Exclusiva chain-and-crest print dress

Clothing/Dress/Costume

-

Archive of Cuban Socialism

Name/Title

"Exclusiva" chain-and-crest print dress

Entry/Object ID

2025.1.376

Description

Woman's short-sleeved shirtwaist dress in black printed polyester, knee-length with a soft collar, a buttoned upper placket, and a matching self-fabric belt. The allover print is a baroque "chains-and-shields" design: ochre/gold chain links forming a lattice that frames red/coral heraldic crest medallions (each with a small black-and-white shield), on a black ground. Brand "Exclusiva".

Use

Belonged to Gertrudis Caraballo Gálvez

Context

The dress was purchased at the former Woolworth's "Ten Cent" department store on Calle 23 in Havana — the Vedado branch (23 y 10) — after it had become state property. Woolworth's Ten Cent stores were nationalized in 1960 and renamed "Variedades," with a much reduced stock. The owner's daughter specifies it was sold off the ration ("non-rationed" / por la libre), situating it in the state retail economy of the 1970s–1980s. The chain-and-crest print and shirtwaist cut place it stylistically in the 1970s. The provenance notes that the same dress was owned by multiple women across the island — Gertrudis and her daughter purchased each one in Havana, and Mirta Martínez in Pinar del Río — a telling indicator of standardized, mass-distributed state retail clothing (limited variety meant "everyone had the same dress"). In the 1990s, the Período Especial, Gertrudis's granddaughter refashioned her mother's example into a mini tank dress.

Collection

The Cabrera Arús family collection, Gertrudis Caraballo Gálvez collecition

Acquisition

Accession

2025.1

Clothing/Dress/Costume Details

Article of Clothing/Dress/Costume

Dress

Made/Created

Manufacturer

MINIL

Time Period

1970s

Place

Country

Cuba

Region

Caribbean, Central America

Edition

Exclusiva

Notes

Manufacturer/brand: "Exclusiva" (per holder; not independently documented) — manufacture origin undetermined (Cuban-made or imported stock sold through the state Ten Cent). Date: circa 1970s; tentative (print style and shirtwaist cut; acquired at the post-1960 state Ten Cent).

Label/Inscription/Signature

Type

Label

Location

Collar, inside

Transcription

Exclusiva

Language

Spanish

Material/Technique

Ink

Dimensions

Dimension Description

Size 16 adult

Accessories

Notes

Matching belt (integral to the dress).

Condition

Overall Condition

Good

Created By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Create Date

March 31, 2022

Updated By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Update Date

June 18, 2026