Clothing was an important part of Inca society. The status of a person in a society can be easily identified just by looking at the dress of a person. Archaeologist gathered many information on Inca clothing as in imperial days it was enforced on the conquered populations. Enormous information on Inca costume are painted on pottery vessels.
In the highlands than on the coast, warmer clothing was worn. In the earliest periods, the inhabitants of the former region wore wool, the latter only had cotton, but at a very early time trade made both materials were available everywhere. These textile fibers, wool from the highlands and cotton were practically suggested monopolies and were distributed to people on regular basis. Clothing everywhere consisted of woven or knitted textiles. Clothing worn as whole, never cut or tailored. They were held together by large metal pins. The garments of the common people were of rather coarse textiles.
Inca nobles wore rich costume. Their dresses were of the finest wool of the vicuna, richly dyed, and ornamented with a profusion of gold and precious stones. Nobles also wore the llautu, with a tasseled fringe. All people during that regime wore jewelry. Inca and Nobles always wore gold jewelry.
Men usually wore a sleeveless tunic, made of a doubled-layered cloth and sewn together along the edges, the bottom being left open, was also worn. A large cloak, was worn over the shoulders with two corners tied in front. Sometimes this passed under one arm to leave the latter free for activity. Breech cloth, tunic, and cloak were all of cloth woven with colored ornamentation. Inca sandals were made of materials such as braided fiber.
Hair styles varied greatly from tribe to tribe, but Inca men cut their hair, leaving it short in front, medium long behind.
Women wore a one-piece dress that combined skirt and blouse, reaching to the ankles and bound at the waist by a long, wide, woven, and ornamental sash. At the top, it reached to the neck, the upper edges fastened together over the shoulders by long pins and passing under the arms at the sides. Like all garments, this dress was a large rectangular piece of woven cloth, merely wound around the body. The analogue of the man's cloak was a large mantle, worn over the shoulders and fasted at the front with a large straight metal pin known astopo. The women wore sandals and head bands similar to the ones men used. Usually they wore a large piece of folded cloth on the head. They did not cut their hair but parted it in the middle and wore it hanging down the back.
Inca used different type of paint on face and body. During war they used war paint. On each special and ceremonial occasions they used face painting. To mourn they used black paint. On ceremony and other occasion they used red and purple color. Records were found that tattooing was practiced on the coast it is still not known whether it was used in the highlands.
After the Colonization of the Spanish, Cloth was divided into three classes. Awaska was used for household use and had a threadcount of about 120 threads per inch. Finer cloth was called qunpi and was divided into two classes. The first, woven by male qunpikamayuq (keepers of fine cloth), was collected as tribute from throughout the country and was used for trade, to adorn rulers, and to be given as gifts to political allies and subjects to cement loyalty. The other class of qunpi ranked highest. It was woven by aqlla (female virgins of the sun god temple) and used solely for royal and religious use. These had threadcounts of 600 or more per inch, unexcelled anywhere in the world until the Industrial Revolution in the nineteenth century.
Kids with their faces painted
This is a man wearing the Inca costume
