress civilized like "the mainlanders".
As I said above the best bet will be lightweight slacks with a good quality Guayabera and your shoes. You'll not be hot (as you would be in a suit) and will be appropriate for many social situations.
There are embroidered Guayaberas but don't touch them unless it's in the same thread as the rest of the shirt. Long sleeved ones are more formal, short sleeved ones are more for daytime.
BTW, the word there for mate is "pana".
Take a stroll in Old San Juan.

Last edited by Chévere (2013-12-25 12:18:45)

^^
Chevere - interesting to hear about the closing of Clubman, they had great grooming products, my father would get basics there such as socks and ties but would always get the rest at Press and Brooks in NY as he wasn't into the italian look - which I beleive got more pronounced after the 70's. 

Where would you get a good quality Guayabera? I prefer Puertorican version over the the cuban style ones we have in miami. Are there any good non- tourist traps shops for guayabera in old san juan? I've been looking  for a light yellow one for years and will try to hunt one the next time I head down there.... Do you know who makes the top guayaberas in the island?

Thanks !

Servo, I'll ask my brother who still lives there.
I doubt anybody makes them anymore in PR. But I agree about the Miami Cuban style. All this color and embroidery stuff, even some without pockets, is messing with a very successful and timeless formula.
If too ornamented you look like a tourist, when too white and spare you look like a dentist. When you hit it right (fabric, cut design) it looks refined yet unassuming, serious yet relaxed, etc.
The best examples I saw were always a shade or two off-white with pleats and just the slightest hint of see through fabric. Embroidery is hard to pull off but I have seen some good ones.

I've been wanting to visit la isla del encanto for a number of years now. This thread is the closest I'm going to be getting for the foreseeable future, and it's a treat to learn more about this place. Thanks.

Appropriately enough, here are Xmas celebrations in PR from back in the day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFwByBKrr4I

Puerto Ricans are not healthy eaters but I know the natural food thing is making some inroads there.
There are unsafe areas in PR, but no kidnapping stuff. There is violent crime but is usually drug related.
Ask your hosts or people in the hotel to let you know where to go.
BTW, do you know the hotel or general area where you are going to be?
If you are in a hotel by the beach open the windows wide and let the breeze and the sound of the breaking waves lull you to sleep. Not only is going to sleep great, but one of the best sensations in the world is to wake up to the sound of braking waves.

Last edited by The_Shooman (2013-12-25 16:45:10)

'Cooed food'? By that do you specifically mean pigeon?