Dress, Fashion, and National Identity in Puerto Rico
Analyzing dress, costume, and fashion in Puerto Rico, this collection utilizes case studies that explore national identity and nation formation as well as past and current practices in Puerto Rican visual culture.
As the last Spanish-speaking colony with an ever-growing diaspora, Puerto Rico presents a unique opportunity to study national identity and nation formation through dress and fashion. In Dress, Fashion, and National Identity in Puerto Rico, José Blanco F. and Raúl J. Vázquez-López combine new material and previously published essays that review diverse aspects of visual culture in Puerto Rico.
The book is divided into three sections that define and redefine the terms "dress", "costume", and "fashion" through case studies that include the resurgence of native Taíno imagery, the Young Lords’ resistance through dress, the iconic Jíbaro peasants, festival and dance costumes, and the fashion of Puerto Rican Miss Universe contestants.
This much-needed addition to the literature around fashion in Latin America offers incisive and informed discussion for students and scholars of dress and fashion, identity, Latin American studies, and all those interested in the history and visual culture of this fascinating country.
José Blanco F. is Associate Professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, USA. He is the editor of The Meanings of Dress, 5th edition, and has contributed chapters in edited volumes including The Fashion Reader, The Handbook of Masculinity Studies, The Fashion Business Reader, and Transglobal Fashion Narratives. He has published essays in journals including Fashion Theory, Fashion, Style and Popular Culture, Critical Studies in Men’s Fashion, Dress, and The Journal of Popular Culture.
Raúl J. Vázquez-López is an independent researcher. He has published extensively on Puerto Rican dress, costume, and fashion and presented on the topic internationally.