Fronteras: Complexities And Cultural Significance Of Self-Adornment Explored In 'MeXicana Fashions'

By Norma Martinez,

Published April 30, 2021 at 5:00 AM CDT

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1 of 4 — In "meXicana Fashions," contributors explored indigenous roots of certain articles of clothing including the "huipil." La Malinche — who acted as a translator for the Spanish conqueror, Hernán Cortés — is dressed in a huipil in the early painting, "Lienzo de Tlaxcala."

In "meXicana Fashions," contributors explored indigenous roots of certain articles of clothing including the "huipil." La Malinche — who acted as a translator for the Spanish conqueror, Hernán Cortés — is dressed in a huipil in the early painting, "Lienzo de Tlaxcala."

2 of 4 — Norma E. Cantú, Murchison Endowed Professor in Humanities at Trinity University | Credit: Joel Salcido

Norma E. Cantú, Murchison Endowed Professor in Humanities at Trinity University.

3 of 4 — Aída Hurtado, Luis Leal Endowed Chair in the Department of Chican@ Studies at UC Santa Barbara, dissects visual representations of various sexualities and femininities in her chapter for "meXicana Fashions."

Aída Hurtado, Luis Leal Endowed Chair in the Department of Chican@ Studies at UC Santa Barbara, dissects visual representations of various sexualities and femininities in her chapter for "meXicana Fashions."

4 of 4 — "meXicana Fashions" collects perspectives of scholars who reflect on their own relationships to particular garments, analyze the politics of dress and examine the role of consumerism and entrepreneurialism behind the creation of styles.

meXicana Fashions collects perspectives of scholars who reflect on their own relationships to particular garments, analyze the politics of dress and examine the role of consumerism and entrepreneurialism behind the creation of styles.

Clothing and fashion are popular ways to publicly present layers of one’s identity. But the role of consumerism and entrepreneurialism may dilute the cultural significance behind certain articles of clothing.

Women of color, particularly scholars in institutions of higher learning, often wear clothing or jewelry that carries cultural meaning or expresses a political statement.

Many of their voices are reflected in the book, “meXicana Fashions: Politics, Self-Adornment, and Identity Construction,” which explores the complex dynamics of fashion aesthetics and the cultural politics of belonging and resistance.

Micaela Díaz-Sánchez — assistant professor in the Department of Chican@ studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara — is a contributor to the book, which was co-edited by Aída Hurtado and Norma Cantú.

Hurtado is the Luis Leal Endowed Chair in the Department of Chican@ Studies at UC Santa Barbara. Cantú is the Murchison Endowed Professor in Humanities at Trinity University in San Antonio.

The collection of essays reveal the personal importance behind certain garments while reflecting on a range of fashion and cultural intersections.

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