What's a Huipil?

A Huipil is a classic garment worn in the highlands of Guatemala and throughout Central America. A Huipil is the traditional garment of women in the form of a tunic. The hand-woven and embroidered Huipile come in all colors and contain typical patterns and symbols, which are of great importance in the Mayan culture.
 
The name "Huipil" comes from the original language of the nahuatl and can be translated with a coat or covered. Normally a Huipil is made of cotton and is always woven by hand. First, rectangular panels are woven, which are sewn together. Whether one, two or three panels are used depends entirely on the style and the region. The cotton is dyed with natural aids in the desired color so that a Huipil can be kept in every imaginable color. Either way, a Huipil is a very special eye-catcher that tells a story from the people of the highlands of Guatemala.
 

Mayan Wraps ethical fashion: The Huipil

 

A Huipil belongs to the proud Guatemalan woman from the highlands. The garment is woven on the loom and this process is always done by hand. Each region uses different colors and symbols. Real connoisseurs, therefore, see a Huipil and know where it comes from and in which region it was woven. As a result, a Huipil has its own story and it takes around 4 months from an experienced woman for such a piece to be artistically finished. Due to the high quality and careful processing, a Huipil can be worn for generations. New models may be 4 or 5 years old, but older huipiles may be 15 or 20 years old and still in use in the family or given to a new family. The bright colors are still preserved in the hand-woven pieces even after years. Of course, this also applies when a Huipil becomes one of the handmade bags Guatemala.
 

The Huipil Guatemala: Handmade and Unique

Such a handmade Huipil is therefore like no other garment for the craftsmanship and traditions of the Mayans. Such a Huipil can be used in many ways and can be used, among other things, as an extraordinary component of our leather bags. The special thing about it is the fact that each Huipil is unique and as a result of this makes each bag unique. A Huipil Guatemala becomes one of the most extraordinary covertible day bags, which are a real eye-catcher. The fair trade bags are guaranteed to be hand crafted fabrics that will become one of a kind of purses. Because every Huipil exists exactly once. It may be that two of the Huipil Guatemala are very similar, but they will not be right down to the last detail. This makes the Mayan Wraps ethical fashion so extraordinary because it is not uniform garments from a machine.

 


In our next article, we turn to the importance of a Huipil for women in Guatemala and throughout Central America. For a Huipil is much more than just a unique, intricately woven and traditional garment

 

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