On Taquile island clothing helps show if you are single or married. It is also is used for indicating if you want to date or not. This is a boys hat and the top part is still white because he is single and it is for the wife to complete him. He can show whether or not he is interested by moving the peak to the left or right. We can’t remember which side is which anymore.
This is the primary outfit of a married man. The belt is used to help support weight and includes the wife’s hair in the making of the textile.
The important people of the village also wear another hat underneath the leather cap.
The president of the community has a different style hat that resembles the incan and pre-incan crowns that have long ear coverings. These were long because incans wore gauges in their ears to stretch the lobes and the covers were to keep the stretched ears warm.
Here is a better display of the boys hat with the white top unfinished.
Then he showed us how to wash them. First you take this plant, which is called something like “chooshoo”. It contains a natural detergent.
To get it you crush it with a rock against another rock to make a foamy mess.
Then you mix it with some water and put in the clothes.
Before is on the left, and after is on the right. As you can see the brown dirt has been completely removed, and replaced with bits of green plant. Usually it is crushed much finer so you don’t get as many plant remains caught in what you are washing. 
