I like to dress well because it makes me feel better, more energetic and more confident. I think you dress one way or another depending on your self-esteem that day. You have to take fashion as a game, not as something that defines you. Each person has a style, and you shouldn’t judge them for it. Style is not what other people wear, but what you like to wear. I enjoy changing my style, and combining colours, and also black clothes because they go with everything.
Before, we women didn’t have so much freedom to choose our clothes. Way back, our ancestors even cleaned the wool and made the fabric. We also had our traditional costume. Then, fabric was bought from outside Lagartera, and mothers made clothes at home. They had to last a long time because families didn’t have much money. Later, you could buy ready-made clothes, but there was not as much variety as today. Also, in villages and small towns, there were always comments if you wore something ‘odd, and women were more concerned about ‘what people would say’.
Nowadays you can walk around with or without high heels, with skirts, leggings or trousers, and people don’t pick on you as much, although there are always those who want to share their opinion, for example, some people think that you should wear branded clothes. For me, it’s important for clothes to be comfortable and attractive, and the brand name is the least important thing. I like the freedom that we young women have now, because we can experiment, and find combinations that suit us.
Irene Reviriego Moreno, Lagartera, octubre 2021
Photos by:
Alan Lomax, Lagarteran children, 1952
Alison Lever, Aunt Leoncia cleaning wool, c 1980.