How to Wear Traditional Mariachi Attire

A mariachi band is a musical group with Mexican origins. Mariachi bands normally dress in ornate clothing with large sombreros. However, traditional Mariachi attire was much simpler in the early years of mariachi music. The members of the band were working class people in rural towns. Wearing traditional mariachi attire is fairly simple but does require some special clothing.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Wear a large straw sombrero with a hat band and a chin strap. A sombrero is a large Mexican decorative hat. The chin straps are thin pieces of material or leather. They allow the hat to be worn on the back or placed on the head while playing.
2. Put on straight-cut pants made of a muslin material. Add a decorative trim down the legs and around the waist of the pants. This is not necessary, but many prefer to add flare.
3. Wear a fitted button-down cotton shirt that is the same color as the pants. In traditional mariachi bands the shirts were made from the same material as the pants.
4. Tie a red sash around your waist. Allow it to dangle to one side. These sashes were often made of cotton; the mariachi band members were working class people and could not afford more expensive materials.
5. Drape a red or black wool blanket over one shoulder. You may tuck the blanket into the sash to hold it into place.
6. Wear simple huaraches-traditional Mexican sandals. Most of the later mariachi bands wear cowboy boots instead of these sandals.