Traditional Mexican Clothing

A Hot Mexican Fiesta

When I was young, all I knew about Mexico was Speedy Gonzales the impish little cartoon mouse who always taught those cats a lesson. Little did I know that there was a whole country beyond the cartoon world of Speedy and those pesky cats! The beauty, the culture the history and particularly for me, the food all go to make Mexico a country of true wonderment.

And all of this really comes to shine at Fiesta. A Mexican fiesta, meaning festival, party or holiday is a riot of colors, sounds and smells as people come together to celebrate whatever is being celebrated or perhaps more simply to celebrate the celebration itself. In part, you can recreate this atmosphere by throwing your own Mexican Fiesta themed fancy dress party. Your choice of location need not be limited you could celebrate your Fiesta at home indoors or outside, in a hall or arrange it for a local Mexican themed restaurant if you wish to have less stress as they will arrange the menu and drinks.

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Select your date, select your venue and create your guest list. Now prepare your invitations. These can be pre-printed and purchased from your local party shop or stationery store and these are perfectly ok, but for something more spectacular why not design and make your own. This always allows you to be creative and you can theme the invitation to the character of your guests. Maybe you would want to cut your invitations into the shape of Mexico and colour using the national colours of the Mexican flag. Or use a computer printed Sombrero which you can also cut out. Or for something awesome, you might want to create your invitation in the form of a Tacho with shredded green tissue for lettuce etc with the invitation being either on the Tacho shell or inside on the 'filling' - hey, why not go all the way and use real Tacho shells! If you are planning this as a fancy dress party, be sure to include this on your invitations.

Once you have the invitations out it's time to consider your decoration. You can have a background theme of Mexican flags, Sombreros and Cactus plants. If the thought of live cacti scares you, there are plenty of cheap cardboard cut-outs which can be suspended from the ceiling or fixed to the wall. There are also three dimensional honeycomb paper cacti which make perfect table centres or buffet table decorations. If you are looking for maximum wall coverage at a reasonable price, why not use a large map of Mexico and if you are well travelled, or your guest are, you can mark it with all of the places you have been and for an added personal touch, you could mount some photographs or postcards and draw a line back to the location that they came from.

If your Fiesta is outdoors then flag bunting in multiple colours makes a great addition providing you can get it high enough. This may require special supports but the results are always worth the additional effort. And don't forget the piñata which are available in all manner of shapes and sizes.

Mariachi is the music of a Mexican Fiesta. If you can afford it, you could hire a Mariachi band otherwise spend some time in the CD library and find something appropriate. For alternative background music try a little light listening with Herb Albert and his Tijuana Brass and any guests dressed as Mariachi musicians can play all of the air instruments that they can imagine!

Ah! the food. Grab our specialist Mexican cookbook gather your ingredients and cook away my friends and I'm savouring the results right now. If you are new to preparing Mexican cuisine, a little practise may be required, especially if you plan to use fiery chillies. Calm the fieriness of the jalapeño with the coolness of the avocado both really invocative of Mexico. And I'm sure you will find plenty of willing volunteers to help you judge your results as everyone loves a Mexican feast. For some quick Mexican snacks, try salsa with tortilla chips, tacos, enchiladas and the list goes on.

The invitations - done. The decoration - done. The music - done. The food - done. And now the costumes, there are plenty of Mexican themed costumes available to rent or buy from your local store or online and these can be vary from the simple to the very elaborate. Take time to look around for the available costumes; Mexican Mariachi musician suits, Mexican ladies, Mexican Bandits, Tequila Shot man and for the more whacky of you, Mexican man on Donkey and Tequila Bottle. Costumes - done.

Karnival Costumes stocks a huge selection of fancy dress costumes and accessories based on the characters from around the world including our favourites from Mexico; go to: http://www.karnival-house.co.uk/acatalog/Around_the_World_Fancy_Dress_Costumes_1.html

With a huge selection of party themes to select from Karnival Costumes has become one of the leading online fancy dress providers in the UK. For a truly huge range of costumes and accessories; go to: http://www.karnival-house.co.uk/index.html

Feel free to browse our website and purchase your costumes and accessories in a secure environment and with confidence from one of the leading costume suppliers in the UK.

We also have a large selection of articles on a wide range of party themed topics and offer a downloadable brochure service. Why not take a look today and join our newsletter for up to date information on the latest trends in costumes, news and notification of our special offers

Article submitted by: KV Sinclair. Keith Sinclair has over 35 years of business experience and in addition to being a part time University Lecturer on Business Studies, he is CEO of Cavalcade; a group of companies operating in the party sector. Cavalcade operates Karnival-House karnival-house.co.uk one of the UK's leading internet Fancy Dress Retailers. With massive stocks for immediate dispatch and an ever expanding range, Karnival-House continues to strive simply to offer outstanding service combined with outstanding value.

