The clothing worn in the West Indies is very comfortable yet the designs are very elaborate. As the weather is quite hot most people wear light clothing. There are different typed of clothing for different styles. The people of West Indies almost always dress traditionally. 

     Calico Cloth

      No matter what type of clothing all clothes in the Caribbean are colourful. The clothes will hardly ever just be one colour especially white. The West Indian people wear lots of colours as it is part of their culture to do so, they are not afraid of something bold or bright, but yet at the same time are very conservative. 

      The most traditional type of clothing worn in the Caribbean are clothes made out of calico cloth. Clothes made out of calico are usually striped or plaid. The main types of clothing made from calico cloth are skirts and dresses. Women in the West Indies don’t settle for jeans or shorts but are more seen with dresses and skirts. On the heads, women traditionally wear a headscarf to keep their hair in place. These two feminine items are the main thing you will se Caribbean women wearing. Men go for simple clothing like shirts and jeans. However, these shirts and jeans would have their native country’s traditional styles. 

      The next main style that West Indian people choose from is the Rastafarian style. All Rastafarian clothes are the colours green, red, and gold which are the colours of the Ethiopian flag. It is modelled from the Ethiopian flag because many West Indians traced their roots back and found that they were originally from Ethiopia. A lot of west Indians were encouraged to do this by the emperor of Ethiopia. The tam is considered one of the most precious Rastafarian clothing items; the tam is used as a hat for dreadlocks. Rastafarian clothing has to be made out of natural fibres. In the summer you can also catch Caribbean people wearing normal shorts, sandals, hats, and shirts.       

               Rastafarian Clothing                         The Tam

      In Jamaica, the gangsters or street hustlers are called shottas. The shottas style is very expensive and many Jamaican can not afford to dress like them. Shottas would usually wear tight fitting, designer jeans. They would wear jackets modelled on the hip-hop style.  They also wear a lot of “bling”. The top item of bling worn is the necklace. Their signature piece, though are the tinted and highly priced sunglasses. Many celebrities (particularly hip-hop music artists) opt for the shotta style. 

      Jamaica consists of a large amount of poor people. A child who belongs to a poor family always wears his/hers older brother or sister’s clothes. Now some children are quite proud to wear their sibling’s old clothes but others do not enjoy having to wear the wrong size.

      In the West Indies there is also quite a significant Indian culture that contributes to the fashion as well. There is an Indian influence because many years ago Indians settled into the west Indies and became very successful. Caribbean women wear the shalwar, sari, and lehenga. The shalwar is a long shirt with short or long sleeves put together with long pants. This comes in many different designs and colours.

      The lehenga is similar to the shalwar except that instead of long pants there is a skirt. This too comes in many different patterns and colours. The West Indian women also wear a lot of jewellery such as bangles, sirbandi, and anklets. These special clothes are usually worn during celebrations such as Diwali where the clothing symbolizes light. During the Phagwah celebration the women will wear shalwars and lehengas. The sari’s that the women wear are made out of silk and are decorated with beautiful designs and colours. The sari is most often worn by women during religious ceremonies, and other functions. When a Guyanese girl is getting married she wears a special type of sari which is touched up with gold and silver trimmings. 

      When Guyanese men go to temples or any other religious functions they would wear a Kurta. This is a long and loose shirt that reaches knee-level. The Kurta is quite plain. The pants to match the shirt only come in the colour white. An accessory that men commonly wear is the kishti. This is a white hat that has the Hindi words “OM”, which means the ultimate reality. 

      In Jamaica there is a very traditional shirt that most men wear called the Guyabera. This shirt came about as a poor woman was stitching large pockets all over her husband’s shirt so that he could carry guavas. The original Guyabera contains four upper pockets and two lower pockets. Then there are two vertical rows of alforzas (pleats) which run over the front pockets and the back of the shirt. The top of the pockets contains a button as does the bottom of the alforzas. On the bottom of the shirt there is a three inch slit decorated with a small button. Because the shirt is straight – bottomed it can not be tucked into trousers. The cuffs of the shirt are either one buttoned or French- cuffed. The white Guyabera worn with a black bowtie is considered equivalent to the tuxedo in terms of formality. The traditional Guyabera is always white but nowadays it is available in many different colours and shades, as well as a short-sleeved version. Now there also Guyabera-style dresses for women.

      The traditional Cuban Guyabera is plain white with little or no decoration. In Jamaica the Guyabera is most often worn to office (by men) and is sometimes referred to as a “bush jacket,” In Trinidad & Tobago it is called a “shirt-jac,”