A ruffled dress worn by women at festivals in Andalusia, Spain. It comes in a dancer's version and a day dress, usually bright and often polka-dotted, and is finished with a Manila shawl and flowers in the hair. It has been worn since around 1900.
When is Traje de flamenca kept?
Traje de flamenca is kept at the ferias, the fairs held across Andalusia.
The traje de flamenca, or flamenco dress, is the outfit women wear to the ferias of Andalusia in southern Spain. Two shapes exist: one cut for dancers, one for everyday wear. Ruffles, bright colour and a Manila shawl mark it out. Once linked to Roma vendors at the fairs, it is now simply Andalusian, and it still sets the look of the region's festivals.
What it is
Women wear this dress to the ferias, the fairs held across Andalusia. It comes in two cuts. The day version fits close to the body as far as the upper thigh, then falls in tiers of ruffles down to the ankle. Because that shape is hard to walk in, let alone dance in, the dancer's version begins to flare higher up, around the hip, so the legs can move. Ruffles edge both the skirt and the sleeves. Colours are strong, often black or red, and the fabric may be plain or patterned. The polka-dot version has its own name, traje de lunares.
Origins and history
The dress is often credited to the Gitanos, the Roma people of Spain, though it is now seen as Andalusian more broadly. Its beginnings lie around 1900. Women who sold goods at the fairs wore plain calico gowns with ruffle trim, and they arrived alongside the livestock traders. Wealthier women took up the look, and it spread. From the Seville Exposition of 1929 onwards it has served as the official dress of that event. That standing helped fix the outfit as a marker of Andalusian identity at fair time.
Changes over time
The style has shifted repeatedly. In the 1960s and 1970s hems were cut shorter, some as high as the knee, in a fashion named after the singer Marisol. From the 1970s the ruffles were brought back down to the ankle so they would not catch the eye on the legs. In 1987 Madonna wore a red flamenco dress in the video for La Isla Bonita, and the look travelled widely after that. By the early 2000s there were many variations for women and girls: different colours, plain or patterned cloth, long or short sleeves, and more ruffles or fewer.
The fashion trade
Designers in Spain and abroad keep returning to the dress. Victorio & Lucchino have a line of their own, and names such as Tom Ford, Valentino Garavani, John Galliano and Yves Saint Laurent have drawn on it. New work is shown each year at the Salón Internacional de la Moda Flamenca, or SIMOF, held in Seville at the start of the year. The fair marked its 30th edition in 2025. In 2026 about 120 brands and designers presented more than 1,500 outfits over 52 shows, mixing individual, collective and territorial collections.
How Traje de flamenca is kept
At fair time women put on the dress and go out to the feria grounds. A woman in the day version can walk the streets and the casetas; a dancer wears the flared cut for the sevillanas and other dances. The outfit is finished before leaving the house: the Manila shawl goes over the shoulders, the hair is gathered into a bun, flowers are pinned in, and a decorative comb may be added. Girls wear the dress too. At the annual SIMOF shows in Seville, models present the new season's designs on the catwalk.
When and where
The dress belongs to the feria season in Andalusia, when each town holds its fair, and to flamenco performance whenever it is staged. SIMOF, the fashion show for new designs, falls at the beginning of the year in Seville. There is no single fixed date for the outfit itself; it follows the fair calendar of the region.
It is kept in Andalusia, in the south of Spain, and is strongest at the ferias of the region's towns and cities. Seville is the city most tied to it: the 1929 Seville Exposition gave the dress its official standing there, and the SIMOF fashion shows are held in the city each year.
What Traje de flamenca means
To wear the traje de flamenca is to show that you belong to the feria and to Andalusia. The dress carries the region's self-image: ruffle, bright cloth, the shawl, flowers in the hair. Its link with the Gitanos is remembered, even as people now describe it as Andalusian. For dancers it is both costume and statement, a shape built for movement. For the cities that hold the fairs, it is the look that says the festival has begun.
Questions people ask about Traje de flamenca
When is Traje de flamenca kept?
Traje de flamenca is kept at the ferias, the fairs held across Andalusia.
What is the traje de flamenca?
It is the dress women wear to the ferias of Andalusia in Spain. There are two forms, a day dress and a version cut for dancers, and it is known too as the traje de gitana.
Where is it worn?
In Andalusia, the southern region of Spain, and above all in Seville, where the 1929 Exposition made it the official dress of the event. Women wear it at the local fairs, and dancers wear it on stage.
How is the outfit completed?
With a Manila shawl over the shoulders, the hair drawn into a bun and trimmed with flowers, and sometimes a decorative comb. The dress itself is usually bright, often black or red, and may be plain or patterned, with polka dots the best known.
See also
ZaragüellesWide, pleated breeches of Andalusian origin, worn as traditional dress in parts of Spain and Morocco.
PeinetaA curved decorative comb worn by women beneath a lace mantilla in the Hispanic world
HalloweenAn annual observance on 31 October marking the eve of All Saints' Day, rooted in Christian tradition and Celtic heritage
Father's DayA day to honour fathers and fatherhood, kept on many different dates worldwideGood reading and sources
- Traje de flamenca on WikipediaEncyclopedia
- More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
- Wikidata recordOpen data
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Traje de flamenca", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryParampara rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-09.
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