Tapada limeña (means "Liman [fem.] covered one") was the denomination used at the time of the Viceroyalty of Peru and the first years of the Republic to designate the women in Lima who covered their heads and faces with comfortable silk mantones [es], revealing just one eye. It was introduced in the 16th century and continued for three centuries, well into the 19th century. Its use spread from Lima, "City of the Kings", to other important cities in the region. In Lima, the custom remained until well into the Republic, when French fashions relegated it.

In 1583, the Archbishop of Lima Toribio de Mogrovejo rejected the Lima custom of women wearing the saya and the cloak in the capital. This occurred during the Third Liman Council, which he presided over, leading to a censorship that the Cortes of 1586 confirmed during the reign of Philip II of Spain. It was agreed that the offenders would be fined 3,000 maravedís. The fear of this custom, already widespread among Liman women and that had generated many misunderstandings and confusion, made the authorities suspect that the first cases of transvestism in the Viceroyalty were taking place.

The use of the saya and the cloak, components of the tapada limeña, appeared in Lima around 1560. Its origin is said to have been Moorish because of its similarity to clothing worn by Muslim women. However, a theory of a Castilian origin was later established.

The first official descriptions of the clothing were not very kind to its wearers:

"The use of covering women has come to such an extreme that great offenses to God and notable damage to the republic have resulted from it, because that form does not recognize the father to the daughter, nor the husband to the wife. nor brother to sister..."

There were many ordinances after this act of the Cortes of 1586, but none could dissuade the Liman women.

The tapada grew to connote insinuation, coquetry, prohibition, and seduction. However, it was still a dress: the saya outlined the hips, and the cloak covered the head and face, except for a single eye. The tapada was a symbol of the freedom of Liman women and this symbol was used to distinguish themselves from women of other classes and roots (races). Any face could be behind the cloak, and there were likely many occasions when boys or old men squandered compliments on their sisters-in-law, mothers-in-law, mothers, or daughters who could hide their true identity behind their cloaks.

The saya was a long, large silk skirt, colored blue, brown, green, or black, and secured with a belt. It was not uncommon for false hips to be worn underneath. Underneath this skirt, one could see the small foot (shod with an embroidered satin shoe) that colonial Lima women were known for. The cloak was also made of silk, tied at the waist and up the back to cover the head and face, revealing only one eye and perhaps the arms. This cloak was usually a simple fabric so that the tapadas would not stand out in public, and the wearer would retain anonymity.