Virginia Makes

Hand-sewn silk baby comforter dyed in my Date Vat of Indigo in Sanders Mansion. A labor of love for my husband’s first great-grandbaby.

Let’s Cook up some color at my place!

Planning a trip to Oaxaca!

The outfit shown in the image is a traditional Tehuana dress, famously worn by the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. This distinctive attire holds deep cultural and political symbolism. Kahlo adopted the Tehuana dress as a statement of identity, expressing her cultural heritage and political convictions. The dress is traditionally associated with Zapotec women from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in the Oaxaca region of Mexico, who were seen as symbols of economic independence and strength. By wearing this traditional outfit, Kahlo emphasized her roots and proudly embraced her Indigenous Mexican identity. Beyond its symbolic meaning, the Tehuana dress also served a personal function: it helped conceal the damage to her body caused by polio and a life-changing accident. Her choice of this attire was influenced by her Oaxacan heritage, post-revolutionary nationalism, and the history of the Zapotec people. A typical Tehuana ensemble includes a huipil (a tunic blouse), a floral skirt, traditional jewelry made of gold and silver, and brightly colored ribbons adorned with flowers braided into the hair—elements that became iconic in Frida Kahlo’s image and artistic legacy.