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FeedCity Different - Historical Fashion
Photo by Lori Johnson
Historical sombreros on display at El Rancho de las Golondrinas, October 4-5.
Anyone can read a book or watch a film to get a dose of history. But for a true taste of the way things looked years ago, as opposed to the way people thought or acted, one has to go straight to the source: clothing. Step into a large, unassuming room at El Rancho de las Golondrinas, a living-history museum that preserves the vibe of Santa Fe’s past, and you are confronted with ¡Viva Mexico!, a dazzling display of antique and historic Mexican and New Mexican textiles and costumes. “There are so many customs and traditions and ingredients to our culture in New Mexico that have their origins in Mexico: food, music, dance, and so on,” says John Berkenfield, director of Las Golondrinas. “There are also origins in clothing. Comparing the cultures of Mexico and New Mexico is a lot of what we do.”
Here is sartorial lavishness at its best. Sombreros from yesteryear are “incredibly elegant and elaborately decorated,” says Mark Winter, from whose collection of Southwestern and Hispanic textiles the exhibition draws. A charro (traditional Mexican horseman) outfit worn by Ezequiel C. de Baca, the second governor of New Mexico, in 1912, is a great example of vintage Sunday best, made of fine wool and intricate leather appliqué. This piece is flanked by dresses worn by C. de Baca’s wife, Margarita—complete with ornate tortoiseshell head combs.
Not to be missed: a pair of serapes thought to be commissioned in Mexico in the 1860s as gifts for French emperor Napoleon III and his empress. With 160–200-weft threads per inch, they boast gold, silver, silk, and wool on plied cotton. The show is on view through the Harvest Festival, where grapes are crushed by foot and chile ristras are strung in honor of fall’s bounty. October 4–5, 10 am–4 pm, $7, 505-471-2261, golondrinas.org
