The legend of the Tehuantepec dress

This dress is what women in the isthmus region of the state of Oaxaca would wear to a fancy event. There is a story in Oaxaca about the origin of this type of dress. The state of Oaxaca has a coast and has a shipping history. The legend is that a long time ago there was a terrible storm off of the Oaxacan coast--near the city of Salina Cruz. During the storm a British ship was shipwrecked on the rocky coast. The cargo on this ship was women's petticoats that were being sent from England to one of England's territories overseas.

The petticoats washed ashore and the people of Oaxaca had no idea what they were or what to do with them. They decided that the petticoats must be decorative and that they could be used on their clothing. so they put some of the petticoats to use on the bottom of their traditional dresses and they used other petticoats to decorate their head.

In this photo I have nothing on my head. However the traditional headpiece is either the same fabric as the dress braided into a headband and worn on the head or else a rather elaborate headpiece made from lace and that does look exactly like a women's half slip with the elastic waistband surrounding the face.