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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 2 



Figure 8. — Women's dress. See text for description. 

 The petticoat is made more visible than usual in 

 order to indicate the embroidered edging. The 

 apron commonly reaches the bottom of the skirt. 

 The rebozo would normally be on the head or about 

 the shoulders, but is shown on the arm to permit 

 a view of details of the blouse, hairdress, etc. 



for visiting or receiving guests, while a great 

 many conservative women wear it constantly. 

 In the latter case, if they can afford it, women 

 have two costumes, an old one for everyday, 

 a newer one for special occasions. 



The complete Tarascan woman's dress con- 

 sists of petticoat, skirt, blouse, apron, rebozo or 

 shawl, and a number of woven belts (fig. 8). 

 The greatest variation is in the blouse. This 

 may be of cheap manta or even discarded flour 

 sacking, in which case it merely has an opening 

 for the head, short sleeves, 4 to 6 inches in 

 length, and is unsewn down the sides. The 

 open-sided blouse is often worn by nursing 

 mothers, even though the materials are of bet- 

 ter quality. No matter how cheap the mater- 

 ials, however, some design in cross-stitching is 

 usually found about the neck opening. 



Finer blouses may be of good cotton, rayon, 

 or even silk, although cotton is the most com- 

 mon. The short sleeves may have a drawstring 

 at the end to tie them closely about the arm. 

 This gives a puffed sleeve appearance, although 

 there is no fitting. More commonly, except in 

 garments made for tourists, the lower end of the 

 sleeve is finished with a crocheted band about 

 1 inch wide in a contrasting color. Often the 

 lower seam of the sleeve is not carried to the 

 body of the garment. The side seam of the 

 latter is also often incomplete for about 2 inches 

 below the sleeve. The opening left compensates 

 to some extent for the lack of fitting. The 

 neck opening is bound either by solid cross- 

 stitching or a crocheted band similar to that 

 on the sleeve. An extensive cross-stitched 

 design usually gives the effect of a yoke, al- 

 though front and back of the blouse are a single 

 piece. The neck opening is tied together with 

 two pieces of cord, a piece sewn to each side. 

 Garments for sale may have a drawstring about 

 the neck opening, which then is not extended 

 down the front of the garment. 



Cheran women's blouses are usually plainer 

 than those worn in other villages. The decora- 

 tion is usually a dull yellowish brown and is 

 applied with restraint. No study of the de- 

 signs was attempted, as it is hoped a general 

 study of the Tarascan textile and garment 

 industry will be made. 



The petticoat is of white cotton cloth or 

 manta. It reaches from the waist nearly to the 



