About Our Clothing

Chi Chi Amor patrons find our line especially appealling because many items are made from pieces of recycled/repurposed Guatemalan “huipil” and “corte”, the traditional shirt and skirt worn by indigenous Mayan women of Guatemala and Mexico. The huipil and corte are woven on a back-strap loom which can take anywhere from 3 months to 1 year to produce one completed textile. We (Danielle and Shari) collaborate directly with several Guatemalan Mayan artisans to find the textiles in the second-hand markets that are used to make many Chi Chi Amor garments and accessories We also work directly with our Mayan partners to make collective decisions on design ideas, and how the various items might be improved or changed.

All of our items are hand-made (as opposed to factory-machine-made), and we take great care to assure that all of our Guatemalan collaborators will be paid for their work according to the prices they set for themselves. With each visit to Guatemala, we continue to build a foundation of trust to ensure that all Chi Chi Amor contributers are compensated for their artistry, and will be recognized (by name, if desired) for their input on design and artistic creation.

As cultural anthropologists, we (Danielle and Shari) are compelled by a profound desire to share the history and the compromised present, and unknown future of the Mayan weaving tradition. With each visit, we learn more about how this ancient tradition is directly connected to the sustainability of Mayan culture. Although we take great care to ensure that Chi Chi Amor kids look adorable in this bright and cheerful clothing, it is equally important to us that patrons understand that a child who is wearing a pair of Chi Chi Amor pants, for example, is wearing something that tells a story about the ancient and contemporary indigenous Mayan people.

About the Huipil and Corte

The Huipil [Wee-peel] is a Spanish term for a Maya woman’s traditional blouse. It is the most personal, communicative and significant part of her “traje” or costume, and the most important representation of the culture’s weaving heritage. The Corte [Cor-tay] is the traditional Mayan women’s skirt usually woven on a treadle loom by men. The huipil and corte are universal elements of every woman’s traje. They are used to identify the specific village of the wearer, her social and marital status, religious background and beliefs, wealth, authority and individual personality. Backstrap loom weaving, still practiced by Maya women living in the mountainous regions of Chiapas, Mexico, and highland Guatemala, is an ancient tradition that can be documented from archaeological finds dating to the Maya Classic period (ca. 250-900 CE) and even earlier. In the current context of a globalized economy, there is little time or monetary space for indigenous people to continue the weaving tradition or pass it down to their children. Though a traveler to these lands will note that many people are dressed in full “traje” or, huipil and corte, s/he would notice, with repeated visits, these numbers are dramatically dwindling with each year that passes.