Chingonas and Chicas Malcriadas: Empowering Tees That Make a Statement
Gorda, malcriada, perra
Photo: Instagram: @SewBonita
Gorda, malcriada, perra. Too many Latinas have been insulted and shamed by words like these. But now, fierce Latinx fashion companies are stripping these controversial labels of their negative power and using them to inform their designs. These street wear statement pieces are helping women embrace their inner chingonas and chismosas with pride.
Esta Perra Si Muerde tee by Salsa for President
Those Make Salsa Spicy Again T-shirts that you saw floating around social media during the final weeks of 2016’s presidential election were born from the creative minds of Salsa for President. The unisex T-shirts grabbed on to cringeworthy right-wing tongue slips like “that Mexican thing” and “taco trucks on every corner” and made them into the best kind of resistance wear. Proudly made by a “pair of brown chingona hands,” according to their Insta, the line also takes aim at colonization, body image and machismo with their other message shirts, like this one that proclaims: ‘esta perra si muerde.’
wp_*postsChicas Malcriadas top by Hola Dear Deer
Their collection might be small, but each of Hola Dear Deer’s three shirt designs is big on style. The Texas-based company, run by two sisters, creates striking and sought-after tops from “badass women empowering one another.” A favorite is the ‘chicas malcriadas’ that encourage wearers to “do you, unapologetically.” If knowing yourself, going after what you want and making no apologies for it means you are a malcriada, then proclaim it proudly.
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Xicana shirt by Somar ATX
Yes, that is Sandra Cisneros holding up one of Somar ATX’s amazing T-shirts. The Austin-based company has a number of shirt and accessory designs for both kids and adults that celebrate diversity. For many U.S. Latinos in recent decades, chicano and chicana were polarizing terms that not everybody embraced. This company seems to focus on the beauty and strength of the people that word represents with their artistic interpretations. Look for this and the tee that re-imagines the phrase “nopal en la frente.”
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Bruja tee by Bella Doña
It’s almost impossible to choose just one top to highlight from the Los Angeles-based Bella Doña, considering their wide assortment of designs emblazoned with words like traviesa, chingona AF and bruja. The combination of fearless messages and styles that include halters and crop tops make them fierce, cool-girl wear. Another favorite is the “Ni Santas, Ni Putas Solo Mujeres” shirt that challenges that old, tired, suffocating concept that women must be either one or the other.
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Gorda tee by Chinita Lindx
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSCEym6j9ji/?taken-by=chinitalindx
For some, gorda is a term they grew up with and may not carry a bad connotation, for others it’s a stinging and shaming put-down. Chinita Lindx, a new street wear line out of Berkeley, California, took that word and turned it into a fashion statement. As of press time, Chinita Lindx only had two designs in their Etsy shop, but designer Edith Valle writes that the line is an expression of her “queerness, cultura and gordura.” The company also offers a styling tip for the Gorda shirt: “may you rock this shirt and look hella fly.”
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The Future is Chingona by Sew Bonita
The future belongs to fearless women who aren’t limited by old customs and outdated ways of thinking, and this shirt celebrates that. Corpus Christi, Texas-based Sew Bonita offers uniquely sewn tops, accessories, stickers and more. They are ideal for anybody, but especially for the chismosas, chingonas and educated Latinas who want to proudly display their style.[tps_footer][article_ad][/tps_footer]
