This heavily embroidered shirt is known as a huipil bordado in Spanish and is from the Zapotec community of Juchitán, Oaxaca, Mexico. The Zapotec are Indigeous people who have lived in the area now known as Oaxaca for more than 2500 years. Huipil bordado are formal and worn for important occasions like attending Mass or fiestas on Catholic Feast Days. Bordado means embroidered, and this style of embroidery is associated with the Zapotec people.
Huipils are found in many Indigenous communities in Central America, and the word huipil originates from the Nahuatl word huipilli, which means blouse. In some communities the fabric used for huipils was traditionally woven on a backstrap loom, though today many people purchase the cloth instead. The styles, fabrics, and decorations of a huipil can represent different people and places.
Western culture has influenced, and been influenced by, huipils, and it is possible to find modern fashions with Indigenous designs. The huipil shown here was made sometime in the early 1990s, and mimics the older, traditional style. It belonged to the cousin of Dr. Anya Peterson Royce, a professor of Anthropology at Indiana University who has worked with the Zapotec community in Juchitán for almost fifty years.
History of Dress in Central America and Mexico
A Brief History of the Huipil in One Minute
History of Mexican Clothing: Traditional Styles and Materials
Here are several articles about traditional dress in Mexico, including the Huipil.
