Traditional Mexican Dress

The traditional Mexican dress is also called “typical dress” from the different states or regions of Mexico. 

There are beautiful typical Mexican dress designs in every corner of Mexico and they are used in religious, patriotic or cultural celebrations.

We have compiled below a gallery of some of the most famous traditional dresses.

Jalisco Traditional Mexican Dress

The typical dress from Jalisco has a striking design and is actually a skirt and matching blouse.

It consists of a very wide skirt with ribbon stripes in the middle that form a star, and more ribbon stripes at the bottom end. The blouse has a high collar, and matching stripes in the sleeves.

It is very similar to the so called an Escaramuza dress. (Escaramuza Charra is the name given to the female that participates in the sport of Charreria).

Tabasco Traditional Mexican Dress

The typical dress from Tabasco is usually a skirt using a flower print fabric, a white blouse, and embroidery figures in the collar and sleeves.

This one in particular is a modern design from the Mayan Chontal indigenous women. They also like to wear sophisticated hairstyle with flowers.

Their clothing has evolved through history; in the past before the Spanish arrived, they had a simpler apron and top. With the textile industry developing, they started to create their own textile designs.

Chontal tabasco traditional dress with stamped fabric skirt and white blouseTabasco Traditional Dress

Here is another traditional Mexican dress from the same region.

This is the gala version of the Tabasco traditional dress which uses a dark blue skirt with beautiful stripes of embroidered flowers in vivid colors at the waist and near the bottom of the skirt.

This design will make you look very elegant

As you can see the blouse and flower stripes are common with the typical Chontal dress above.

Michoacan Traditional Mexican Dress

Michoacán is the state of Mexico where Purepechas have lived for a long time, in the land around Lake Patzcuaro.

Women use sophisticated clothing: A skirt with a pattern, a long blouse with embroidery at the bottom and around the neck, a belt strapped on the back, and usually a rebozo.

Blouses with more embroidery are used in special celebrations.

Aprons are also typically used and they also have nice cross stitch embroidery decoration.

Campeche Traditional Dress

Campeche is a state in the Yucatan Peninsula where the Mayan civilization once flourished.

The cloth in Campeche is different than the typical Mayan clothing found in the surrounding areas due to the Spanish influence.

This city was a walled city during the Spanish colonization and was an important commerce port.

The dress used a huipil blouse usually with black thread embroidery around the square collar. The embroidered design had the resemblance of onions and pumpkin flowers. The skirt was ankle long usually made out of fine Spanish print fabric. They also use the typical rebozo or headscarf.

Tehuana Traditional Dress

The Tehuana traditioanl dress is used in the region of the Tehuantepec Istmus; mainly in the states of Tabasco, Oaxaca and Veracruz.

This type of clothing complements other regional costumes from the region such as the Huipil.

This particular dress named “Flor Tehuana” was designed by Israel Matamoros Cruz for the Miss Mexico contest in 2011. This traditional Mexican dress features vivid color flowers embroidered by hand.

Veracruz Traditional Mexican Dress

This dress typical of the state of Veracruz is truly a work of art worn by Adriana in a Miss Veracruz contest in 2011.

The typical Veracruz dress has a wide and waving skirt in white with embroidery and typical lace, a blouse in the same color, and an apron usually in black with embroidery of flowers. It is usually accompanied with a shawl in silk or other nice fabric. The set is completed with accessories like a fan, and three flowers dressing the head. Flowers on the left side mean the woman is single, and flowers on the right mean the woman is married.

Chiapas Traditional Mexican Dress

The Chiapas typical dress is truly a unique work of art; very different from the dresses in other parts of Mexico.

It is made by hand my local women originally from the town of Chiapa de Corzo.

It consists of a wide skirt with a full decoration of stripes with colorful and stunning flowers usually embroidered in silk or similar thread (articela). Some people say that flowers represent the region diversity, and they are embroidered on a black background which represents the dense jungle.

There is a wide variety of traditional Mexican dress styles. Basically each state has its own customs and traditions. They all share the representation of art that makes them unique and culture rich.

Mexican dresses offer a merge of style, tradition and fashion.