I have two rebozos from  Santa Maria del Rio (San Luis Potosi), known for its rebozo school.  Even though it was more than 30 years ago, I still remember the day I bought them.  The green one is still brightly colored (maybe because I wear it less)  but the red one is now a dusty pink.  The color dramatically changed after wearing it in Athens and I’ve wondered if it was because of the smog as it’s made of silk–nothing synthetic about it.

A rebozo is a long straight piece of cloth with looks like a cross between a scarf and a shawl.  It can be worn in various ways–as a wrap to protect from the cold or as a scrarf to protect from the sun.  The rebozo can be an aid in labor, a baby carrier, a knapsack, a cool-weather  wrap or elegant shawl. The rebozo is limitless.

There are many different ways to wear a rebozo.  Some examples can be seen HERE.

Frida Kahlo wore rebozos on a daily basis.

Frida wearing rebozo on her head, 1937 foto via

Frida Kahlo, agave et rebozo »

Above Frida is shown holding her rebozo up in the air as she stands next to a giant agave. Agave Americana is also know as Aloe Vera.  It is a plant that I have written about before HERE. Its gel has many many uses but its leaves are useful, too. Fiber can be extracted from them.  These fibers are used to make mats and ropes.

Agave is also used to make tequila.

Frida Kahlo, 1951, and red rebozo.  Foto by Gisèle Freund

Frida in the New York Hospital by Nickolas Muray, 1946. © Frida Kahlo Museum

another Frida portrait by Nickolas Muray via

via  Historia de la Moda blog, Rebozo magenta de artisela color fucsia y tocado con flores naturales, Colección Museo Frida Kahlo

“Who gave them the absolute ‘truth’?  There is nothing absolute.  Everything changes, everything moves, everything revolves, everything flies and goes away.” Frida Kahlo

Kahlo

more related links:  Reflecting on Frida Kahlo’s Birthday and The Importance of Recognizing Ourselves for (in) Each Other + A COLLECTION OF fRIDA RELATED ARTICLES + Category: Frida Kahlo + Why Frida Kahlo’s fashion was just as political as her art

an exhibition I would like to see but will not be able to: From June 2014, the Fashion and Textile Museum highlights the art of the rebozo, a distinctly Mexican garment which Frida Kahlo was rarely seen without. A feature of Mexican dress since the 17th century, the classic woven shawl is enjoying a revival with the renewed interest in craft skills. Mexican Textiles: Frida Kahlo & the Art of the Rebozo looks at the work of 30 leading artists and contemporary fashion designers like Carla Fernandez, a Mexico City-based fashion designer who takes inspiration from traditional artisanship. These current designs are displayed alongside historic rebozos loaned from the Franz Mayer Museum, Mexico City.