The Bright and Beautiful World of Colombian Clothing Culture
What do you imagine when you think of traditional Colombian clothing culture? Images of vibrant and colorful dresses likely come to mind. But they aren’t something that you’re likely to see in everyday life. If you walk down any random street in Medellin, most people are dressed in modern clothing. You’ll also probably see many people wearing (association) football shirts.
But what about traditional clothes? What kind of clothing has cultural significance in Colombia and what can you expect from it? In Colombia, clothing culture varies by region. The traditional garb of the Caribbean region is going to have slight differences from the traditional clothing of the Pacific region, and so on and so forth.
Why is the clothing culture in one place so different from the clothing culture in the other? Part of it is the geographic diversity of Colombia. For example, clothing in the Andean region has to be built for the altitude and windy conditions of the Andes mountains.
Another reason why there are so many differences in clothing is because of the various indigenous groups of Colombia. While there might be some cultural similarities, they are not a monolith and they’ll have their own nuances.
Colombian Clothing Culture of the Andean Region
First is the Andean region. The city of Medellin is located in this region and you’ll note that much of the city is built on hills. So, what’s traditional clothing like in this region? For men, it consists of a shirt, trousers, sandals, and a brimmed hat. For women, it’s a blouse, a wide skirt, a pair of sandals, and a brimmed headdress.
A ruana, a woolen poncho, is also popular among men and women in the more mountainous areas of the region.
The Andean region is also where a lot of Colombia’s coffee is grown. In that part of the region, men will wear a handkerchief around their necks and have bags draped over their shoulders. They’ll also carry a machete on their waist. Women will wear a long-sleeved blouse, a skirt with colorful floral patterns, and white sandals.
Clothing Culture of the Caribbean Region
Colombia’s Caribbean region is largely coastal, bordering the Caribbean sea. The Colombian clothing culture in the region is light and flowing because of the heat and humidity. That said, they also have traditional costumes that are decorated with embroidery, colorful patterns, jewelry, and flowers.
For men, the clothing is a colorful (or white) shirt and linen trousers. Accessories include a woven bag draped over the shoulder, a sombrero, or some other type of headdress. For women, it’s a light top, a skirt, and a sombrero as well.
Clothes in the Pacific Region
The Pacific region of Colombia is home to a number of tight-knit communities of African immigrants and their descendants. Men usually don loose, colorful shirts and sandals made of natural materials. The women wear soft fabrics in pastels embellished with flowers, ribbons, or other decorations. Skirts and dresses are usually ankle-length. Wide-brimmed hats are favored here, as they are in the rest of Colombia.
Cultural Clothing in the Orinoquía Region
Cattle ranching is a huge part of the economy of the Orinoquía region of Colombia. As such, people will dress practically and they’ll probably resemble cowboys. Basically, they’ll be dressed for work and to ride horseback.
That’s not to say that there isn’t any kind of traditional clothing in the region. Folk dancers wear white pants with red or black shirts. Or they’ll wear black pants with a white shirt. They’ll also wear wide-brimmed hats that are heavier than what you’d find in other regions. This is because the hat has to be heavy enough to stay on while horseback riding.
Women wear puffy, knee-length skirts made of white and red fabric. The skirts often have floral patterns. Their blouses will have ¾ sleeves with red and white ribbons. They’ll also wear ribbons or flowers in their hair.
The Amazon
Now, on to the Amazon region of Colombia. Many of the ethnic groups that live in the region still retain their indigenous ways of dressing themselves and wear loincloths and some jewelry, but not much else. Some men will wear white trousers or a wraparound skirt to cover themselves. Some women will wear calf-length skirts and white blouses.
Insular Region
The Insular region of Colombia is a series of islands in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. The inhabitants of these islands do not have any of their own traditional clothing. This is because the people who inhabit these islands have changed from one group to another over the years, frequently enough that there was never enough time to establish their own culture or traditions.
You won’t find too many people wearing any of the above, not if you walk down a random street in a random city in Colombia. Cultural clothing isn’t exactly everyday wear anymore. The closest equivalent to regional clothing in modern days would probably be football jerseys, with different regions supporting different football clubs.
There’s no denying that clothing does more than just cover bodies or keep warm in the cold. Clothing is woven into the fabric of culture, no pun intended. It’s not just a way for people to express their allegiance or their personal style.
Colombian clothing culture is passed down from one generation to another, much like any other aspect of culture., and much like any other aspect of culture, it’s heritage, it’s a connection to generations past, and in indigenous communities, that connection can be particularly important in the face of a modern world that doesn’t seem to care about that kind of thing.
Plenty of aspects of culture are becoming somewhat homogenized. Studios based in North America don’t just dominate their home market, they also dominate other countries. Music from South Korea charts all over the world. People in South America are exposed to Japanese culture via its animation.
Given those foreign influences, it’s not hard to lose track of local culture. But Colombian clothing culture is an easy way to stay connected to the local heritage.
