What can be said of the Gypsy dress, of which such frequent mention
is made in the Spanish laws, and which is prohibited together with
the Gypsy language and manner of life? Of whatever it might
consist in former days, it is so little to be distinguished from
the dress of some classes amongst the Spaniards, that it is almost
impossible to describe the difference. They generally wear a high-
peaked, narrow-brimmed hat, a zamarra of sheep-skin in winter, and,
during summer, a jacket of brown cloth; and beneath this they are
fond of exhibiting a red plush waistcoat, something after the
fashion of the English jockeys, with numerous buttons and clasps.
A faja, or girdle of crimson silk, surrounds the waist, where, not
unfrequently, are stuck the cachas which we have already described.
Pantaloons of coarse cloth or leather descend to the knee; the legs
are protected by woollen stockings, and sometimes by a species of
spatterdash, either of cloth or leather; stout high-lows complete
the equipment.
Such is the dress of the Gitanos of most parts of Spain. But it is
necessary to remark that such also is the dress of the chalans, and
of the muleteers, except that the latter are in the habit of
wearing broad sombreros as preservatives from the sun.
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