Decoding the wardrobe of Like Water for Chocolate
Breaking down the new Mexican show with Latin American brands.
Religiously, every Sunday for the past few weeks, I have started tuning into a show on HBO Max called Como agua para chocolate (Like Water for Chocolate), a new production by Salma Hayek Pinault.
I must confess, I have never read the novel by Laura Esquivel, nor seen the older movie before, but the show certainly seems to be driving a new audience towards the story (as per the whispers I have heard from my students who are watching).
The premise of the show is a Mexican family (three daughters and their mother) during the Mexican Revolution. The novel is also about the idea of cooking, and captivating shots of classic Mexican dishes mix deliciously with the heartbreaking stories.
I will, of course, not spoil this show for you, but I wanted to break down some of the details of the costume design created by Mexican talent Amanda Cárcamo. And, of course, I have also found Latin American brands whose pieces that match the look and feel of the show.
It’s important to also point out that there’s a big wave of Latin American magical realism literature being portrayed on different streaming platforms at the moment: Pedro Páramo (Netflix), 100 Years of Solitude (coming up in December), and Like Water for Chocolate (Max).
Here are some of my highlights and breakdowns for the wardrobe. I do apologize for the pictures—I took them with my phone on my TV. It’s all I could do!
The soft blues, the lace, and embroidery
Tita’s character (played by Azul Guaita) is very much characterized by different shades of blue and the eyelet embroidery of the fabrics.
The delicate florals prints
Both Tita and the second sister, Gertrudis (played by Andrea Chaparro), wear floral-printed details in their shirts.
The heaviness of the silhouette
The long skirts or enaguas have a weight and flow for all of the characters.
The filigree jewelry
Jewelry is modest on the characters, but filigree earrings are particularly notable and a trademark for Nacha (the cook, played by Ángeles Cruz) (first picture).
The braids
As mentioned in one of my recent posts, braids are having more of a moment and are symbols of Latin culture. Almost every character in the show seems to wear a braid at some point, and Gertrudis also classically wears the two-braid hairstyle of the Adelitas (the women soldiers during the Revolution).
Other details: the bag
You don’t often see the characters with bags, but when I saw this small one that Gertrudis was carrying, I thought it was a beautiful detail.
5 Latin American brands with the look and feel of the show:
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