The traje de flamenca ("flamenco outfit") is the costume worn by female flamenco

Flamenco

Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....

 dancers during their performances.

The traje de flamenca is the most characteristic visual element of flamenco. It is a long dress that reaches to the ankle, and which is adorned with ruffles

Ruffles

Ruffles is the name of a brand of ruffled potato chips produced by Frito-Lay. Frito Company acquired the rights to Ruffles brand potato chips in 1958....

 in both the skirt

Skirt

A skirt is a tube- or cone-shaped garment that hangs from the waist and covers all or part of the legs.In the western world, skirts are usually considered women's clothing. However, there are exceptions...

 and sleeve

Sleeve

Sleeve is that part of a garment which covers the arm, or through which the arm passes or slips. The pattern of the sleeve is one of the characteristics of fashion in dress, varying in every country and period...

s. It is typically brightly colored and may be either plain or patterned, with the most typical being the polka dot

Polka dot

Polka dot is a pattern consisting of an array of filled circles, generally equally sized and spaced relatively closely in relation to their diameters. Polka dots are most commonly seen on children's clothing, toys, and furniture, but they appear in a wide array of contexts...

ted traje de lunares. Traditionally, the outfit is worn with hair up in a bun

Bun (hairstyle)

A bun is a type of hairstyle, typically worn by women, where the hair is pulled back from the face, twisted or plaited, and wrapped in a circular coil around itself, typically on the back of the head or neck. They can either be secured with a hairpiece, a hairnet and bobby pins. They may be...

 and is accompanied by a mantle

Mantle (clothing)

A mantle is a type of loose garment usually worn over indoor clothing to serve the same purpose as an overcoat...

 worn over the shoulders.

The outfit was originally worn by Spanish Gypsies (Roma people), but is now generally thought of as typically Andalusia

Andalusia

Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...

n and is particularly associated with Andalusian festivals such as the Seville Fair

Seville Fair

The Seville Fair is held in the Andalusian capital of Seville, Spain. The fair generally begins two weeks after the Semana Santa, or Easter Holy Week....

 (Feria de Abril). The outfit originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when women vendors dressed in modest calico gowns adorned with ruffles came to the fairs along with livestock traders. In time, women of the propertied classes copied these outfits worn originally be rural workers. Ever since the Seville Fair of 1929, the traje de flamenca has had a status as the official outfit of the event.

The traje de flamenca and fashion

The traje de flamenca has undergone changes over the century or more that it has been in widespread use. For example, in the 1960s and '70s, the skirts got shorter, with skirts reaching only to the middle of the calf or even to the knee. Beginning in the 1970s, the hemlines dropped back to the ankle.

In the early 21st century there are a wide variety of designs of traje de flamenca for women and girls. They come in a variety of colors, plain or patterned, with short or long sleeves, and more or fewer ruffles. This folkloric outfit has inspired numerous Spanish and international fashion designers, among them Victorio & Lucchino, who have their own line of trajes de flamenca. Others who have been influenced include Yves Saint Laurent, John Galliano

John Galliano

John Charles Galliano CBE, RDI is a Gibraltan-born British fashion designer who was best known as head designer of French haute couture houses Givenchy and Christian Dior , and his own self titled fashion house.-Family:He was born in Gibraltar to a Gibraltarian father, Juan Galliano, and a...

, Valentino Garavani, and Tom Ford

Tom Ford

Thomas Carlyle "Tom" Ford is an American fashion designer and film director. He gained international fame for his turnaround of the Gucci fashion house and the creation of the Tom Ford label before directing the Oscar-nominated film A Single Man.-Early life :Tom Ford was born August 27, 1961 in...

.

New designs in trajes de flamenca are shown annually at the Salón Internacional de la Moda Flamenca (SIMOF), which celebrated its 15th year in 2009. The event takes place at the start of the year in Seville

Seville

Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...

. In 2009, 32 designers showed 1,200 different outfits; there were also fashion accessories from 90 firms.