Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim....




The Mujahada in Prada

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

~Salaam and Hola!~

aSalaam uAlaikum and Good Evening My Stylish Sisters!

Again I must apologize to my fashionable followers for my inconsiderate delay in posting about a topic that I promised you loooong ago.

Remember when I first arrived on the West Coast after I had completed my journey through the Southwest?  And I told you all I would share some of my adventures, both fashion-related and otherwise?  Yes...that is what I am referring to.  That promise.

Well, better late than never, right?  (personally I despise that excuse, because usually the answer to that is a firm "NO", but I am going to be slightly hypocritical at this point and use it)

Anyways, I would really like to share with you some beautiful pieces of authentic Mexican embroidered clothing that I purchased.  The first one I found in Bisbee, Arizona at this amazing little shop called Ceramica La Tortuga (roughly translated Turtle Pottery) that was full to the brim with everything from hand-embroidered Mexican clothing, to tourist-y trinkets to beautiful tablecloths straight from Lebanon.  Yes, Lebanon.  The owner's mother was from Lebanon, his father from Mexico, which contributed to his ecclectic assortment of accoutrements.

After a long personal debate between if I should purchase the amazing Lebanese tablecloth he had, or a traditional piece of Mexican clothing I decided on the latter. 

Here is the beautiful hand-embroidered Mexican huipil that I purchased there:
Huipil refers to the traditional sleeveless Mexican tunic.  To the right is a closeup of the detailing.

Here is an adorable little traditional Mexican dress that I got for my daughter in Las Cruces, New Mexico:

I love the peacock on this dress, the embroidery of its feathers is especially beautiful.

After seeing so much gorgeous embroidery along my way through Arizona and New Mexico, I realized how much this style has impacted more European and Western styles of clothing.  Everything from caftans to tunics, and shoes to handbags lately can be found with intricate designs resembling those of the more traditional Mexican garments.  Take a look!


Anna Sui Shift available at 247Steals.com


I looooove this beautiful caftan from eShakti.com

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And this amazing maxi from eShakti as well.


And really, how beautiful is this handbag by Lucky?  It's available at Zappos.


This tunic by INC is a more modern take on Mexican inspired embroidery.  You can pick this up at Macys.com.


And saving the best for last, look at these stunning stiletto sandals from Valentino! They can be yours at SaksFifthAvenue.com.

All of these styles I have shown you are merely a taste of the many Muy Caliente pieces that are out there incorporating the detailed, intricate embroidery resembling that of traditional Mexican garments.  I love this trend, and think I will do a little searching around for some scarves that have a south-of-the-border feeling to them too.  Can't wait to share more of my adventures with you ladies soon, but for now Adios Amigas!

Ma'Salaama and Hasta Luego!

Fashionably Yours,
The (Spanglish speaking) Mujahada in Prada

5 comments:

Shasharishi said...

Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous sis!! The work that must go into that... Does the wooden painted jewelery that has similar designs also have it's roots in Mexico? It has an almost gypsyesque feel...

The Mujahada in Prada said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
The Mujahada in Prada said...

Well sis I'm not sure which jewelry you mean. I searched a few pics of wooden jewelry that is handpainted, and came up with some from India, from Africa, even island cultures from the Caribbean have a lot of jewelry similar to that. I would think it would depend a lot on the design. Traditional Mexican designs are usually flowers and birds, whereas Middle Eastern and Oriental (India, Asia) designs (for example) are usually stars, geometric designs, or intricate flowers with lots of dots and lines (think Henna for example) Mexican jewelry is usually very similar to Native American Jewelry, with lots of silver and precious rocks like Turquoise, Amber, or Mexican Fire Opal. Insh'Allah I'll do a posting about the jewelry I saw on my trip very soon!

Anonymous said...

waAlaikum assalaam habibti!

MashaAllah! These pics are beautiful! I <3 the dress you bought for princess! LOL =D I love how you saved the shoes for last! When I saw that pic, all I could think of was how I would break my neck when I took the 1st step!
This does make me want to take a trip to New Mexico and Arizona though!

乙áђгá said...

Salam Alikum
oh sweet.. really love the first caftan..The embroidery on the white fabric is so cute :)
Thanks