CLOTHINGS OF THE INCA PEOPLE

The peaked wool caps with ear flaps, which men and boys wore outdoors, were woven of colored thread and decorated with tassels. A woven or plaited cotton band kept the men’s long hair in place. Everyone had a shoulder bag or two, since there were no pockets in the clothing. These were also woven.

Until a boy reached 14 or 15 years, he wore only a knee-length shirt and a hair band, both modeled after his father’s. Girls wore the same garments their mothers wore. These were very simple – a loose, long dress that left the arm bare, and a cape-like shawl held together  in front by a copper pin.

A housewife on the coast wove her family’s clothing of cotton with wool added. The coast men also wore breechcloths, kilts, shirts and hair bands, but they did not need capes or wool caps to keep warm.

The Inca People always went barefoot at home. A way from home they wore sandals – heavy pieces of llama hide cut to the shape of the foot. Thongs of bast fiber or leather, tied at the heel, over the instep, and between the toes, held the sandals in place.

Like all weavers, the Indian women tried their best to make the clothing not only durable but attractive. Each village had its own styles and weaving designs. Inca people could tell where a man and his family came from by looking at the style of their clothing.