Last autumn, I made a promise to S and her best friend that I’d sew them each a chulapa for the upcoming San Isidro festival this year. San Isidro is the patron saint of Madrid, and the city hosts a massive multi-day celebration annually to honor him. Other towns and villages across Spain also celebrate their local saints similarly. The chulapa, naturally, is the traditional attire of Madrid, specifically worn during the festival.
Now, I’m not entirely sure how this particular dress originated, but it strikes me as a very conservative take on a flamenco dress. Typically, flamenco dresses are rather provocative, but the chulapa seems to lean toward something more modest and elegant. There are several variations in its design, but it generally sticks close to the traditional costume. It often features a polka-dot print, entredeux or eyelet trimming with ribbon woven through it, and a highly fitted princess-seam silhouette paired with a flared, flounced skirt. Oh, and let’s not forget the puffed sleeves or mutton-leg sleeves!
[Image of the chulapas sewn from the Building Block Dress book]
To create these dresses, I began by making a muslin for each girl based on the princess-seam variation from the Building Block Dress book (page 87). I extended the bodice significantly, down to the knees, and then we went through the process of fitting. S measures a size 8, so she required more adjustments than her friend, who fit a size 12 perfectly. Nevertheless, on both dresses, we pinned the seams to contour to the girls' bodies and add some shape. Once we achieved a pleasing fit, I basted the new seams and tried the muslins on both girls again before transferring my changes to the pattern pieces.
[Image of Building Block Dress book muslins for chulapa]
With that done, we dove into the actual sewing. Despite the relative simplicity of the designs, the dresses still took quite a bit of time. I selected fabrics from Robert Kaufman’s Spot On collection because chulapas are traditionally polka-dotted. The skirts themselves are enormous circles, and to provide structure to the skirts and the puffed sleeves, I used two different weights of "can-can," which resembles extremely stiff organza and is typically used for this purpose. (My friends at Ribes y Casals knew exactly what I needed when I inquired about it.) Then there was all the eyelet detailing to apply, and the enormous skirts to hem. At one point, the zipper on one dress broke a tooth. (I’ve never experienced that with a YKK zipper before!) So I had to replace the zipper halfway through. But in the end, everything came together just in time, and the girls were thrilled!
If I were to list all the techniques from the Building Block Dress book that I used to make these dresses, they would include: puffed sleeve (page 52), flared A-line skirt (page 72 with modifications), dropped-waist dress (page 80), princess seams (page 87), shaped neckline (page 117), internal neck facing (page 118), and invisible zipper (page 135).
[Image of Oliver + S Building Block Dress]
This just proves that you can create a wide variety of styles using the Building Block Dress book!
[Image of chulapas sewn from the Building Block Dress book]
[Image of chulapas sewn from the Building Block Dress book]
[Image of chulapas sewn from the Building Block Dress book]
[Image of chulapas sewn from the Building Block Dress book]
Both girls adored their dresses and had a blast wearing them to the school party. Many kids wear their traditional clothing to school on the day of the fiesta—chulapos for the boys and chulapas for the girls—to promenade through the schoolyard in couples before performing the traditional dance and braving the tunnel of terror set up in the gym for the occasion. The girls also paraded around the city in their chulapas for many of the celebrations over the long weekend. Part of the fun, I believe, lies in wearing the flamenco-style heels that are part of the traditional outfit and partly in simply enjoying the experience of wearing a fancy dress, especially when you're 12 and starting to embrace your femininity. I wanted them to experience that joy and feel good about their changing bodies, so it was equally enjoyable for me as it was for them.
I managed to capture a few photos of S over the weekend. She loved this dress so much that she wore it every chance she got!
[Image of chulapas sewn from the Building Block Dress book]
[Image of chulapas sewn from the Building Block Dress book]
Most Madrileñas no longer wear the chulapa. On special holidays like San Isidro, you might see groups of elderly people in their chulapos and chulapas gathered for the traditional dance in some of the plazas. Of course, many young children also wear their chulapos because they’re adorable. However, older kids and younger/middle-aged adults (like me) don’t wear them anymore, which makes me wonder—and perhaps worry a bit—whether the tradition is fading away.
I was incredibly happy that the girls were enthusiastic about wearing theirs, even though most of their classmates didn’t. Traditions are important, and I hope we’re helping preserve them, even if we’re not technically Spanish.
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