As the book La Indumentaria Tradicional de Lagartera (Traditional Clothing of Lagartera) (1) explains very well, there are several versions of the costume, or, in other words, several costumes. Some are for summer, others for winter. Some are for celebrations, others for weddings. There are also mourning and every day versions. Within each category, there is quite a lot of variety, especially in what was worn at weddings. You needed quite a lot of money to buy the most expensive fabrics and decorations.
These photos are from 1980, when few women from Lagartera wore the traditional ‘everyday dress’, and many of those who did, like Aunt Leoncia, who can be seen later, were in mourning. The very formal, colourful, and decorated costumes were worn on special days, such as Las Mondas de Talavera, a festival for the Talavera region, where groups from the villages in the region show off their costumes in the town of Talavera. Taking part in this event is relatively recent, and reflects a change in the function of the costume, from clothing worn everyday to clothing only worn on special occasions.
The first photo shows a group of women and men from Lagartera at Las Mondas.
The next two photos are from the return trip from Talavera to Lagartera by bus: Shown here are first Carmen Jimenez and then Esperanza Santillana with Miguel Ángel Cantero.
By 1980, few weddings were celebrated in traditional dress, although other wedding customs were still observed, such as the bride’s hen night with her friends, when her women friends told jokes, and the ‘rondas’, when friends sang outside the bride’s house. The following photos are from a wedding where the bride and groom and their relatives and friends did wear traditional ‘garterano’ dress.
First we see the bride with her father-in-law.
And then, the bride and next, the bride and groom leaving the church.
The children at the wedding also wore traditional attire, dressed with the help of adults.
Dressing in traditional clothes for a celebration is no easy task. Even adult women need helpers. Here is Amada with hers, her mother, her neighbour Pilar, and her aunt Victorina.
And when she is finished, Amada checks herself in the mirror to make sure everything is in order.
Her companion is Mari Cruz, already dressed, sitting down to show off her costume, and then standing with her neighbours and Amada’s sister, Pilar, behind her.
They go out into the street. How beautiful they are, and how pretty the whitewashed wall behind them is!
The next photo is of Aunt María, Julian’s mother and Luis’s grandmother. She didn’t need help getting dressed, as she wore the more relaxed “everyday” version. (The photo isn’t very good, but it’s the only colour photo I have of a someone who still wore the traditional costume every day, apart from Aunt Leoncia, below.)
Aunt Leoncia, who didn’t need help either.
Amada and Mari Cruz had dressed up for the Offertory of Our Lady of the Rosary. Her statue is taken out of the church, and then the offertory takes place.
Our Lady is carried to La Corredera, the square behind the church. Amada, Mari Cruz, and the altar boys are waiting there.
Amada collects the offerings on a tray.
The children participate in their own way.
By 1980, the function of traditional dress had changed from being clothing worn every day to clothing worn on special occasions. In the first half of the 20th century, everyday clothing had to be more practical, less decorated, and more flexible than formal wear, especially considering that many people lived on little money and what they wore had to withstand the hard life of our ancestors. Women did many tasks that could damage their clothes. Some women even helped in the fields, though by the end of the 1970s, most women embroidered at home. Specialists such as José Maria Alía, can help us to better understand the evolution of Lagarteran clothing. Here I offer some memories from 1980, a year of many changes.
Text: Alison Lever, with help from Amada Lozano Moreno y José Alía García.
Photos: Alison Lever
Lagartera, December 2025
For those who would like to know more:
Indumentaria Tradicional de Lagartera
Author: Alía Garcia, José
ISBN: 978-84-09-72796-4
EAN: 9788409727964
Year: 2025
No. of pages: 412
Size: 24.5cm X 28.5cm
Binding: Hardcover
Indumentaria Tradicional de Lagartera (Traditional Clothing of Lagartera) is a wonderful book for many reasons. It’s a book written and illustrated with high-quality photos and drawings by Lagarterans, and the text is very clearly written. The official author and leader of the research team is José Alía Garcia. The team’s aim has been to describe the different traditional costumes of Lagartera during the historical period between the latter half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century with as much historical accuracy as possible.
José emphasises that this has been a collaborative effort. Pilar Lozano Pascual is on the research team and has also contributed almost all of the modern photographs of the clothing. Julián Garcia Alía, also on the team, has contributed the drawings. Hortensia and Mari Carmen Moreno Garcia, Amada Lozano Moreno, and Isabel Jiménez Amor are among the researchers, while María Alía Garcia has specialized in the ‘hijuelas’, or lists of inherited property, which help us understand what was valued in the past. In addition, many Lagarterans have offered anecdotes, and examples of clothing for the photos.
Some outsiders have also contributed their knowledge, such as José Barea, the author of the front and back cover photos. He is a professional photographer who has contributed selflessly. José Barea is well-known (and has won awards) above all for his work “Bestiarium,” a delightful study featuring portraits of the different native livestock breeds of Spain.
Many people who have contributed remember the days when women wore traditional dress every day, as well as hearing about it from their grandmothers and mothers, so this is a glimpse into a reality experienced by those who recount what it was like for them. It is a more intimate view than an outside academic could offer. In the academic world, it is easy to communicate with other academics without developing the skills needed to communicate with the public. There may also be pressure to seek personal prestige within this world to advance one’s career. This book is more like a love letter to the traditions of the people of Lagartera, written from personal experience. For these reasons, the book is very accessible to the public. It also has little text. Apart from the prologue, preface, and introduction, most of the book consists of illustrations of the garments with explanatory captions.
After the introduction comes women’s clothing, the longest section, because it is the most striking. It is the image that most Spaniards have when they hear a mention of ‘the traditional costume of Lagartera’. After the women’s attire, comes traditional men’s clothing, and finally children’s clothing. This is followed by Documentation and bibliography, a list of sources. Then comes Advice and information, another list of people who have helped in these spheres, and finally, a third list acknowledging people who have contributed by providing loans of garments and vintage photographs.
The book is in Spanish, but even so, most of it is accessible to ‘guiris’, English speakers who are not fluent in Spanish, as there is little text and the same format is used for each version of the costume, so some sentences are repeated a lot. There are words for items of clothing that even many Spanish speakers don’t know, but the photos explain what they mean. Accompanying the book is a small booklet described as a practical guide to the clothing, with drawings by Julián Alía Garcia.
Producing this deluxe edition has meant spending a lot of money, and the Lagartera Town Council helped with this, in exchange for the economic rights (but not the intellectual rights).
How can you buy the book? There are two ways:
1) In person: at Lagartera Town Hall for €35.
2) Mail order: if you send an email to administracion@lagartera.es. you will be provided with a quote for shipping and more details on purchasing the book.