Women’s traditional clothing
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- Huipil: a sleeveless tunic woven on backstrap looms from cotton or wool, worn by indigenous women in Oaxaca, Chiapas, Yucatán and Guerrero. The embroidered patterns show the wearer’s community and, in some cases, marital status.
- Rebozo: a long woven shawl with knotted fringe (rapacejo), made of cotton, wool or silk. It is draped over the head and shoulders for warmth and used to carry children and goods.
- China poblana: a national costume associated with Puebla, consisting of a white blouse embroidered with silk and beads, a full green-and-red skirt embellished with sequins depicting the Mexican eagle, and a crossed rebozo.
- Tehuana dress: the dress of Zapotec women on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (Oaxaca): a velvet huipil embroidered with flowers, a long skirt with a white starched lace ruffle (holán) and gold jewellery. The painter Frida Kahlo often wore it.
- Hipil and Terno: Maya women in Yucatán wear the knee-length white cotton hipil, decorated with colourful cross-stitch embroidery around the square neck and hem, and the three-piece terno for festive occasions.
Men’s traditional clothing
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- Sarape: a rectangular woven wool blanket, often draped over one shoulder or worn with a slit for the head. The best-known sarapes come from Saltillo, Coahuila, and have fine stripes around a central diamond medallion. Read more on our sarape page.
- Traje de charro: the suit of Mexican horsemen (charros): fitted trousers with silver or bone buttons (botonadura) down the outseams, a short jacket, a silk bow (moño) and a wide-brimmed felt sombrero.
- Guayabera: a lightweight linen or cotton shirt with vertical pleats (alforzas) and four front pockets, worn untucked in Yucatán, Veracruz, and coastal areas as formal and festive menswear.
- Indigenous men’s dress: in highland indigenous communities, men wear loose white cotton shirts and trousers (calzón de manta), woven palm hats, leather sandals (huaraches), and colourful woven sashes (fajas).
Regional variety
- Isthmus of Tehuantepec (Oaxaca): Zapotec women wear the Tehuana dress, a short huipil, often of velvet, embroidered with large flowers, with a long skirt finished in a white ruffle and, for festivals, gold jewellery. The painter Frida Kahlo often wore it.
- Yucatán: Maya women wear the hipil, a white cotton dress embroidered with flowers around the neck and hem; its festive version is the terno. Many men wear the guayabera, a light shirt with pleats and pockets.
- Chiapas: the highland Maya communities are known for dress that differs from village to village, from embroidered blouses to woollen skirts.
Wedding attire
Most Mexican couples today marry in a white wedding dress and a suit, but many customs shape the ceremony. At Catholic weddings, sponsors (padrinos) often place a lazo, a large loop of rosary beads, cord or flowers, around the shoulders of the couple as a sign of their union. In many ceremonies the groom also gives the bride thirteen coins (arras).
In Yucatán and other hot coastal areas, grooms and male guests often wear a white guayabera, and some brides choose a dress inspired by the hipil. Some grooms wear a charro suit, and in many indigenous communities brides wear their community’s festive dress.
Festivals and dance
- Independence Day (16 September, celebrated from the night before): many people wear china poblana and charro outfits or clothes in the national colours.
- Guelaguetza in Oaxaca City, held in July: groups from the regions of Oaxaca dance in their own traditional dress.
- Folklórico dance (baile folklórico): stage costumes based on regional dress, such as the wide ribboned skirts of Jalisco, worn with a charro suit for the jarabe tapatío. The Ballet Folklórico de México, founded by Amalia Hernández in 1952, made these costumes widely known.
Traditional clothing today
In parts of Oaxaca, Chiapas, Yucatán, Guerrero and other states, many indigenous women still wear the huipil and other community dress every day. Elsewhere, traditional garments are kept for festivals, dance and family celebrations, and embroidered blouses and dresses are also popular in everyday fashion.
Indigenous communities and the Mexican government have criticised international fashion brands for copying indigenous designs without credit or permission, and a federal law passed in 2022 aims to protect the cultural heritage of indigenous and Afro-Mexican communities, including their textile designs.
