Traditional fashion in Portugal is still worn on special occasions, like holidays and culture shows. Portugal doesn’t have one national outfit, but many outfits according to the profession or occasion the person is dressed for. They’re usually very simple, but lovely and vary according to the region people are from.

Most clothes are in basic, strong colors, such as black, red, green and white. They’re made of natural fabrics like linen, cotton, burlap, wool and even straw, sometimes. The finer fabrics are embroidered in skirt hems and shirt collars, making them even more colorful.

In Viana do Castelo for example, a lovely city in the north of the country, brides are married in black, unlike other Portuguese brides. They wear black coats and long skirts with white embroidery and fine lace veils, and finish the outfit with dozens of gold filigree necklaces draped over their chests.

Nowadays, most people wear modern clothing in their everyday life and keep traditional outfits if they belong to a folklore group that dances or plays traditional music. Each region will have special patterns and colors, but the basic outfit will look the same. The men have dark wool trousers tied at the waist with a fringed sash and matching vests over white shirts, and short brim hats. In the islands, they tuck their trousers under knee-high socks and wear a felt cap (it looks like Santa Claus’ hat). The ladies wear single ruffle skirts in bright colors like red, long or about mid-leg, with white socks on clogs. They also wear white shirts and sometimes embroidered aprons over the skirts. On their heads, they sport fringed scarves or little rolls of fabric so that they can balance baskets on their heads.

Online Portuguese lessons for kids: dinolingo.com