Figure 1.--A photo portait taken in San José de Costra Rica in the 1890s. Mother looks to be Mestizo. She is fasionably dressed. Note that her dress and the boy's blouse seem to have been dressed in similar material. The boy is wearing long pants. While she wears a fashionable dress, boys that age in America or Europe probably would have been wearing knee pants.

As far as we can tell, clothing in Costa Rica was very similar to that of the other Central American countries during the Spanish colonial era and the early independence period. Here the relatively small Amer-Indian population was a factor. The well-to-do dressed like Europeans. The rest of the population dressed in plain clothing and depending on their income a few European items. Photography began to appear (1840s), although we are unsure when the forst photographic studio opened in Costa Rica. The indutry spread very rapidly in the United Sttes, but more slowly in Latin America. Our archive pf 19th century Costa Rrican photographs is very limited. Boys tended to wear a simple shirt and mostly long pants and go barefooted. In San Jose we see them wearing European styles, in the countryside plainer clothing, but not as far as we can tell not white compesino garments more common in areas where Amer-indian populations. Our photographic archive is more extensive (20th century). Major changes began to occur after World War II when American boys' wear began to be the dominant styles worn. This is today the general pattern throughout Central America and Mexico.

Created: 2:44 AM 5/3/2026
Last updated: 2:44 AM 5/3/2026