Style Imitating Art: Chimú Feathered Tunic

Style Imitating Art comes from Salazar, Terri, and Shelbee. You can think of it as fashion meets art museum! Style Imitating Art challenges people to find inspiration in different art works, create looks based upon that art work, and share them with the curator for that piece. Every other Monday one of the three selects an inspiration piece of art and posts the image on their blog. They then invite others to interpret that art work through their style. The following Monday, they share their outfits. The curator shares submissions the following Wednesday on her blog. Terri chose this week’s art work. If you’d like, you can read why she chose it here. Style Imitating Art is an interesting way to inspire your outfits. I know it does that for me! You can see a few of my looks here, here, here, and here.

Inspiration art work…

About the artists…

The Chimú were South American indigenous people located on a narrow strip of desert on the northern coast of Peru. They “maintained the largest and most important political system in Peru before the Inca.” Beginning in the first half of the 14th century, the Chimú built cities, irrigated large areas, and also had a system of social strata. This social system included peasants and nobility. When the Inca absorbed the Chimú culture in the second half of the 14th century, the Inca “included political organization, irrigation systems, and road engineering, into their own imperial organization (source).” I didn’t really find anything about the artists/weavers so I’ve included information about their culture.

A little more…

Each king built a citadel which were “elaborate, labyrinthine compounds surrounded by high walls made of adobe bricks covered in mud plaster and reliefs.” The maze-like structures provided security as did guards and other officials. The citadels contained the royal households, audience chambers, storage facilities as well as the tomb when the king died. Each new king then built a new citadel. The Chimú empire expanded, in part, because they needed more wealth to support these communities.

Still more…

And, as you can probably tell, these kings were pretty well off. They had the best fabrics, metals, and ceramics as well as goodies from the sea. You could tell how high up the social ladder someone was from their clothing…isn’t that usually the case? The higher up that ladder, the more finely woven the fabric which would have included cotton and wool. Of course, the highest on the ladder was the king whose garments would have also included feathers as shown in the art work today. You can read more here!

About the art work…

The tunic is a plain woven cotton fabric. Feathers have been trimmed and attached to the cotton with overcast stitches. It measures 33.5 in x 33.875 in (85.1 cm x 86 cm). It is currently in the possession of the Art Institute of Chicago and is not on display. In the Institute’s own words:

One of the most extraordinary works in the Art Institute’s archaeological textile collection, this feathered tunic was created by Chimú weavers in northern Peru in 1470/1532. The knee-length, sleeveless garment is composed of a plain-weave cotton cloth completely concealed by thousands of brightly colored feathers. These coveted plumes were taken from macaws, parrots, toucans, cotingas, and tanagers from the tropical forests of South America. Because they were transported across the treacherous peaks of the Andes, the feathers were extremely rare and valuable and would only have been available to the most elite members of pre-Hispanic society. Thus, the feathered tunic—with its stylized felines, birds, and fish—would have been a sumptuous emblem of power, wealth, and prestige. Like many other pre-Hispanic textiles, it was buried with its owner in a subterranean tomb on the southern coast of Peru. The dark and arid conditions in these tombs protected the tunic, thereby allowing its vibrant colors and bold motifs to endure (source).”

My interpretation…

Wowza! This was a tough one. I don’t own anything feathered…not one single boa! I remembered I had this very old sequined fox tee (yes, I’m pretty sure those are cats, but still) from Talbots. I went looking for something that would even vaguely resemble the tunic. I combed through my scarves, hoping for some inspiration. And, then, I remembered this old sweater from J Jill. I thought the texture resembled the texture of the feathers. I wanted something brown to add in those elements of the art work. I found this square scarf with a bit of a geometric design in the center. I folded it in half to make a triangle and casually draped it around my neck. The jeans are my trusty jeans from Talbots. They’re still going strong. I don’t know what kind of silhouette they are, but I’m calling them straight leg!

The Lewk!

Yes, these are my old, grungy Sofft Somers sneakers. I love them, but alas and alack, they may be on their way out. I happened to look at the soles, and one of them is disintegrating from the bottom up. I should have snapped a photo of that because I’m not doing a good job describing it. The weird thing is it’s the right shoe which is my good foot. I would have thought the left one would be off because of my slightly off gait. I don’t know if you can have sneakers resoled…I’ll have to investigate! These are John Hardy Classic Chain earrings which are so old I can’t find a link!

Wrap it up, Marsha!

While this was a tough challenge, I really enjoyed discovering not only a new kind of textile but also a different culture. I hope you enjoyed the little veer off the road from my usual “about the artist” mode. So, can we talk? Were you aware of the Chimú people? Can you imagine building completely new communities when a new king came into power? Have you ever worn feathers? Please leave me a comment or two, and we can talk! I promise I try to respond as quickly as possible.

Thank you!

I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for reading, commenting, subscribing or emailing! It truly means so much to me! If you’d like to follow me on Instagram, you can find me here.

Affiliate links and such:

Just a reminder that Marsha in the Middle may use an affiliate link. Those links are usually italicized. If you click or make a purchase from an italicized link I provide, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for your support. As of right now, I also have an affiliate code for Kantha Bae! Use MarshaintheMiddle in the promo code box for $5 off any order (excluding Bestie restocks)! I have also become a Halftee Partner. Use the code, MARSHA2098, for 20% off any purchase. I am also an affiliate with Clara Sunwoo. You can use my code, MARSHA10, for 10% off your entire order. I am an April Cornell Brand Ambassador for another season. You can use my code, MARSHA15, for $15 off any order over $100. For the Zuvi Halo Hair Dryer, use Marsha12 to get 12% off your order at this link: https://www.zuvilife.com/products/buy-zuvi-halo-hair-dryer?sca_ref=4039595.v4RNNsWxxF. If items are on sale, you can use Marsha5 for an extra 5% off sale prices. In case you didn’t know, bloggers must disclose the use of affiliate links. That’s why I include this in each post.

Where you can find me:

Linking up with Nancy’s Fashion Style,  Fine-Whatever, Is This Mutton, Shelbee on the Edge, Chez Mireile, The Grey Brunette, and Away from the Blue as well as Deb’s World. I also link up with This Blonde’s Shopping Bag, Doused in Pink, I do deClaire, Mummabstylish, and Style Splash. Please check out these wonderful ladies and their blogs! I also am a co-host for Ageless Style on the third Thursday of the month and Songful Style on the last Monday of the month. I co-host Traffic Jam Weekend every Thursday with Melynda and Lisa. I also host Final Fridays on the last Friday of the month as well as 10 on the 10th on the 10th of the month! I do hope you’ll check out all of these blogs and link parties!

First Name

Last Name

List choice Marsha’s Blog

Email address:

Leave this field empty if you’re human: