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  Spanish Version

• Student Articles

Mexican Clothing

By Lindsay Cook

Although Mexican clothes nowadays do not differ much from what we wear here in Europe their traditional dress was quite different. Essentially their clothes were designed to keep the Mexican people cool in the hot climes.

One of the most common images associated with Mexican clothing is that of the sombrero hat. The Mexican hat has very wide brims, providing the wearer with shelter from the heat of the sun. Mexican farmers used to wear sombreros to shade them from the strong sun rays. The name "sombrero" comes from the Spanish word sombre which means shade.

Many people also associate cowboy hats with Mexico. However they actually tended to be worn more frequently by North American´s than by the Mexican people. Cowboy hat is not as wide as the sombrero so whilst it provides some shade it does not provide as much shade as the sombrero.

Traditionally Mexican women wore clothing which was brightly coloured. It was originally made predominantly from cotton however following the Spanish colonization of Mexico silks and wools started to be incorporated as well. Mexican women´s clothes regularly included lots of ornate embroidery. This embroidery would often include symbols which had a meaning behind them.

Typically Mexican men´s clothing was not as colourful as the women´s. As they worked manually, clothes that were very fancy would have been a bit wasted. However Mexican musicians did wear grand mariachi suits to perform. These mariachi costumes were ornately made, often containing studs and other decorations.

The Charro

Charro is a word which describes the traditional Mexican horsemen. However it can also describe the suits worn by these horsemen.

The charro, like the mariachi suit tended to be quite a lavish garment. They are often brightly coloured and whilst not worn on a daily basis they are worn by many people at certain times of year like carnival.

The suits were dyed using bright colours and were quite tight fitting. The suit trousers tended to contain embellishment down the legs and the men would complete their outfits wearing a sombrero.

So whilst the modern Mexican may not stand out because of their clothing, traditionally the Mexicans clothes were quite distinct and would certainly have stood out in a crowd!

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