This year I am excited by the conference track options provided by the Costume Society of America. Regional and national conferences are offering the option to present in-progress works. The opportunity to present incomplete, but still valuable work is refreshing. I’ve just completed data collection and I need outside perspectives!
CSA Southeastern presentations aren’t juried, but the reviewers offered constructive feedback to shape the upcoming presentation titled,
Between the huipil and the T-shirt: The importance of tipica blusas in San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala
1) The considerations between why women choose to wear blusas típicas rather than huipiles are very interesting and seem to reveal many aspects of local reality that need to be studied. This abstract does not seem to look into the history of the huipil and how it has evolved since the arrival of the Spaniards in Mesoamerica. I wonder if there are ideas about “modernity” informing women’s dress choices. I would suggest taking a look at Joanne Eicher’s “Dress and Ethnicity” and Linda Welters and Abby Lillethun’s “Fashion History: A Global View” for models on how to study Indigenous dress in contemporary history. I do think that this research is very valuable and needs to be done, so I look forward to seeing the presentation.
I’m so thankful to good reviewers! This information really pushes me to work on the things that challenge me! The suggestion to look at Eicher, Welters, and Lillethun gives me some faith that I’m going in the right direction.
Emily Oertling 