Serape (Sarap) - part of the national men's clothing Indians in Latin America, cape, cloak of cotton. This functional piece of clothing has been improved had come on Indian lands Spaniards settled in XYI century wool production. Depending on the quality of manufacture and coloring wool serape was used in all social strata, it was worn as Europeans and American Indian tribes. Convenient cape and went to the women's everyday life.
Mexican serape is often called a shawl, it looks like a soft blanket or rug with a rectangular hole for the head, often decorated with a fringe around the edges. The front and rear edge of the cushion can reach up to the knees, the length of the sides - from the elbow and below, it is possible to add a collar or hood. The simplest pattern on vintage striped serape was where the color bands depended on the color of the wool of sheep: black, gray, brown. Modern serape or woven from colored yarns or fibers, or made from dyed fabrics. In the research literature also suggests that serape refers to the Spanish inventions, partially modified the poncho - originally an Indian attribute outerwear.