Category Archives: March 2016

Editors Letter

Jane“This… stuff? Oh… ok. I see, you think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and you select out, oh I don’t know, that lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you’re trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don’t know is that that sweater is not just blue, it’s not turquoise, it’s not lapis, it’s actually cerulean. You’re also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves St. Laurent, wasn’t it, who showed cerulean military jackets? And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers. Then it filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic Casual Corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin. However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs and so it’s sort of comical to me how you think that you’ve made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you’re wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room. From a pile of stuff.” Continue reading Editors Letter

Tapetes Priced to Sell in Teotitlán de Valle, Oaxaca

Screen Shot 2016-02-25 at 6.03.35 PMBy Alvin Starkman, M.A., J.D.

Most Oaxacan merchants, including craftspeople, seem to transact business differently from Americans and Canadians; except of course those who have had significant exposure to Western modes of marketing. The rug weavers of Teotitlán del Valle are no exception. Stock rotation and promoting clearance items do not appear to be normative practices, at least judging from my experience dealing with the town’s producers of hand-woven, wool rugs; dyed with natural substances which include pomegranate, pecan, mosses, seeds, añil (the plant yielding indigo), and of course cochinilla (or cochineal, the insect which infests the nopal cactus and is capable of being transformed into reds, oranges, purples and more). Continue reading Tapetes Priced to Sell in Teotitlán de Valle, Oaxaca

The Purse

Screen Shot 2016-02-25 at 6.03.55 PM.pngBy Erin Vig

My husband is a very kind and generous man. He treats me well and has always made up for his long absences by buying me gifts in fabulous places like London, Frankfurt and Vienna. I have never expected or asked for the gifts and I appreciate the thought behind each and every one of them. I count my blessings that he thinks of me on his travels, even though I often tease that the shopping is just a good way to waste some time in airports. Continue reading The Purse

Dressing a Table

Screen Shot 2016-02-25 at 6.04.13 PMBy Brooke Gazer

During the opening
credits of the series
“Downton Abbey”,
 Carson is seen
measuring the
 distance of each place setting from the
 edge of the table. All that perfectly
 aligned silver, sparkling crystal and 
glistening china makes me think,
“Those were the days” – at least if you
 lived “above stairs”. This kind of
opulence might be out of place in
Huatulco, but setting the table here
can still demonstrate elegance and your own personal flair. Continue reading Dressing a Table

From Culture to Catwalk Couture: Roots and Ripoffs in Mexican Fashion

Screen Shot 2016-02-26 at 5.50.05 AMBy Deborah Van Hoewyk

Remember “la Malinche”? The Nahua woman from the Isthmus who aided and abetted Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico? She’s responsible for the word malinchismo, the preference for all things foreign—an apt characterization of the state of Mexicanfashion. Until very recently, it was definitely not chido (cool) to buy your clothes “hecho en Mexico.” Continue reading From Culture to Catwalk Couture: Roots and Ripoffs in Mexican Fashion

Shopping for Jewelry at the Beach

Screen Shot 2016-02-25 at 6.04.47 PMBy Julie Etra

I must admit, and my friends
and family will confirm, that I
am not one for accessorizing.
Somehow the genes of my
stylish, fashion-conscious
parents were not passed down to
me and jewelry has never been
important. So when I am at the
 beach at San Augustin (we rarely
 go to Maguey or Entrega) I don’t
 peruse the beach wraps, the
 temporary tattoos, or have my hair
braided (ugh), and the girls and
 young women selling collares (not collars, although one might presume so) were for me initially uninteresting. These days, however, I can hardly resist and now possess four sets of bracelets, earrings, and necklaces, in various combinations and condition. Continue reading Shopping for Jewelry at the Beach