Home > Culture of Peru > Peruvian Clothing
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What is the clothing worn in Peru like? Is it different than the clothes we are used
to seeing? Where can I buy clothes from Peru?
These are good questions and the answers vary depending on the occasion; whether it's day-to-day wear, party clothes,
or haut couture with a Peruvian flare.
The clothing that most Peruvians wear in daily life and to work is what you might normally find in a shopping mall department store near you.
That's because the majority of Peruvians live in
cities and urban centers now rather than rural areas and are influenced
by television, movies, and magazines from the rest of the Western World.
On the other hand, away from the cities you will still find a measure
of traditional Peruvian clothing used by women and sometimes the men.
This is usually in the Andes region where the people are less
influenced by the Western world.
Also, for festivals, holidays, and general dressing-up occasions, you
will probably see a variety of designs, cuts, and colors that is
typically Peruvian and
culturally reflects Peru's history and heritage.
In the past centuries there were
a number of more or less dominating civilizations
in Peru. Each of them surely had a distinctive style. Some of the modes of dress can be seen
in a few preserved textiles but are more usually found depicted in pottery
or other more durable art.
Artists and designers draw freely from these influences of traditional
Peruvian textiles and clothing.
Unfortunately, as in any country, much of the clothing of
other Peruvian cultures with less durable art has not survived and can only be guessed at from some
few pieces of archaeological importance.
Humility and knowledge in poor clothes excel pride and
ignorance in costly attire. ~ William Penn |
For a more complete look at some of the styles that have survived, see Traditional Peruvian Textiles and Clothing.
Although styles commonly worn in Peru every day are similar to what is worn in other countries, clothing by designers in Peru, of course, exhibits the individual characteristics that identify the particular artist designing those styles.
Many of the clothing designers from Peru openly attribute their design style to the culture heritage surrounding them, drawing freely from the Inca patterns, their stone cutting shapes and images of plants and animals, and also the dress and colors popular at the traditional fiestas, holidays, and parties of Peru.
Some of those who attribute their designs to Peruvian heritage
currently at the cutting edge of Peruvian designers are:
Some of the up-and-coming younger designers include Emma
Giovanna
Sanchez Montoya, who was selected to attend the well-known
Istituto Marangoni in Milan, Paris and London, and to present her
fashions at the Pret-a-Porter fashion shows in January 2011.
Mainly, you will find the best clothing designed in Peru in
Lima and
Cusco. Other major cities have their own select clothing makers but
most end up in the hot spot of Peru fashion, Lima.
Where to find haut couture Peruvian clothing in
Lima:
Where to find designer Peruvian clothing in Cusco:
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