Childrenswear: Identity and Culture Around the Globe -- Mexican jackets object highlight

We featured these Mexican jackets in the exhibition.
Childrenswear: Identity and Culture Around the Globe
Opened starting May 2023
Mary Alice Gallery, 1015 Morrill Hall
ISU Textiles and Clothing Museum
Curated by Ivy Miller and Dorothy Vernon
Louise Rosenfeld Internship
Embroidered jackets
Wool, felt
ca. 1940s, Mexican origins
Object ID 2002.2.24
Object ID 2008.27.2
Craftspeople created these and other similar Mexican tourist jackets using traditional motifs and embroidery that reflected their culture. Traditional motifs represented on the two jackets include the sombrero and the cacti. Mexican people began creating these jackets and other products specifically for tourists in an effort to transform how the United States viewed Mexico after WWII. That is, Mexico used these items to assert a new found national identity attempting to shift perceptions of Mexico away from negative stereotypes such as banditry and disorder. The jackets gained popularity with US tourists following WWII in the late 1940s and were mostly worn by white American girls. Namely, the jackets were not worn by Mexican children despite the motifs telling stories of Mexican history.