In the olden days the Spanish were pale (6)
I believe the answer is:
pastel
'pale' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'in the olden days the spanish' is the wordplay.
'in the olden days' becomes 'past' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'the spanish' becomes 'el' ('the' in Spanish).
'past'+'el'='PASTEL'
'were' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for pastel that I've seen before include "Soft shade (of a colour)" , "Pleats of a light colour" , "Crayon used in art" , "Of a colour, subtle" , "Type of crayon" .)