All things Latin are considered romantic and sexy, this includes their dances, their men, women and of course their dress styles. In the fashion world Latin dress styles are designed from a mixture of various individual traditions with the emphasis being on shapes and colors. This is why the nuances of the Latin dress styles are so tantalizing and extravagant with lots of movement. They are designed for ease of wear and comfort as well as show and beauty.

There are dresses for all occasions such as ballroom dancing, salsa dancing, tango dancing and they are all designed with a flare for color and movement that can only come from the Latin community. The use of bold colors like black, red, orange and bright blue are a staple of the Latin community’s style, fringes and flare are simple prerequisite. Think of all the beautiful Latin style dresses you’ve seen on Shakira and other notable Spanish musical artists, they have a beautiful drape to the skirts that swirl like no other traditional type of dress. In her “Hips Don’t Lie” video Shakira’s skirts stretches out to arms length away from her body, with enough drape and swirl to emphasize the beauty of her hips, and to show off the rhythm of her dancing in the swishing of the folds. This is true Latin style.

Shawls are another staple of Latin dress styles for women, from peasant workers to precocious preteens you find swishy shawls at work, wrapped around shoulders neatly, to accentuate the colors of the shirt and skirt worn underneath. Or better yet, you find them decorating hips, providing a swish of color, fringe and movement in an otherwise unremarkable outfit. Latin women are thought to be some of the most voluptuous in the world and their jeans and capris work to emphasize and enhance their curves, it is rumored that the current hipster jeans had their start in the Latin community and spread from there.

The men of the Latin community are not forgotten in this article, nor in Latin dress styles. Their shirts, especially for the younger generation, tend to run a little bit tighter than in other circles and in a broader range of colors. Latin men will wear the rainbow, and aren’t bothered by a little thing like pastel colors unlike Anglo men who feel their masculinity threatened by binding clothing. Latin men are full of ‘machismo’; the ideal of perfect masculinity is more along the lines of bravery and boldness, not abstaining from wearing pink. Latin men are proud of their bodies and not ashamed to show them off in their tight t-shirts and jeans. The same goes for Latin women; they appreciate their curves and their hips and love to emphasize the rhythm of their movement with free flowing material that follows that beat.

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Find more great tips and ideas on dressing at http://www.allaboutdresses.net/ a website offering tips, advice and resources on topics such as dress styles, dresses by Jennifer Lopez, teen fashion and even jingle dresses.

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Bandhani skirts in vibrant colors from India are a craze this season! You're looking at a lovely long skirt which would surely turn a lot of heads. The skirt is in striking Orange, Lemon Yellow and Blue and is elegantly embellished with hand sewn silver discs all over. Lovely petite floral & geometrical motifs in Tie and Dye (Bandhani) adorn every inch of the skirt. This gorgeous skirt is full flowing and has a huge bottom span of 130"! The highlight of this skirt is a 3" beaded Kundan Brocade belt that adorns the waist. 4" long beaded dangling tassels on a side are a visual delight! This is an exceptional piece of workmanship & skill. Radiate a spectacularly ethnic look and add style to your wardrobe. You'll have to just stare at this dramatic conversational ethnic piece of art for hours to believe the unbelievable! A classic example of worksmanship & skill, this set is a true treasure. Not seen in stores across the U.S, this ethnic treasure is sure to bring plenty of compliments!

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Bandhani skirts in vibrant colors from India are a craze this season! You're looking at a lovely long skirt which would surely turn a lot of heads. The skirt is in striking Red and Blue and is elegantly embellished with hand sewn silver discs all over. Lovely petite floral & geometrical motifs in Tie and Dye (Bandhani) adorn every inch of the skirt. This gorgeous skirt is full flowing and has a huge bottom span of 140"! The highlight of this skirt is a 1.5" kundan beaded , embroidery & sequin work belt with dangling tassles that adorn the waist. This is an exceptional piece of workmanship & skill. Radiate a spectacularly ethnic look and add style to your wardrobe. You'll have to just stare at this dramatic conversational ethnic piece of art for hours to believe the unbelievable! A classic example of worksmanship & skill, this set is a true treasure. Not seen in stores across the U.S, this ethnic treasure is sure to bring plenty of compliments!