It was very obvious that Lewis the Lion had entered a different country when he arrived in Bolivia, mainly because of the way the people dressed and in particular some of the women. Bolivia is made up of many indigenous groups and therefore people take a pride in showing their identity, often through the clothes they wear.
Lewis the Lion thought that some of the Aymara women, known commonly as Cholas or Cholitas looked very striking. They are normally dressed in big, voluminous layered skirts, sequenced shawls, bowler hats and with flat shoes. Often they have two long, black plaits running down their backs and sometimes these are tied together with colourful pom-poms. Lewis the Lion’s friend told him that this is sometimes a sign of whether a woman is married or not and represents her social status.
Women and men are often seen carrying goods (and sometimes babies) on their backs in brightly woven cloths. They are often striped and in bright colours.
Generally, the men tend to wear more western-style clothes: tracksuits, jackets, shirts, jeans, etc. but the difference is that the men also tend to wear caps. The same is true for the children. The hat is usually a sun-hat during the day or a warm woollen hat for the night-time. (Sometimes this wool is sourced from one of the local animals – alpacas).
Lewis the Lion just loved to sit and watch the world go by in Bolivia, particularly in La Paz where there was no shortage of women in bowler hats in the business district.
Here is a photo gallery of some of the people that Lewis the Lion saw whilst travelling around Bolivia:
For more information about clothing in Bolivia, go to this website.
Does the place where you live have a tradition way of dressing?
If so, what is it and when would you wear these clothes?