Ecuadorian Woman's Traditional Blouse: "Blusa"

The indigenous Incan women who live in Otavalo high in the Andes Mountains north of Quito wear this traditional costume, called "churajuna" in Quechua, on a daily basis. Their attire is considered to be the closest to the Inca costume worn anywhere in the Andes Mountains.

Traditional dress for the Otavalo women consists of a long dark skirt with pale underskirt, fastened with a woven belt, an embroidered white blouse with full, lacy sleeves and a shawl.

The traditional white blouses for the women of Otavalo have broad, intricately embroidered collars and sleeves. Traditionally all the embroidery would be done by hand, though these days some is done by machine.

The "skirts", called "yana anacu", are actually two separate pieces of cloth with no tailoring at all, simply wrapped around and held in place by the belt.

Jewelry is also an important addition to the Otavalena's outfit: layers of necklaces of predominantly gold beads, and red coral bracelets are the most common form of jewelry worn by the Otavalo women.

Both men and women wear shoes called alpargata, made from cactus fibre, although wellington boots are also common now.

The Otavaleno consider their dress an outward expression of their Indian identity.
Source:
http://abyayala.nativeweb.org/ecuador/otavalo/culture.html http://www.ecuadortravelsite.org/otavalo_traditional_costume.html