The Museu do Traje occupies the Malheiro Reimão palace near the Praça da República, a handsome 18th-century mansion that provides an excellent setting for one of the more distinctive regional museums in northern Portugal. The collection focuses on the traditional costumes of the Minho region — the elaborate embroidered festival dress, gold filigree jewellery, and everyday working clothes that define the region's folk culture.
The Minho's festive costume is among the most ornate in Portugal: heavy embroidered aprons, linen blouses with intricate lacework, and layers of gold jewellery worn by women during the great festivals. The museum explains the social codes embedded in the dress — different styles marking different occasions, social status, and villages of origin. The festivals of Our Lady of Agony in August, when this costume is still worn in processions, make the collection immediately relevant rather than purely historical.