Comments on: Caribbean Fashion – Elise Delgado

By: Olivia Robinson

Olivia Robinson — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 18:29:49 +0000

Elise, Natalia, Donova, and Ashley, I appreciate how the article illuminates how history, influences, and time create unique garment/fashion culture in places. Because each of these places are islands, it makes me think of a question: how does the fact that each location is an island with discreet physical boundaries contribute to the development of unique dress culture? Is that special? How are cultural boundaries made in various places that do not have physical boundaries (such as different states in the US)? How does fashion reinforce boundaries or break boundaries or ignore boundaries? Do you have an opinion about this? Thank you for such an interesting article that makes me very interested in the uniqueness of different Caribbean cultures, as well as prompts big questions about boundaries, identity, place and power!

By: aburbano@andrew.cmu.edu

aburbano@andrew.cmu.edu — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 16:07:46 +0000

I thought your point on how the clothing in the Caribbean islands are all different is really interesting and important. I feel like people tend to assume the culture is the same amongst this area and the rest of Latin America. So its nice that you showed how the various cultural influences affect the clothing too.

By: dgardilc@andrew.cmu.edu

dgardilc@andrew.cmu.edu — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 02:10:11 +0000

I really enjoyed reading this article and discussing it with you, it is always so amazing to me just how much style can be influenced by location-even between islands in close proximity to each other! The way that all of the traditions have such deep meaning is also something that was really interesting to me, since our fashion market always seems to be changing rapidly and making decisions about what’s on-trend with what feels like very little thought! This article may have only focused on a small group of islands, but it showed how much rich history and culture goes into just garments, and felt to me like a reminder of just how much is at stake when we pursue a globalist mindset. Trying to expand markets and make everyone more connected and united under the ideals of one society is often touted as a goal, but it snuffs out so many incredible remnants of history and culture.

By: nssantia@andrew.cmu.edu

nssantia@andrew.cmu.edu — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 00:04:53 +0000

I find your point about the islands being in such close proximity and having such different styles very interesting. For my article, I chose specifically to focus on the dress styles in Puerto Rico. When writing the article I never thought to think about the garments in such a wide scope as looking at all islands in the Caribbean. I have lived in PR my whole life and it is still surprising to see the contrast in cultures between PR, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and all other islands in the Caribbean. Since usually they are grouped as the “Caribbean” islands it is very easy to assume that the culture and dress styles are similar throughout all the islands; however, as you describe in your writing, such is not the case. I have also never thought about these differences in such a specific context as fashion. Since all the islands have such warm temperatures, once again, one would expect the attire throughout all to be similar; yet, because of historical and cultural differences the dress styles, despite some similarities, contrast greatly.