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Guadeloupe is now home to people of varied national backgrounds. Over the centuries of living together in harmony, they have developed a local culture that is influenced by the regions from where they originally come from. One of the many aspects that developed from this combination is a local style of dress. |
The base of many Creole costumes is a basic dress, which was probably inspired by the Church. The grass skirt was earlier worn full-length. However, with the evolution of design and cultural influences, the length of the skirt has been shortened since it was first worn.
Emancipated slave women wore “le costume de l’affranchie”. It usually comprised of the clothing handed down to them by the owner’s wives, which they altered to suit their own bodies and styles. These dresses included a work dress known as “la travailleuse” and “la Rob di chan’m” a dressing gown. These costumes were often decorated lace or embroidery. Later, a kerchief called a “mouchoir” was added to the dress as na embellishment, which knotted and decorated with jewelry. Petticoats were also added.
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Gradually, the islanders realized that the hat was a necessity to work under the Guadeloupean sun. While men generally wear straw hats even today, many styles of headdress developed for women. These headdresses have equally colorful names and meanings such as the ‘bat’, ‘firefighter’, ‘zamboist’, ‘liberalist’, ‘Lewoz’ and even ‘Guadeloupean woman’. The decorative pins or ‘la trembleuse’ are also used to hold the patterns of the headdresses in place.
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Jewelry is also an important part to any outfit in Guadeloupe and necklaces and bracelets have their own names. Some are named after plants like the ‘cabbage necklace’ or the ‘pineapple bracelet’ while others have more unusual names like ‘thick syrup’ and ‘colonial helmet’. The decorative pins or ‘la trembleuse’ are also used to hold the patterns of the headdresses in place.
(Source: www.g
