The Liqui liqui is the national costume for men in Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

 and eastern Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

.

Traditionally white, beige, cream or ecru in colour, it is also available in other shades. Recently, Liqui liquis have been worn by famous personalities in Venezuela for their wedding, in a renaissance of the traditional style of dressing – for example, by Leopoldo López

Leopoldo López

Leopoldo López Mendoza is a Venezuelan politician and economist. From 2000 until 2008, López was the mayor of the Chacao Municipality of Caracas. A 2006 Los Angeles Times article describes López as an immensely popular leader of the opposition to Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, as well as a...

, the mayor of the Caracas district of Chacao

Chacao

Chacao may refer to the following articles:*Chacao Municipality - a municipality of Caracas, Venezuela*Chacao Channel*Chacao Channel bridge*Chacao , a Venezuelan cacique from the 16th century*Chacao Indian...

, on the 10th of March 2007.

The Liqui liqui is traditionally made of linen or cotton cloth, although gabardine and wool can also be used in its elaboration. The outfit is made up of a pair of full-length trousers and a jacket. The jacket has long sleeves and a rounded Nehru-style collar, which is fastened and decorated by a “junta”, or a chain link similar to a shirt cuff, which joins the two ends of the collar. The jacket is also fastened by 5-6 buttons, and may or may not have pockets (if so, no more than four). Overall, the outfit is very simple and has clean, elegant lines. Traditionally, the Liqui liqui is worn with “alpargata” – an open-toed kind of sandal – and a “llanero

Llanero

A llanero is a Venezuelan or Colombian herder. The name is taken from the Llanos grasslands occupying western Venezuela and eastern Colombia. The Llanero were originally part Spanish and Indian and have a strong culture including a distinctive form of music.During the wars of independence,...

” hat.

Because of the style of the collar, it is said that the Liqui liqui was brought to Venezuela from the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

, although the veracity of this is uncertain. The more accepted version is that the Liqui liqui is derived from the uniform of colonial-era soldiers, whose jacket or ‘liquette’ had a similar shape – hence the name and the collar.