This article discusses the dressing practices of indigenous women and babies, more specifically, the use of garments identified as chumpi or girdles. The analysis focuses on the cities of Potosi and La Plata, between the 16th and 17th centuries. The approach reveals the re-articulation of vestimentary practices under new conditions of colonial rule, and the impact of the setting of an indigenous costume during this period. In this context, we review the meaning of the word chumpi and examine the chumpi’s relations with other garments that belong to the same field of objects. We discuss practices that involve the acts of belting, binding and wrapping as a mode of dress for woman and children. In conclusion, we underline the network of relations that mobilize and give meaning to objects and people an, as well as the adaptation and negotiation of colonial policies involving urban indigenous population.