Sartorial Splendor

I've noticed two basic fashion silhouettes for indigenous women. The one below, a heavy velvet skirt, very full and on the short side, exaggerates the hips and swings quite a bit when walking. I would say that it is not the most slimming shape for short stocky women but perhaps broadening and calling attention to the hip area is the whole point!

Quite often the velvet fabric is a rich saturated color like magenta and most likely there is a band of intricate embroidery around the bottom of the skirt.

A lace blouse like the one displayed above if often worn with the velvet skirt.

The other silhouette is more streamlined both in shape and color. The skirts are dark, straight and long, and worn with embroidered full sleeved blouses. I like this silhouette better, just from a design standpoint.

Talking about outfits, I find that nuns are very much a part of the daily street scape. They too wear different habits that differentiate their order but this is the only picture I've taken so far.

I'm hesitant to take pictures of strangers in general though I have noticed, looking at other blogs, that I'm in the minority concerning this. I think that because I am Ecuadorian and look it, people might not be as amused as they appear to be when a clearly foreign person takes their picture. I imagine being in New York and a tourist taking a picture of me--I definitely would not like it and I would object. I'm still thinking this through...

In the meantime, when I find someone interesting I avoid taking head shots and take pictures from behind so that they are not easily recognizable. However, this guy's style was just so unique for Ecuador (it reminded me of hipsters in NYC) that I had to take his picture. He could have stepped right out of the 1940s! The funny thing is that I really couldn't figure out if it was a fashion statement or if he just happened to be the ultimate nerd! Either way, I couldn't stop looking at him--he was so perfect a character, with his slicked back hair and pencil mustache!