Mexican clothing, a mixture of traditions

Mexican clothing has, literally talking, history. Is result of diverse cultures, native and colonial, that have remained interlaced across the centuries. Their characteristic handcrafted embroideries, their lively colors and comfortable design, together with a variety of styles, makes Mexican clothing a unique attire that clearly distinguish from the rest.

Aztek, Mayan and Spanish cultures mix, as every Mexican region influence, was expressed in all clothing that compose the Mexican attire, the typical dresses and the most contemporary charro shirts that will find at Corbeto’s.

Although as we have said, the versions that Mexican clothing offers vary depending of each region, there are series of traditional garments from this attire that are strongly rooted in their culture. Let’s know more about them.

Traditional garment most pure Mexico reflexion

• The Rebozo: this garment is a kind of shawl of scarf, with a long and rectangular shape, whose origin is dated on the native and colonist miscegenation. Originally, it was also used to carry babies, although it was used by both men and women. Traditionally, it’s made with cotton, wool or silk. 
• The Mexican hat: of Spanish roots, is one of the most representative signs from this culture. The wide brim that characterizes it, made it perfect to protect against the burning sun, but also to isolate from the cold or just to addorn during the festivities. The traditional Mexican hats are made from diverse materials like wool, Straw and rabbit or beaver hide. 
• The Quexquemetl: aboriginal clothing consisting in two cloth rectangles put together in cone form, with an aperture to introduce the head. It is linked to farming calendar dances and use to be made of wool or cotton, with floral or animal embroideries. 
• The Jorocho: typical clothing from Veracruz, both for men and women, where white color predominates, being specially known the sheer dresses of wide and long skirt. 
• The Charro suit: typical from Jalisco, on men is characterized by a big dimensions hat, short jacket and skinny trousers. All the clothing is decorated by the typical charro embroidery. The feminine charro attire is composed by a long dress with baggy sleeves. 
• Tehuanas:  Mexican most colorful clothing without any doubt, greatly popularized the painter Frida Kahlo. Coming from Oaxaca consist of a huipil, a native origin sleeveless blouse decorated with the typical embroideries, and a flowers skirt that showed a sateen slip, sometimes embroidered.  
• China poblana: this femenine tradtional dress consist on a low-cut white blouse decorated with floral embroideries and a long and wide skirt called castor, traditionally from red and green colors.

Mexican culture most famous dresses history

All Mexican typical dresses for men a women have their own history, although not all equally popular. Without a doubt, the most famous garments have been inspirational for the current Mexican casual clothing, like the men’s charro shirts and women’s ones  that can be worn the whole year. Because their peculiar design, that feature characteristic handcrafted embroideries, are ideal for festive occasions, although depending of the other clothing we use, Mexican shirts can be worn at any time.

But let’s return to Mexican most famous typical garments history, the true ancestors of Mexican clothing and its accessories that we at Corbeto’s love that much. We have chosen the two that are probably most well-known around the world: the Charro suit and the China Poblana dress: 

 

• The Charro suit native from Jalisco: described in the previous paragraph, is considered the most representative of national identity, with origins that are dated back to the 19th century Mexican farms. The farmers called chinacos were the first to adopt a very similar attire, the precursor from the charro suit we nowadays know. Was the emperor Maximilian of Habsburg the responsible of incorporating the european fashion elements to the suit, that with the time and influence of Mexican music and films, ended up popularizing the Mariachi charro suite.  There are three kinds of charro suit, the most popular is the gala one, that consist on a hat decorated with silver plates a turned collar shirt and a trouser with lateral decorations. The outfit is complemented with a suede jacket with three fasteners in each sleeve, an elegant brooch on the chest and the lasso tie.  

China Poblana dress: this feminine attire origin is unknown, what contributes to its legandary beauty. However, legend says that a woman native from India called Mirra, captured by pirates when was a child, was finally bought by a Portuguese trader that brought her to Puebla, in Mexico. There, the child became woman dressing hindu clothings and got married with a Chinese servant. Hence, she was known as the China Poblana in reference to the her husband’s Asian origin. Among the characteristics of this dress, some of them we have already described at the previous paragraph, must be pointed their colorful geometric and floral motives embroideries, as the spectacularity of the skirt, long until the knees, made of percale or silk and usually covered by sequins.