Between the criollo and the neoclassical: female clothing in Quito during the Century of Enlightenment

Abstract

This article analyzes the political, symbolic and syncretic dimensions of female clothing in the Real Audiencia and Presidency of Quito, as typical elements of baroque theatricality and the new clothing canons of the 18th century. Through an iconological study of various artistic sources, the article delves into the public and intimate spaces of women’s clothing, an issue that is opposed to certain attitudes of censorship on the part of colonial legislation, embodied in edicts and other regulations. At the same time, the notable influence of suits and the neo-Inca uses in the Quito territories, whose identity beginnings had developed since the seventeenth century is discussed.