Mexico
Ethnic Garment:
White and multi-colored floral dress (huipil)
Date: 1993
Courtesy of Dr. Linda Arthur
The huipil is a traditional garment from Oxaca, central Mexico. This embroidered dress is made from one continuous piece of cotton blend broadcloth with embroidery around the neckline, upper chest, and hemline. White embroidery is still done by hand, the majority is now done by machine. The quality of this machine work rivals that of hand embroidery. The complex floral motifs are rendered with shaded, detailed flowers in cotton embroidery floss. The huipil is worn over a cotton eyelet slip that is expected to show beneath the embroidered hem of the huipil.
Contemporary Garment:
White cotton/polyester blend peasant blouse
Date: 2002
Courtesy of Daron Deonier
A fad today, peasant tops are often made of white cotton broadcloth and simple puff sleeves as seen in this example. For ease of construction, this blouse was created with a yoke upon which machine embroidery was done with rayon thread to create multi-colored floral motifs. The yoke provides for shoulder fit, and it is attached to a bodice. Note that embroidery lacks the depth, shadowing, and detail of traditional embroidery.