How to Dress Like a Quiteño

This post is a bit belated given that I haven't lived in Quito for over a month now, but I've had this blog idea for a while and finally decided to stop being such a "vago" (you might want to wordreference.com that one), and put the pen to the paper... er I mean the fingers to the keyboard. In this post I will outline a few of the many looks that are common in Quito. Please keep in mind that these are of course generalizations, but I will say that from my perspective at least, they're quite accurate generalizations.

1.) "Hip Young Guy"-- I know the name of this look is a bit general, but that's because this is by far the most common and pervasive look you see in Quito. The demographic includes boys from 15-30 all trying to emulate a style that somehow represents both luxury and hipster-grunge at the same time. For the shoes you have two options, Chuck Tailors (usually a knock off) or some type of big colorful skate shoes. The pants are not so negotiable however, they are an exclusively Ecuatorian style. Skinny jeans that are made to resemble some kind of expensive designer brand are all the rage here. But in the process of making all these knock offs, something went terribly wrong... these jeans have patches of denim sewn all over them, in every direction random stitching criss-crosses over dark washed patches and panels of denim. These pants really look like they were made from a bunch of fabric scraps randomly amalgamated with overzealous stitching, and they probably were, leading me to name them "Frankenstein Jeans". The t-shirt is usually a knock off of with large letters announcing across the chest the name of some American brand: "Aeropostal" "Hollister" "American Eagle". But the look would not be complete without the big handful of gel that turns the hair into a jet black array of rock hard spikes so treacherous it would probably be confiscated by the TSA. Oh one more important thing to note about this look: for some reason, here in Ecuador the rat tail is still an extremely popular hairstyle, I would say about 60% of the guys here are sporting a long tangle of hair that snakes down the back of their neck.

My Chucks, best effort at looking Ecuadorian. And yes, I did Spider Lace them, because I'm just that cool.

2.) "Business Man"-- I suppose this title should be in double quotes, since the people dressing like this are not really business men, they are in fact people that are trying to put on the appearance of a business man in order to sell you something. Most of these people are very poor, and employed by some type of salesman job, whether it be selling CD's on the buses, or handing out flyers about Jesus. However, they all have one thing in common: the suit. Appearance is very important in Quito, in fact I would go so far as to say that the people here are generally pretty vain and superficial (note that this does not apply outside of Quito). That is why it is not uncommon to find people with hardly any money to buy basic supplies, choosing instead to splurge on a jacket and tie, or knock off Rolex. One of the American ex-pats I met here told me that, "on the coast, all the rich guys dress like bums; and in Quito, all the bums dress like rich guys." I can now say with confidence that at least the second part of that is true, I'll have to wait until March to confirm the first part.

3.) "Old Indigenous Woman"-- This look is not so much a fashion statement, as it is a cultural declaration. There are many forms of traditional dress in Ecuador, each region having it's own particular accessories and idiosyncrasies. In Quito, the look is unmistakable, and quite popular among older women. It begins with the traditional shoes, a piece of cloth over the toes with a strap across the back of the heel. They look surprisingly like Toms, but have been worn here for hundreds of years by both men and women, so that $50 pair of Toms you're wearing right now may have been inspired by a $5 traditional Ecuatorian shoe. The look continues with a modest skirt, followed by a decorative blouse embroidered with colors and ruffles. Finally a sweater and hat, the hat is the important part. In Ecuador, the indigenous women wear hats to signify from which tribe and region they're from. It's an extremely important part of their cultural identity, and the hats are strikingly different. Some are felt with peacock feathers from Germany, and can cost over $70 (that's like $300 for a U.S. person), some are made of hard packed corn and weigh several pounds, and others are a simple straw or panama hat, but all critical to an indigenous person's life and identity. Of course, the look I've described here wouldn't be complete without one critical accessory... age. It's important to have a deeply lined face, and long white braid coming out of your hat in order to pull this one off.

One last thing to mention about Quito fashion is how unusually warm they dress here. Shorts are never, and I literally mean NEVER seen. Same goes with sandals or flip flops. And I would say that about 90% of the people wear a heavy coat or sweater all day long. Even at noon, when temperatures go over 85 degrees, you see people walking around with sweatshirts, jeans, and scarves, as if it's the middle of a Minnesota winter.

Anyways, I know this post has nothing to do with what I'm doing right now, but I just though it might be interesting. I will try to post more, but I'm very busy with very limited internet access, so no promises!